Your Red Sox top prospect lists

[SaintGeorge67]

does anyone know much about Adlaberto Ibarra? I thought he was meant to be the real deal?

[Meh]

Any updates to lists after the draft and 1/3rd through the season? Also whats up with Britton? Dude's really hitting a wall, is it guys figuring him out at higher levels or what?

[Meh]

Minor league season is almost over. I figure I'll update my list. My personal list

 

1. Xander Bogaerts - Really like this dude. He's a fine player should be interesting how he does next year. Could be looking at a top 30 talent this time next year. Looking at a top 80 ranking this year.

 

2. Will Middlebrooks - Breakout year, looking at a top 50 ranking this year.

 

3. Brandon Jacobs - Whats not to like? Explosive athlete, got some tools and is having a fine year. Also could be looking at a top 50 talent this time next year if stuff goes his way.

 

4. Ryan Lavarnway - Very good hitter, could/should replace Ortiz as the DH next year. Probably looking at a top 60 ranking this year on lists.

 

5. Garin Cecchini - Along with Bogaerts and Jacobs, Cecchini finishes a trio of prospects I really like in the Sox system. Got hurt this year but could be looking at a top 100 prospect next year.

 

6. Anthony Ranaudo - From here for me at least the list really falls off, Ranaudo is having a solid year but really getting panned by scouts. Might be looking at a bust ot a reliever in the majors.

 

7. Alex Wilson - Having a fine season. Could be a 4th starter if things fall into place or a 5th SP/Long man.

 

8. Blake Swihart - Really good hitter, Sox might of finally found their catcher of the future with this guy. Although he's probably five years off.

 

9. Matt Barnes - A good pick up, should be very interesting to see what he can do next year. Sox fans should be excited about him.

 

10. Bryce Brentz - Needs to see a few more walks but good power numbers. Lets see if he can continue it in other less than hitter friendly parks.

[Wells]

Andrew Miller

[jacksonianmarch]

Brandon Jacobs has to be the top prospect in the sox system. He's 20, he's in his first long season league and he is showing now power. 17HRs, 30SBs and a .300 average. When he gets a bit older, he'll be a 30/30 threat. Bogaerts has been solid as well, although he doesnt have the speed of Jacobs and may profile more as a corner IFer/OFer than a SS. Ranaudo is probably #3 in the sox system as well. Middlebrooks is your #4 and Lavarnway is the #5, IMO

[Meh]

Here's sickels list http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/12/13/2633672/boston-red-sox-top-20-prospects-for-2012

[User Name]

^That was posted before in the Off-season thread, but here is where it belongs.

 

On that note, i disagree with a lot of the placements and grades on this list.

[Meh]

On that note' date=' i disagree with a lot of the placements and grades on this list.[/quote']

 

Well what do you disagree with? Which grades would you change?

[User Name]

First off, i would like to disclaim that i am obviously not as knowledgeable as Sickels and that the changes are purely from my own research and what limited exposure i have of this kids:

 

Cecchini over Jacobs is a travesty. If the rankings are based on upside, well Jacobs may have the most upside of any kid not named Bogaerts in the system.

 

I would rate Coyle a solid B, pending improvements on D for a B+.

 

I would rate Iglesias a C+. The glove is nice, but the bat gets you to the Majors.

 

Ranaudo should be a B at the least, even with his struggles, the stuff and poise are undeniable.

 

I would put Workman ahead of Wilson, because not only is he younger, but he projects as a starter, while Wilson projects as a reliever.

 

Bradley should not be top 15.

 

Brentz should not be over Ranaudo.

 

Those are my notables.

[jacksonianmarch]

He dinged Ranaudo because he had wild fluctuations in stuff. If he is unsure of consistency or worried about injury, then it's okay to hedge a little. I do agree, though, Brentz shouldnt be ahead of him. Brentz reminds me of a few Yankees farmhands who just dominated the lower levels with poor strike zone discipline, then got carved up at the higher levels. That's a major flaw in his game that will bother him as he grows. I think the Ludwick comparison is a good one. Hit or miss guy who can hit it a long way or take a golden sombrero

[User Name]

^That. It makes me weary of WMB by the way.

[SoxFanForsyth]

http://baseballprospectnation.com/2011/12/20/2012-boston-red-sox-top-15-prospects/

 

Baseball Prospect Nation's top Red Sox prospects. Made me laugh when they said Iggy's defense was "baseball pornography".

[Meh]

http://baseballprospectnation.com/2011/12/20/2012-boston-red-sox-top-15-prospects/

 

Baseball Prospect Nation's top Red Sox prospects. Made me laugh when they said Iggy's defense was "baseball pornography".

 

Thanks for the list, but Iglesias over Jacobs? yikes.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Thanks for the list' date=' but Iglesias over Jacobs? yikes.[/quote']

 

While I agree, you also have to remember that Iglesias was 21 and playing at Pawtucket. He hit .295/.340/.380 in A - AA ball when he was 20. Offensively, he probably wasn't ready for the step up to Pawtucket, but defensively he's out of his mind and could win gold gloves at the MLB level right now. Jacobs OPS'd .881, but it was all in A ball.

 

I'm sure if Iglesias was in A ball, he would probably OPS around .820-.830, but he's not. He's in AAA, and his bat is struggling because of it, but he's got plenty of time to work on that.

 

When you consider the different levels of play (A vs AAA), and then the difference in defense, I think you can make an extremely good case for having Iggy ranked above Jacobs.

[User Name]

Yeah but rankings are usually based on both projection and present skillset. Jacobs' power profile makes him much more projectable as a player than Iglesias, or more of a "sure thing" if you may. I would contend for Jacobs over Iglesias every day of the week.

[Rdsxmbnt]

Sickels List:

-Think Middlebrooks should be at the top as he is performing well at high levels and has great tools all around, I think he's the blue chipper at the moment in the system

-Cecchini and Jacobs positioned correctly in the 5 and 6 spots, with the potential to be the next big things in the system if all goes well in this coming year.

-Ranuado too low, he should be in the 5-7 range and I think he's another candidate to move to the top with a turn around year.

-Head is too low, I like him better than prospects like Stolmy, Doubront, (Weiland).

 

BPN Rankings

-Cecchini too high, like him as a prospect a lot but he needs to prove a lot more considering he has only had 100+ AB in SS Low-A.

-Not real high on Iglesias till he starts hitting even decently at the high levels. Till then I think he belongs in the 10-15 range with the potential to move way up.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I really, really think a lot of you guys are overvaluing Iglesias's numbers last season. He was 21 and in AAA ball. Give him 3 more years of experience like everyone else in AAA ball, and I guaratee you that he's OPS'ing around .750, which is really all we can ask from him.

 

He's not going to be a production bat, but his glove up the middle is going to save a whole lot of runs.

 

I can see Jacobs being ranked higher than him, and I can see that for Bogaerts as well (personally, I think WMB and Bogaerts should be the top 2 in our system), but I think a lot of people are dogging Iglesias because of a bad season. You have to look at guys like Jacobs and remember that he is 20 and is playing in A ball. During his brief, brief stint in A Ball (13 games, 48 PA, 40 AB) at the age of 20, Iglesias OPS'd .958. He's just had a bit of a problem with pitch recognition, and that's something that he'll gain with experience.

[User Name]

But for the moment, the pitch recognition is not there, and until it is, it should affect his ranking accordingly, even though the fact that he's in AAA is a valid argument.

[SoxFanForsyth]

But for the moment' date=' the pitch recognition is not there, and until it is, it should affect his ranking accordingly, even though the fact that he's in AAA is a valid argument.[/quote']

 

It just seems like we're comparing apples to oranges when comparing Iglesias vs AAA pitchers to Jacobs vs A pitchers.

 

I don't know if there's a true right or wrong answer because we don't know how Iggy would fare in A ball. I think they rushed him through the system last year. Should have started in Portland. He only played 70 games between A and AA in 2010, and then got hung out to dry in AAA.

[User Name]

It's because of projection. The ranking systems they use for present tools pretty much ignores current minor league level, and Jacobs ranks better in every hitting category than Iglesias even though one plays A-ball and one plays AAA ball. What they're trying to say is that, at his best, Iggy will never develop the power and legs Jacobs Jacobs currently has.

[SoxFanForsyth]

It's because of projection. The ranking systems they use for present tools pretty much ignores current minor league level' date=' and Jacobs ranks better in every hitting category than Iglesias even though one plays A-ball and one plays AAA ball. What they're trying to say is that, at his best, Iggy will never develop the power and legs Jacobs Jacobs currently has.[/quote']

 

Right - but Jacobs will never have the glove that Iggy has right now. Defense is devalued a little bit in these rankings.

 

Regardless, I'm fine with Jacobs being ranked above Iglesias. The whole point I was trying to make is that it's not just a slam dunk like Meh implied in his comment because they are at different levels.

[User Name]

You're right about defense devaluing in minor leaguer rankings, and that's very funny, because defense is being valued very highly in the current player evaluation spectrum of MLB.

[jacksonianmarch]

Jacobs is far away, but possesses true 30-30 potential and he isnt even close to reaching his ceiling. He is a top prospect, and IMO, is your #1 prospect

[a700hitter]

Reading through this thread confirms for me what t I had been suspecting for some time-- that our farm system is pretty weak. There are few if any jewels among that rubble. Thank goodness we traded a few of the players on the original list in return for a bona fide superstar. It has long been my philosophy that the highest and best use of prospects for a team like the Red Sox is as trading chips.

 

Hazlebaker? Goodness! That kid has no future in the majors. We saw him a couple of years in a row at the end of spring training. Not very impressive. He was so bad one night that it was truly embarrassing. Small sample size? Yes, but his play was not even close to major league prospect play.

[ORS]

Reading through this thread confirms for me what t I had been suspecting for some time-- that our farm system is pretty weak. There are few if any jewels among that rubble. Thank goodness we traded a few of the players on the original list in return for a bona fide superstar. It has long been my philosophy that the highest and best use of prospects for a team like the Red Sox is as trading chips.

 

Hazlebaker? Goodness! That kid has no future in the majors. We saw him a couple of years in a row at the end of spring training. Not very impressive. He was so bad one night that it was truly embarrassing. Small sample size? Yes, but his play was not even close to major league prospect play.

Yeah, landing Gonzalez is the type of thing that you want to do. That said, at some point they could have also traded for Johan Santana by giving up Lester and Ellsbury, which they'd still be trying to recover from at this point. There are no hard/fast rules for these things.

 

Why does Hazelbaker raise such a reg flag for you? I don't see many here touting his future. Is it because he made some scout's top-whatever list? FYI, every team's top-10 list has 3-4 guys that will never make the bigs. There's nothing to see here.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Jacobs is far away' date=' but possesses true 30-30 potential and he isnt even close to reaching his ceiling. He is a top prospect, and IMO, is your #1 prospect[/quote']

 

IMO, Bogaerts has a higher ceiling than Jacobs. 18 years old and OPS'd .834 with 16 HR in A ball. Everything I've read about him sounds like he's got perennial all-star written all over him. And he's a SS ( potentially moving to 3B ), which makes him even more valuable because of the lack of hitters at SS.

 

Either way, Jacobs is right up there with him, but I think Bogaerts has HanRam type ceiling.

[jacksonianmarch]

I think Bogaerts isnt a SS in the bigs. He's a big dude and is very young. He'll be a 3b or a corner OFer by the time he makes his way to the bigs. But as he fills in, the power should grow further. I think both are solid prospects, but the fact that they are your top 2 shows the fact that your farm system is a little ways off. Rightfully so, though, as Rizzo, Fuentes and Kelly were moved last offseason. SO there is a tradeoff.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I think Bogaerts isnt a SS in the bigs. He's a big dude and is very young. He'll be a 3b or a corner OFer by the time he makes his way to the bigs. But as he fills in' date=' the power should grow further. I think both are solid prospects, but the fact that they are your top 2 shows the fact that your farm system is a little ways off. Rightfully so, though, as Rizzo, Fuentes and Kelly were moved last offseason. SO there is a tradeoff.[/quote']

 

I think WMB is 1 year away, and I think Kalish could start next year. Alex Wilson could be a solid bullpen piece by the middle of the season next season. And Iglesias could potentially be brought up, sacrifice his stick for the next year or two while it develops, and kind of let him learn to hit at the MLB level while playing at the MLB level (this is also suggested by SoxProspects.com). Lavarnway obviously is ready with the bat, but maybe not so much with the glove.

 

But outside of those 5 guys, I agree. I think WMB and Kalish could both be impact players at the big league level. The problem is that we need pitching, and we have zero pitching depth. I'm ok with some of the really high profile prospects being a ways out because, offensively, we're in a great spot right now, so it's not like we need to rush them up to help us win.

 

Pitching, on the other hand...

[User Name]

I agree with the self-proclaimed troll about Jacob's potential. The Sox have a potential superstar in their hands.

[a700hitter]

Yeah, landing Gonzalez is the type of thing that you want to do. That said, at some point they could have also traded for Johan Santana by giving up Lester and Ellsbury, which they'd still be trying to recover from at this point. There are no hard/fast rules for these things.

 

Why does Hazelbaker raise such a reg flag for you? I don't see many here touting his future. Is it because he made some scout's top-whatever list? FYI, every team's top-10 list has 3-4 guys that will never make the bigs. There's nothing to see here.

Or Johan may have helped the Sox win back to back championships by winning in 2008. We were very close in 2008. Very very close. And let's face it, it has been downhill since 2008. So, even though we didn't get johan and his injury and we didn't get the back to back championships in 2007 and 2008, we are still trying to recover. BTW, none of the trade packages offered for Johan included both Ellsbury and Lester. It was one or the other.

 

As for Hazelbaker, early in this thread people had him in the Sox top 10 prospect list. The only top 10 list that I could see him making is a stupid names list.