After seeing their farm system, once seen as a precious commodity, decline in recent years, Boston’s prospect pool is starting to rebound. Through the draft and trades, the Red Sox have accumulated a nice blend of young position players and pitchers, who populate every level of their system. Although the team lacks the type of top-end talent of some teams, they are incredibly deep with players whose ceilings are potentially high but still unclear. It appears that some of these prospects could start debuting at Fenway as soon as this season, so fans will start getting an opportunity to see the kind of talent Boston really has. -Andrew Martin
Below are our top 16 prospects with 2013 opening day age, position, and comments on each player. Below the top 16 is a small list of additional notable names. Enjoy.
| Player | Comments | |
| 1 | Xander Bogaerts (20-SS/3B) | The 20-year-old right-handed hitter looks like a potential .300+ and 25 home run+ player in the major leagues (Think an early Hanley Ramirez without the speed). While some speculated that his big frame would necessitate a move to third base or the outfield, it’s looking increasingly likely that he will be able to remain at shortstop, which would only further enhance his value. -Andrew Martin |
| 2 | Jackie Bradley Jr. (22-OF) | He turns 23 in April and his glove is already MLB-ready. Bradley is good enough that the Sox should feel comfortable letting Ellsbury walk in the offseason. Bradley has plus on-base skills and above-average speed. He could be a 10-homer 30-steal guy who post high OBPs. I am a huge fan and see an All-Star here. -Jonathan C. Mitchell |
| 3 | Matt Barnes (22-RHP) | Full Matt Barnes Scouting Report. |
| 4 | Allen Webster (23-RHP) | Webster came over to Boston in the mega deal between the Dodgers and Red Sox. He is armed with a mid 90s fastball that he can bump up to the upper 90s. He also throws a change that has great fade and sink and is a plus offering. His slider flashes above-average to plus potential but he’ll really need to work on his consistency with the pitch. Webster has some work to do in improving his command but the potential is there for him to develop into a number two or three starter. -Michael Schwartze |
| 5 | Garin Cecchini (21-3B) | Turns 22 in April and this could be the season he makes believers out of skeptics. His power potential could lead to 20-homer seasons and he has the chance, especially playing in Boston, to be a .300 hitter with solid on-base skills. He is still a work in progress at third but his arm is plenty good enough for the position. -JCM |
| 6 | Henry Owens (20-LHP) | Owens made his pro debut this last season and put together a solid year at Low-A Greenville. The big lefty has a great build with lots of room to fill out as he further develops. His fastball sits on average in the low 90s and touches 94. He struggles commanding the pitch though and that will be one of the biggest things for him to work on moving forward. He also throws two breaking pitches, a loopier curve in the upper 60s to lower 70s and a slurvier curve that sits 78-81. Owens is a great athlete on the mound and has front of the rotation upside but he is going to take a while to reach the majors. -MS |
| 7 | Blake Swihart (21-C) | I am a big fan of Swihart and the switch-hitting backstop continues to climb up prospect lists. He has an above-average hit tool from both sides of the plate with interesting power potential in his bat. He’s a bit raw behind the plate but he has the tools to stick there long term and provide above-average defense behind the plate. Swihart is a ways a way from the majors but he has the potential to develop into one of the top catching prospects in the game. -MS |
| 8 |
Bryce Brentz (24-OF)
|
Despite hitting a combined .298 with 47 home runs during the past two seasons, the right-hander still has major holes in his swing (251 strikeouts during that time) that have not improved as he has progressed through the minors. He is not a strong defensive outfielder, but his power potential projects him as a strong fourth outfielder in the majors. -AM |
| 9 | Brian Johnson (22-LHP) | Johnson was one of the top two-way players in the Country last year, but his calling card is on the mound. The big lefty was one of the more polished arms in the 2012 draft and he throws a 4 pitch mix that he commands well. His fastball sits in the low 90s and he gets good swings and misses on the pitch. He throws a solid curve and slider as well as a changeup that is more of a show me pitch at this point. Johnson doesn’t have the biggest upside but he is not far from the bigs and has the potential of being a solid number 3 starter. -MS |
| 10 | Jose Iglesias (23-SS) | Still far too young to give up on but the glove is, and has been, MLB-ready for a few years now but the bat is far behind that he could find it hard to stick as a regular on a contender. -JCM |
| 11 | Deven Marrero (22-SS) | Last year’s first-round out of Arizona State, the right-handed hitter batted .268 with 24 steals in short-season ball. He has no particular stand-out skill, but has the potential to be solid in just about every aspect of the game. The Red Sox have indicated they may fast-track him starting this year, so if he proves he can handle it, he may be in the majors before long. -AM. Deven Marrero Interview. |
| 12 | Brandon Workman (24-RHP) | The right-handed starter was a 2010 second-round pick and has posted a 3.60 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning during his first two pro seasons. He throws in the low-90s and projects to be an end-of-the-rotation starter or solid reliever. |
| 13 | Pat Light (22-RHP) | Light is armed with the best fastball of any of the Sox 2012 draftees as he sits in the low to mid 90s and is capable of touching 97. The pitch also has great late sink and he commands the pitch well. His secondary offerings need work and whether or not they come around could be the difference between him reaching his potential as a solid number 3 arm or ending up in the back of the bullpen. -MS |
| 14 | Drake Britton (23-LHP) | It’s hard to walk away from a lefty with a low-to-mid-90s fastball that flashes an above-average breaking ball and at least average change. His command needs work and if he has to move to the pen he could be deadly, especially against lefties. -JCM |
| 15 | Keury De La Cruz (21-OF) | The left-handed hitting outfielder has been a pleasant surprise, seemingly getting better with each year in the minors (.307, 20 hr, 87 RBI, 20 sb in 2012). Despite his speed, he has shown much more comfort and defensive ability playing left field. He lacks patience and an ability to handle high hard stuff, which if addressed, could greatly improve his prospect stock. -AM |
| 16 | Ty Buttrey (19-RHP) | The big righty can pitch into the mid-90s and already has an excellent knuckle-curve. He earned a $1.3 million signing bonus after being drafted last year, even though he was taken in the fourth round. Still just 19, he is is very raw, but has plenty of time to develop, with his ceiling being that of an above average major league starter. -AM |
A few more: Jose Vinicio (SS), Manuel Margot (OF), Brandon Jacobs (OF)
Be sure to follow @Mike_Schwartze, @FigureFilbert, and @HistorianAndrew on Twitter, all of whom collaborated to put together these rankings.
