The Red Sox’s top prospects offer a scouting report on each other

“Playing with Roman last year, he hit the ball hard and hit hard,” Teel said of Anthony. “And this year, it’s amazing how many times I look at the iPad after it makes contact with the ball and it’s over 110 miles per hour. It’s unbelievable.”

For Mayer, his main focus has been on the collective growth of Boston’s top prospects on the basepaths. The trio combined for 38 steals in Portland, with Anthony leading the charge with 16.

While Mayer remains on the mend in Worcester with a nagging lower-body injury, he rounded into form as a multi-tool star with Portland, hitting .307/.370/.480 with eight homers, 36 of extra-base hits and 13 steals in 77 games against Double-A pitching.

“I would say the biggest thing, it’s not about the numbers or anything like that. We took on the challenge this year to dominate on the base paths,” Mayer said. “I know our manager in Double-A talked a lot about it, (Chad Epperson) going out every day and running as hard as you can on the basepaths.

“And I think that was something that we took and ran with and it really helped us. We see the big league club and the way they play, how hard they play, how exciting it is to play that brand of baseball. So I kind of adopted that, and it’s been a lot more fun ever since.”

Beyond their individual talents on the court, Anthony pointed out that the most impressive steps taken this season involve the trio not getting caught up in the high expectations hanging over them.

“During the year, controlling what we can control, and I think those two guys have done a great job of that,” Anthony said. “Kyle is handling the pitching staff in Portland — obviously, it’s a big adjustment. The boys are much older than him for the most part and much older than Marcelo as well. But Teel, in particular, being able to handle the pitching staff, take care of everything, and then be as good as he is, is impressive.

“And then Marcelo, the same thing, being the shortstop, controlling the infield as a younger guy. I think if you watch these two guys, you never know their age. And the most important thing is that they are the same guy every day – regardless of the performance, whether he plays or not, you have the same guy. And credit to them, I think they led by example and even I kind of followed. They’re leaders and they’re fun to play with.”

The Big Three still have a ways to go before they make a legitimate push for the big leagues next season. But Teel believes both he and his teammates — including recent call-up Kristian Campbell — are on the right track now that they’re less than an hour’s drive from Fenway Park.

“I mean, the biggest thing for me is to compete with what you have every day, no matter how you’re feeling physically or mentally,” Teel said of working in Worcester. “It’s just competing with what you’ve got, and I feel like at the past levels — especially in Double-A, we have a set routine. We know we have to go out there and be ready every day. So it’s just continuing to do that and playing the game the right way.”