1. 1B Lars Anderson (A)- Anderson is the type of player that Youkilis was in 2008. He'll hit 30 homeruns, bat .300 and play good defense when he gets the chance in the majors. For this reason he's ranked by Keith Law as a top 10 prospect for 2009.
2. CL Daniel Bard (A)- Bard, coming back from major surgery on his arm struck out 64 in 29 innings in AA in 2008 and showed that he could be a dominant reliever, and maybe starter in 2009 and onward. Like Tommy Hanson, he's too good to rot in the minors for much longer, but he's too young and injury prone to get shelled in the majors. Look for him 2010.
3. CF Josh Reddick (A)- Reddick is the best bat in the minors for the Sox and hit .342 with 17 homeruns in the California League. He stole 9 bases and had a nice .968 OPS through half a season. He's young and raw, and a little ugly, but with Crisp gone, Bay not getting any younger and Drew's injury problems Reddick could be closer than we think.
4.RHP Michael Bowden (B)- Bowden is a solid all-around pitcher with his 3.15 ERA in 406 career minor league innings. His 3.60 era and first win came in September 2008 with the Red Sox. He's no clay Bucholz, but he is a very solid number 3, maybe a Derek Lowe type some day.
5. SS/SP Casey Kelly (B)- Casey Kelly is a toolsy talent with a 93 mph fastball and some good bat hitting .344 in the New York Penn League in 2008. He hasn't chosen which position to pursue, bot not pitching seriously since his college days make it seem more and more likely that shortstop is his future position.
6. Nick Hagadone (B)- Not one season in his career has Hagadone not struck out more batters than innings pitched. He's a big and good all-around pitcher with nice mechanics. He's started 15 games in the minors through 2008 and will pop his head up in the majors this September.
7. Junichi Tazawa (B)- Tazawa is not Dice K, but he could be Hideki Okajima with som work and some concentration. He has pitched well in the international league, and struck out 114 in 113 innings pitched in 2008. He could also be a bust.
8. Ryan Kalish (B-)- Kalish is the Red Sox version of Brett Gardner and stole 12 bases and being only caught one in a cup of coffee in 2008. He won't sluf above .400, but who needs a pinch runner to hit anyway?
9. Michael Almanzar (B-)- Almanzar doesn't hav homerun power yet, at a very young 19 years old, but he did hit well in the NYPL in 2008--sporting an .886 OPS. He's a fantastic fielding 3B and could get a look at SS sometime in 2010, where his bat would fit better. He, like Garciaparra can't stay still in the box, and tends to lose concentration his favor of his obsession with Latin chicks. Thank god white chicks have no interst in the minors.
10. Ryan Westmoreland (B-)- Westmoreland never hit below .451 in highschool and never stole less than 11 bases in a 1/10 of a season. He has good potential, like Peter Bourjos or someone of the like. He has all the tools--speed, contact, pop, range, the arm and some patience. He'll be a nice player in 2012 or so.
11. Chris Carter, (B-)- The other CC, Carter is turning 27 this year, and the Stanford grad couldn't be happier. He finally get a roster spot taking over for Sean Casey in 2009. He hit a double in his first MLB game in 2008, and as a DH/LF/1B he does have some worth on defense. He could his .300 some day and hit 50 doubles if everything goes his way.
12. Stolmy Pimentel, (C+)- Pimentel is young and raw, and his potential is an A. In 2/3 of a season he's won 8 games and had an ERA at about 3.00. He's struck out 121 as well. He's still 18 years old so he has a long roat to the big leagues.
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