Summertime brings warm weather, trips to the beach… and prospect writers unveiling their updated Red Sox prospects rankings. I’ve taken a look at how the rankings have changed for the Red Sox top prospects from preseason to midseason.
One caveat to these rankings is that most of the rankings at midseason only go to 50, so some players who might actually be in a top 100 list don’t show up in the midseason rankings at all.
| Keith Law | Baseball Prospectus | John Sickels | Baseball America | |||||
| Pre | Mid | Pre | Mid | Pre | Mid | Pre | Mid | |
| Xander Bogaerts | 5 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr | 40 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 45 | 20 | 31 | 21 |
| Allen Webster | 63 | — | 69 | — | 88 | 59 | 49 | — |
| Garin Cecchini | — | 21 | — | 39 | — | 30 | — | 41 |
| Henry Owens | — | 31 | — | — | — | 63 | 91 | — |
| Matt Barnes | 79 | — | 38 | — | 59 | — | 40 | — |
| Anthony Ranaudo | — | — | — | — | — | 54 | — | 37 |
As you can see from these lists, a clear consensus has formed on Xander Bogaerts. He entered the season as a top prospect, and has only added to that status, now considered one of the top five prospects in the game. After a slow start, he produced at Double A and has held his own at Triple A in a small sample.
Jackie Bradley Jr’s spot has improved on most lists, likely reflecting his ridiculous Spring Training and moderate success in his brief cup of coffee in Boston. He will likely have enough playing time in the majors to graduate from these lists by the time they come out next season.
The biggest jump onto these lists belongs to Garin Cecchini. Prospect writers have certainly noticed his strong performance this season. Many had him just off their top 100’s to start the season, but he has taken the minor leagues by storm this year, destroying the High A Carolina League and continuing to hit in Double A.
John Sickels had some nice things to say about Cecchini in his writeup: “I had him rated… on the fringes of the top 50 but let myself get talked… out of the top 50 after reading too many scouting reports and not trusting my own instincts. Well, screw that. He kicks ass and many people are still too low on him.”
Garin Cecchini has gone from under the radar to top 50 prospect this season. Photo by Kelly O’Connor, sittingstill.net
Henry Owens has also made it onto the midseason lists. He’s been dominant in Salem this season, holding batters to a .182 average and striking out almost 11 batters per nine innings. He’s capped that with a recent stretch where he hasn’t allowed a hit over his last 15 and two thirds innings.
Allen Webster has moved off of these lists, but that may be uncertainty over whether he will still have rookie eligibility by the end of the year. It could also be his poor performance at the major league level.
Anthony Ranaudo’s strong bounce-back season has gotten him plenty of attention. He made the top 50 lists for Baseball America and Fangraphs, and was named to the midseason Futures Game. Ranaudo’s name has come up in trade discussions, so it’s possible he will feature on prospect lists for another team next spring.
Finally, Matt Barnes has dropped off most of these lists as he has struggled at times in Portland. He actually has one of the highest strikeout per nine inning rates in the system, so it’s possible that he has been a bit unlucky this season. Hopefully he will make needed adjustments and finish the second half strong.
The Red Sox farm system remains in great shape. We have one of the top prospects in the game who is nearly major league ready. The other top prospects, outside of Barnes, have performed well. The immediate future for the Red Sox looks very, very bright.