Bogaerts projects as a middle of the order bat in the majors with the potential for 30 home runs a season
With the graduation of 23-year-old third baseman Will Middlebrooks to Boston, the Red Sox have a new overall top prospect. The organization is well-stocked with promising prospects, some of whom are drawing interest from other teams as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline nears.
Here are seven Red Sox prospects whose names you should get to know:
1. Xander Bogaerts – An international free agent signed out of Aruba in 2009, Bogaerts is just 19 yet he is thriving at advanced Single-A Salem (Va.) as one of the youngest players in the Carolina League. A Futures Game participant this summer, Bogaerts is an athletic shortstop who could be moved to third base or left field as he climbs the Red Sox system. He is batting .284 with 14 home runs, 56 RBI and a .836 OPS. Bogaerts projects as a middle of the order bat in the majors with the potential for 30 home runs a season.
3. Matt Barnes – Since Clay Buchholz debuted in 2007, the Red Sox have not produced a difference-making starting pitcher. Barnes could end the drought. A first round pick out of the University of Connecticut in 2011, the 22-year-old right-hander has a fast ball that ranges from 93-98 and a curve ball and change-up that have plus potential. He logged a 0.34 ERA in five starts at Single-A Greenville and has recorded a 3.07 ERA in 14 starts at Salem this season. If he develops as expected, Barnes could split next season between Portland and Pawtucket and be major league ready by 2014. He has No. 2 starter’s potential.
4. Ryan Lavarnway – Jarrod Saltalamacchia appears to be emerging as a reliable major league catcher, and he is just 27, but the 24-year-old Lavarnway mashes left-handed pitching and has made tremendous strides behind the plate. The former Yale backstop was Boston’s 2011 Minor League Co-Offensive Player of the Year after belting 32 home runs between Portland and Pawtucket. His power numbers are down this season since the Red Sox have made it a priority to get him behind the plate as often as possible to enhance his defensive development, but he is still batting .303 with eight home runs, 41 RBI and a .837 OPS. At the latest, Lavarnway will likely join the Red Sox when rosters expand on September 1.
5. Bryce Brentz – It was the 23-year-old Brentz who shared Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors with Lavarnway last year in the Red Sox system. The right-handed hitting right fielder belted 30 home runs between Greenville and Salem. Currently, the Red Sox are shopping for a right-handed bat at the trade deadline. By 2014, Brentz will be an internal candidate if he is not packaged in a trade. At Portland this season, he is hitting . 275 with 12 home runs and 51 RBI.
6. Jose Iglesias – Many scouts say that the 22-year-old Iglesias would be the best defensive shortstop in the majors if he was starting for the Red Sox right now. Yet he remains at Pawtucket working on his plate approach. Though his .251 average is not alluring, Iglesias is showing more patience and is drawing more walks, which the Red Sox value. Like Lavarnway, Iglesias will likely join the Red Sox when rosters expand on September 1, unless the team deals Mike Aviles and recalls him before that date.
7. Garin Cecchini – Because Middlebrooks is manning third base for the Red Sox and Bogaerts could be shifted there as he ascends the system, the 21-year-old Cecchini might be used as a trade chip. He is hitting .304 with four home runs, 51 RBI and 35 stolen bases at Greenville.
