Jim Rice Is Not Walking Through That Door!
“Jim Rice is not walking through that door fans, Fred Lynn is not walking through that door and Carlton Fisk is not walking through that door…” blurted 2013 Red Sox Manager, Bobby Valentine, in response to a question posed to him about the lackluster Sox record over the last season and a half and the fans luke-warm outlook to the upcoming 2013 season!
Ok, ok! So Bobby V is long gone, but if he had survived and was still the Sox Manager, couldn’t you hear him deflecting blame with such a Rick Pitino-esque rant? Let’s face it, outside of perhaps Jackie Bradley Jr., the Sox don’t have a true, blue-chip prospect that is ready to crack the 25-man Roster come Opening Day, right? And even at that, Bradley Jr. apparently has little chance of starting and making any kind of dramatic impact because Jacoby Ellsbury is a lock for CF and there’s a logjam of veterans slated to play the bulk of the innings in the corner outfield spots. So, no, there are no impact rookies, ala Rice & Lynn, that have a legitimate shot to start in 2013, never mind make a similar splash that those guys did back in the 1970’s. So all is lost, right? WRONG! This may not be the year that young, impact prospects light up the scoreboard over at Fenway, but those days may not be too far off! Boston has dramatically strengthened their Farm System over the last couple of years and can boast a solid total of 6 players that made MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list. That puts them at or near the top of the league as far as shear quantity of blue-chip potential prospects!
Xander Boegarts and Jackie Bradley Jr. lead the Sox prospect list. Boegarts is a 20-year-old 6‘ 3” shortstop that was the 2012 Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year. He hits for power and average and some scouts project that he may be better suited to move to third base or OF because of his lack of first step quickness necessary for a middle infielder, but with a rifle arm and solid athletic ability, don’t count out his chances to make an impact at his natural SS position for the Sox. (See Cal Ripken) Jackie Bradley Jr. is a left-handed hitting outfielder, best suited for center and his continued progression could make Ellsbury expendable, especially if the Sox are “out of the race” at the trade deadline. Bradley Jr. has the offensive tools and plate discipline to eventually vie for batting titles and is also a rock-solid defender in the outfield. Thus far this spring he is hitting well over .400 (.444 as of March 20th) and continues to spray the ball around with authority. The convention wisdom is that the Sox will designate him for assignment (Pawtucket) for Opening Day, and then will call him up in mid to late April. As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal recently explained, if Bradley Jr. makes the 25-man roster on Opening Day, he will be eligible for Free-Agency in 2018, where as if he is called up after the 11th day of the season, the Sox will have him under contractual control through 2019. It’s a quirk or loophole, but don’t be surprised if this is how this scenario plays out because this kid deserves to be on the roster, but it makes baseball sense for the Sox to wait the 11 days, guaranteeing them another year under their control.
Three young pitchers are also on the horizon as Matt Barnes, Alan Webster and lefty, Henry Owens, all cracked the top 100 list. Barnes is a solid, 6’ 4” 205 pounder who throws in the mid-90’s and his great command of his three pitches projects him as a possible top of the rotation pitcher down the road. Barnes will likely start the season in AA Portland with the Sea Dogs, but if he continues his progression in this, his 2nd year of pro baseball, he could find himself in Boston as a September call up, if not sooner. Webster has electric stuff, but still needs to gain consistent command of his pitches. His upside is tremendous, with a 95-97 mph fastball and if he does finally harness his command, he too could be a top to middle of the rotation guy down the road. Both Barnes and Webster have shown that they can tail their fastball and keep it down in the zone, resulting in a lot of ground ball outs. In a small ballpark like Fenway, that could prove to be pivotal in their success, once they make the jump to Boston. Henry Owens is a 20-year-old southpaw who also has a tremendous upside if he too can find consistent command. He throws in the low 90’s with a tailing fastball and what scouts call a “plus curveball” that he needs to get more consistent with to be effective. I’m a firm believer that you can never have too much pitching depth and that championships are build on pitching and defense, so it’s great to see such rising talent in the Red Sox minor league pitching stable.
Rounding out the top 100 prospect list is SS Jose Iglesias. Iglesias can dazzle in the field and if his offensive skills continue to improve, he could be a perennial Gold-Glover for years to come! He worked out with Dustin Pedroia in the off-season on his offensive skills and has shown signs of improvement this spring, but he needs to continue that improvement if he has any chance of being the shortstop of the future in Boston. Especially with Boegarts nipping at his heels.
Not making the top 100 list, partly because he’s coming back from elbow surgery is Rubby De La Rosa, the 24 year old flame thrower who was dealt to Boston in the deal that sent Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers last season. De La Rosa is coming off of “Tommy John” surgery in the summer of 2011 and has been impressive so far this spring, with his fastball nudging close to 100 mph at times. He has a plus change-up to go with that fastball and harkens flashbacks of another Dominican pitcher who dominated for the Sox with a similar arsenal, Pedro Martinez. Ok, ok, I am not trying to put pressure on the kid by making that kind of comparison, but he definitely has a high ceiling and a boatload of potential. Speaking of Pedro, he recently raved to NESN that De La Rosa’s “pure stuff could put him among the game’s elite players.” Coming from a guy like Pedro, that is mighty high praise and reason to get excited about De La Rosa’s future!
When you step back and look at all of the prospects they have in their system, combined with the young talent already on the current roster, like Will Middlebrooks, Felix Doubront, Clayton Mortensen and Junichi Tazawa, to name a few, the Red Sox are poised to not only get back to being an upper echelon MLB team, but are poised to stay there for the foreseeable future. Especially when you also consider that Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz are just coming into their prime. If nothing else, by reloading their farm system the Red Sox have put themselves in an enviable position to improve their team through trades and/or through an influx of quality young talent that should be MLB ready over the next few years. It will be interesting to see which route the team takes with their young prospects.
It has been said that it is only once in a lifetime that a team has a run on young, superstar studs coming up through their system like the Sox did in the early to mid-70’s with Carlton Fisk in 1972, Dewey Evans in 1973 and Jim Rice and Fred Lynn in 1975, but perhaps we’ve reached that next generation where the team is set up for that kind of talent success again. This current stable of young prospects, including the six top 100 prospects, have the potential to make a tremendous impact for the Red Sox over the next several years, just as those guys did in the 1970’s. To wit, the outlook is definitely positive for long-term success for the Red Sox. It’ll be fun watching these guys progress over the next 12-18 months and how the team takes shape. Real fun! I can almost hear Bobby V Jr. ranting in 2043, “Xander Boegarts is not walking through that door fans, Jackie Bradley Jr. is not walking through that door and Rubby De La Rosa is not walking through that door!” Now THAT would be a beautiful thing for this generation of Red Sox and their fans!
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