Boston Red Sox Top 20 Prospects for 2008
All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change.
- Clay Buchholz, RHP, Grade A
- Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Grade A-
- Jed Lowrie, SS, Grade A- (too high? I think he's an A- as a shortstop, but a B+ as a second baseman. Will he stick at short?)
- Lars Anderson, Grade B+ (a personal favorite, power should blossom)
- Michael Bowden, RHP, Grade B
- Justin Masterson, RHP, Grade B
- Nick Hagadone, LHP, Grade B
- Ryan Kalish, OF, Grade B
- Will Middlebrooks, 3B-SS, Grade B-
- Josh Reddick, OF, Grade B- (overlooked prospect)
- Oscar Tejeda, SS, Grade B- (high praise for rookie ball guy)
- Aaron Bates, 1B, Grade B- (maybe C+?)
- Brandon Moss, OF, Grade C+
- Craig Hansen, RHP, Grade C+
- Dustin Richardson, LHP, Grade C+ (a personal favorite)
- Reid Engel, OF, Grade C+
- Yamaico Navarro, Grade C+
- Ryan Dent, OF, Grade C+
- Zach Daeges, OF, Grade C+ (maybe Grade C given Lancaster)
- Bubba Bell, OF, Grade C
The Red Sox took longer than I thought, as I went back and forth on a lot of these grades. I'm thinking that Bates might be too high at B-, although I do think he is going to hit. I will admit that posting this makes me nervous, as Red Sox fans are increasingly passionate about their farm system. This is a good thing, obviously. . .however some members of Red Sox nation are starting to get obnoxious, acting, I dare say, like Yankees fans. Watch your hubris, guys and gals. The Sox have developed a very strong farm system, but not everyone is a future star here, and I tend to grade conservative.
Of course, full statistics and reports on over 1,000 other players will be in the 2008 Baseball Prospect Book, now available for pre-order. Ships the first Monday in February!
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