With the recent trade rumors flying fast and furious, a lot of Red Sox fans have had to come to grips that significant prospects will have to be given up to get an impact player. There have been some names that is clear the Red Sox are not willing to move; others that I personally go “eek!” at when I hear their names in trade rumors.
So which prospects should be considered untouchable? I have heard two names that the Red Sox consider off-limits, Casey Kelly and Ryan Westmoreland (also Daniel Bard, but now that he’s in the bigs, I no longer consider him a prospect). I would add a third to that as well. Let’s take a look.
CASEY KELLY
Age: 19 | Pos: SP, SS | Greenville | Fire Brand interview 9/8/08
Kelly just came off an absolutely dominant season as a pitcher, dominant enough that he pitched in the Futures Game during the All-Star break. Kelly posted a 1.12 ERA in nine starts for Mid-A Greenville before posting a 3.09 ERA in eight starts for High-A Salem. Per an agreement when he signed, he then shifted to shortstop as he would prefer to be a long-term shortstop. (In Fire Brand’s interview, he said “I love playing shortstop and hitting.”)
For Rookie GCL, he hit .214/.290/.464 with two homers in 28 at bats, just a refresher before he went back to Greenville to ply his trade. At Greenville, he’s only appeared in one game as he has to split time with Oscar Tejeda.
Kelly’s talent as a pitcher is undeniable: he’s quickly rocketed to the top of SoxProspects.com’s rankings. I spoke briefly with Grant Paulsen on Kelly via Twitter, and here’s what he had to say about Kelly’s outlook in 2010: “NOT far. I mean, he was dominant in Hi-A ball in his first half-season of pro ball. That’s scary. He could start next year in Hi-A, get a bounce to AA before the [All-Star Break]… And be in AAA by year’s end. If he was on a bad team, he may get a [September] call in 2010”
That’s at age 20, people. What a talent we seem to have on our hands.
RYAN WESTMORELAND
Age: 19 | Pos: CF | Lowell | Fire Brand interview 8/28/08
‘Westy’ fell to the fifth round last year thanks to bonus demands. Since he got on the field in June, he’s proven why he was considered a first-round talent — and a first-rate kid with his head (seriously, read the interview: tell me this isn’t a kid you don’t want to root for).
Westmoreland had surgery on a partially torn labrum in November 2008, which explains why it’s taken him a while to get to the plate. He’s serving as the designated hitter for Lowell and is checking in with a cool .279/.384/.508 line. He has advanced plate discipline for a guy his age and already has stolen 11 bases (zero caught). He could be Jacoby’s successor.
When a 19 year old is compared to Grady Sizemore (via SoxProspects), you do what you can to hang onto Westmoreland. After all, it’s the Sizemore trade that is killing baseball in Washington. (June 27, 2002: Bartolo Colon traded by the Cleveland Indians with Tim Drew to the Montreal Expos for Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens.)
JOSH REDDICK
Age: 22 | Pos: RF | Portland | Fire Brand interview 9/4/08
Reddick struggled in 2007 and 2008 to grasp the mantra of plate discipline that the Sox asked him to learn. Making a living as a Vlad Guerrero in college, it took him a while to get used to it, as he mentioned to me: “It is a very hard adjustment for me. I have never been the patient guy at the plate. I was always told if I see a pitch I can handle, then go after it and drive it. As for the Red Sox telling me to walk more, my average has dropped severely below where I would like it so it is very frustrating.”
Frustration isn’t part of Reddick’s game this year, as he’s jumped ahead of Lars Anderson to be considered the best bat in the system. He’s cranked 13 home runs and posted a line of .269/.346/.510. Reddick is playing center field, but previously played right and has a cannon for an arm, suggesting right field is his true home.
Give Reddick a full year in Double-A this year, then Triple-A at age 23 next year, and he’s banging on the door in 2011, J.D. Drew’s final year in Boston (probably) at age 24. He could step in as the starting right-fielder for the Red Sox in 2011 and be a middle of the order hitter if all goes right.
With the Red Sox’s left- and right-field situations up in the air in the short future (and DH too) I don’t think it makes sense at all to trade your most advanced bat who — get this — plays right field.
So there you have it. In any trade, you better bet the Red Sox aren’t caving in and giving up Casey Kelly or Ryan Westmoreland. (Part of me does wonder, however, if Westmoreland is just being talked up.) And if the Red Sox really do care about making sure they keep their minors stocked, Reddick shouldn’t be moved — there is a surprising lack of high-level talent at the Double- and Triple-A level — four of the Sox’s best eight prospects as given by SoxProspects are 19.