Mayer's latest big night drives Greenville's bats

April showers usually bring May flowers, but for Marcelo Mayer, it has brought May power.

The No. 7 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline has been an extra-base hit machine so far this month, and he continued that trend with a career-high five RBIs on Saturday.

Mayer’s day ended 3-for-5 with a home run, single and double in that order as the Drive defeated the Tourists, 13-5.

The homer came in the first inning off the Astros No. 25 prospect Michael Knorr and plated center fielder Max Ferguson, who led the game off with a single for High-A Greenville.

The two-run shot gave the Drive a 2-0 lead, which was instantly expanded by a jack from Nathan Hickey, the No. 15 Red Sox prospect.

A big reason for Mayer’s scorching hot May is the adjustments he has made against the fastball. Throughout April, he felt a bit behind on the heater, leading him to alter his approach.

Hot starts are not new to Mayer, who hit .333 in both April and May last season, before a downturn in production the summer months. However, those summer struggles soon passed and he was promoted to Greenville.

In 25 games with the Drive last season, he delivered an .828 OPS in his first taste of High-A. So far this season, Mayer has improved in a similar sample size.

His 2022 High-A slash line: .265/.379/.449
His 2023 High-A slash line: .309/.393/.511

The Red Sox love his ability to make good swing decisions and use the whole field -- this season, that approach has become evident.

He is now touting a .904 OPS on the season, while hitting for a .444 average in May.

“I was just looking to get a good pitch to hit, drive it to the big part of the field and lay off bad pitches,” Mayer said Wednesday night after his four-hit day. “I was able to do that today and obviously it's not gonna be like that every time, but I was able to do that today.”

While Mayer remains cautiously optimistic of things to come, his performance is certainly trending in the right direction.