MLB will remain on a hiatus until further notice, but that doesn't mean you'll have to go without professional baseball this spring.
The minor leagues will go on as scheduled with the Triple-A season starting April 5 and the Double-A, High Class-A, and Low Class-A campaigns beginning April 8. Short-season rookie-level affiliates are scheduled to begin play in June.
Tomase: 10 Red Sox spring storylines we should be talking about right now
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
As for when Major League Baseball will return, that remains unclear. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday the first two series of the regular season will be canceled.
Fortunately, Boston's minor league clubs are well worth your attention in the meantime. Here are a few reasons you'll want to tune into all levels of Red Sox minor league action this season.
Triston Casas at Polar Park
Casas finished his impressive 2021 season with a short stint at Triple-A Worcester and he's expected to pick up where he left off. Ranked as Boston's No. 2 prospect by Baseball America, Casas slashed .279/.394/.484 with 14 homers in 86 games between Portland and Worcester. The slugging first baseman also impressed with Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last summer.
Barring any surprises, we'll see Casas in the majors by the end of 2022.
The next step for Nick Yorke
Yorke, who turns 20 on April 2, was named the Red Sox' minor league player of the year in 2021. Boston's 17th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft put on a show with Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville, posting a .928 OPS in 97 total games.
The next test for Yorke likely will be Double-A Portland. If the sweet-swinging second baseman continues to rake, he'll only continue to rise in Baseball America's prospect rankings. He enters 2022 ranked as the No. 31 ranked prospect in baseball.
A closer look at Marcelo Mayer
We got a taste of Marcelo Mayer's potential in 2021, but nothing compared to what we're about to see this year.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft enters the season as Boston's No. 1 ranked prospect, per Baseball America. The fact the 19-year-old already leapfrogged Casas in the rankings speaks volumes. He's the real deal both at the plate and at shortstop.
Mayer began his pro baseball career in the Florida Complex League, slashing .275/377/.440 with three homers in 26 games. We'll likely see him begin the 2022 season at Low-A Salem.
Blaze Jordan's raw power
Jordan gained popularity after winning the MLB High School Home Run Derby in 2019. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound corner infielder's impressive power caught the attention of the Red Sox, who selected him in the third round of the 2020 draft.
In his first pro season, Jordan raked in the Florida Complex League and with Low-A Salem. The 19-year-old hit .362 with a 1.075 OPS in 19 FCL games and quickly made his presence felt in Salem with a grand slam.
Jordan likely will start his 2022 campaign back in Salem, where he should be appointment viewing each time he steps up to the plate.
Sleeper pitching prospect Chris Murphy
Boston Red Sox
Find the latest Boston Red Sox news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
Since top pitching prospects like Brayan Bello, Josh Winckowski, and Jay Groome are on the 40-man roster, they'll remain locked out along with their MLB peers. Still, there's one particular hurler you'll want to keep tabs on.
Chris Murphy, a 2019 sixth-round pick out of the University of San Diego, has developed into one of the more intriguing young prospects in the Sox system. He's only 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, but he makes his presence felt with a lively fastball that reaches up to 96 mph. The 23-year-old posted a strikeout rate of 11.4 K/9 last year between High-A Greenville and Portland.
He'll have to cut down on the long ball, but Murphy has the stuff to impress in 2022 and potentially step in as a depth option for the major league club. If the other top young arms in the organization are forced to miss extended time, Murphy will get an even greater chance to stand out.
You can learn more about Murphy here.
First look at offseason additions
The MLB lockout has overshadowed all that has transpired this offseason, but the Red Sox did make some moves before it and remained active during it.
At the end of November, they signed utility man Rob Refsnyder to a minor league contract. A couple of days later, they traded Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee Brewers for old friend Jackie Bradley Jr. and a pair of prospects: Alex Binelas and David Hamilton.
Binelas, 21, hit .309 with nine homers and a .973 OPS between Low-A and the Arizona Complex League last season. The corner infielder slots in as the No. 18 prospect in the Red Sox system, per SoxProspects.com.
Hamilton, 24, stole 52 bases in 101 games between High-A and Double-A in 2021. SoxProspects has the speedy middle infielder ranked 26th.
During the lockout, the Red Sox signed several players to minor league deals including former Gold Glove infielder Yolmer Sanchez, first baseman Roberto Ramos, and right-handed pitchers Tyler Danish and Taylor Cole. Each player has been invited to major league spring training -- whenever that finally takes place.