Down on the Farm

I talked about Pawtucket yesterday so here is a heads up on the lower levels of the Minors and what players you should be paying attention to.

Portland: The Sea Dogs are the Red Sox AA affiliate. There are several players on the squad that has a chance to be on the big club in the next 2 years. They have yet to play a game due to weather, but they will try again on Monday.

• Leading the list of players that will have an impact is Jacoby Ellsbury. This 23 year old Centerfielder was the fastest growing star last season. While he has very little power, he has a great ability to get on base and the speed to steal once on. According to BA, he is the Red Sox top prospect and might be on the team by the end of summer. He is often considered a Damon-lite. Ellsbury will probably never he a stud in the Majors, but he has the potential to be an everyday player for the Red Sox.
• The two pitchers to watch at Portland are Clay Buchholz and Bryson Cox. Buchholz is the Sox number 1 pitching prospect and has the potential to be a solid #2 in the Majors. He posted a sub 2.5 ERA in his first season of professional ball. Cox is a name that is very fast rising. He is a 6' 4" beast of a pitcher. He is only 22 but he has already replaced Hansen, in many peoples eyes, as the closer to be.

Lancaster: The Jethawks are a team with very little in big league potential. In the young season, they are 1-2 after the first 3 games with there series against Bakersfield.

• A personal favorite of mine is a member of the Jethawks, Justin Masterson. He recently turned 22 and, to say the least, he is a man child. Standing 6'6" 250 lbs, he is an intimidating right handed pitcher. Last season while in Low A, he pitched 31.2 innings posting a 0.85 ERA and walked only 2 while striking out 33. Give him another year to develop and he could be a great reliever for the Red Sox. This season, he will be pitching as a starter even though his future is as a reliever. This is a common practice among players like Masterson. Expect big things from him this season.
• The only other player worth note is Daniel Bard. Bard, the UNC product, has a lot of big league potential. He is a typical Texan fire baller. It will be interesting to see how this kid develops. He is full of talent, but it is raw and undeveloped.

Greenville: The Drive are 0-3 so far. They don't have many pitchers worth noting, but they have several interesting hitters to look at. Josh Papelbon is on the team, but he is not his brother. They are the Single A affiliate, so they are young and hard to judge talent.

• Jason Place is a nice young outfielder. He is only 18 years old, and has very little professional baseball experience but he should have a good year. He has a ton of power and is extremely fast. The problem is his plate discipline. He strikes out at very high rates, but so do a great deal of power hitters. He was the Red Sox 1st round draft pick last year, so they have high hopes for this kid straight out of High School.
• If I was asked to describe Lars Anderson in one word, it would be beast. This 19 year old first baseman has the potential to be prototypical power hitting 1st baseman. He was an 18th round draft pick last season. The only reason for this was his high bonus demands. Many thought he could go as early as the 1st round. Lars was able to slug over 1.000 in his Senior year at Jesuit High (CA). The Red Sox hope he could be a 40 HR guy sometime in the majors.