The Red Sox are positioning themselves to be the favorite in the American League once again. The Sox have been led by a promising rotation that posted a 1.69 ERA in 10 starts up until Wednesday (36 hits in 69+ innings), a lineup beginning to hit its stride led by the resurgent David Ortiz and scalding hot Kevin Youkilis, and a bullpen that will only improve with the additions of Craig Hansen and Justin Masterson down the stretch run. The Red Sox were just a Julio Lugo error away from a four-game sweep in Detroit and now head to Minnesota and Baltimore to finish up a long road trip. At 23-14 through 37 games, I feel quite comfortable with the current structure of the Red Sox.
I figured we
Loading ...
You could be right, not really worth debating as the kid is still mostly projection at this point although there are many positive signs. He has ridiculous times getting out of the box and to first base (which shows explosive first steps) and for what its worth SoxProspects.com claims Ichiro like speed. He has swiped 14 bags in 33 games this year. I was just saying if everything breaks right it does not seem out of the realm, neither does your more conservative guess.
Bowden has more than 9 K in those 18.2. He struck out 11 in the first of those 3 starts! He has a total of 9 in the other two, leaving him with 20. One scout said he looks completely different this year, sitting at 94, whereas he was mainly working at 88-89 last year. The kid has a lot of potential
The future is so bright, though we could also use an update on Hagadone . . . and the Bard-like resurrection of Brandon Zinc at AAA.
And I still see Julio, Julian, and totally blocked MLB ready players like Pauley, Zinc, Hansack, Bailey, Carter, Kottaras, etc. as excellent trades for younger top prospects to reload a system which has been propelling our top picks up through their ranks to Fenway.
On a related topic, IMO, Theo must find a way to draft Catcher Buster Posey of FSU. I admit to a local bias, but this kid is a steady, consistent, good hitting impact player who understands the game and its flow. He is considered a phenom, and regularly compared to Tek, and could replace Tek in a few years. Problem solved.
Thanks for the rundown, Zach.
Gerry:
I’d love to get Buster Posey, but it’s highly, HIGHLY, unlikely that he’ll slip all the way to the 30th pick. In fact, there are some who believe he could go to the Rays with the first overall pick, if Tampa Bay chooses to draft based on organizational need — catcher being one of their worst positions.
On the bright side, it’s worth mentioning that the Sox have five picks in the first three rounds of the draft this June, so the future only figures to get brighter. They don’t start until pick 30, but Theo and Co. should have plenty of opportunities to bolster an already strong farm system.
In terms of catchers, one guy that I think would be a great fit is Petey Paramore from Arizona State. I’m not sure if he’ll slip to 30 either, but Paramore is a switch-hitter with great power potential, good patience, and adequate defense behind the dish. He’s also a relatively polished college junior, so he could be ready to step in within a few years.
The Portland rotation has been a nice one to keep an eye on all season so far. Two top 100 prospects plus a riser in Dustin Richardson and another to keep tabs on in Kris Johnson.
Now the question with Bard is when should they promote him and where to? I’d hate to see him get Lancaster’d.
On a side note, Greenville is really stacked … and not just with guys tearing it up who may be a little too old for the level (ahem, Mike Jones) … but with Lin, Reddick, Kalish, Rizzo, Doubront … and Mailman, Weeden, Tejeda struggling/injured yet with similar ceilings.
Sucks about Hagadone, and Austin Bailey before him with the torn labrum.
Sorry, I mis-spoke. It’s Charlie Zinc, who deserves another mention anyway.
Actually, Gerry, it’s Charlie Zink.
Could Zink possibly be our knuckleballer of the future? He’s seeming to put it together… maybe he can finally crack the bigs in September. If Wake retires after this year (don’t count on it), Zink could step in as a reliever/spot-starter.
Thanks Evan. Of all the MiLB players standing on the razor edge of moving to the Majors, Devern Hansack and Charlie Zink stand out. They are running out of time despite their unique skills and grit. Tito would do well to give one a chance at that long relief slot, if only to set up a trade to a team which can use them now.
Outside of maybe Kalish my favorite looking prospect is Che-Hsuan Lin. So far in Greenville he has a .395 obp, 3 home runs, 13 steals and plays a very good outfield and has a great arm. At 6 feet 180 lbs, he may add a few pounds and I could see him eventually being a .300 hitter with 15 home run power and 40-50 steals if everything breaks right. He has done a very nice job drawing walks this year and laying off the breaking ball…19, outstanding athlete and showing significant progress
40-50 steals? That is a lot. I would say more in the 25-30 range.
Thanks for the correction, Matt.
Bowden absolutely looks much improved this season with velocity, and while most scouts settle on him as a #3 starter ceiling, I think he can be a #2. Let’s see it over the long haul first though.
vvwgykimyj, Beer Kit, NYKFjuR, [url=http://virb.com/buybeerkitnow]Homebrewing[/url], fjgGCCn, http://virb.com/buybeerkitnow Beer Kits, YinriUO.