A look at the 2007 Red Sox prospects

by Randy Booth on Dec 22, 2006 9:19 PM EST in News

John Sickels posted his 2007 top 20 Red Sox prospects a couple weeks back and they are definitely worth a note here. Sickels is a minor league genius and I agree with a lot of his list. Here are his top 10:

1 Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Grade B+ (not as much power as Damon but otherwise similar)
2 Clay Buchholz, RHP, Grade B+ (good combination of stuff and command)
3 Michael Bowden, RHP, Grade B+ (good combination of stuff and command)
4 Craig Hansen, RHP B+ (I am still optimistic about him but he was rushed)
5 Lars Anderson, 1B, B (I love this guy, enormous power potential)
6 Daniel Bard, RHP, B (Best stuff in the system but may need more time than other college arms)
7 Dustin Pedroia, 2B, B (Another personal favorite)
8 George Kottaras , C, B (Should be ready in 2008, solid player but not terrific)
9 Justin Masterson, RHP, B (Underrated ground ball artist with great control)
10 Bryce Cox, RHP, B- (Great arm but Rice pitchers scare me)

There's a lot of great talent in this top 10 list. #1 on this list, Jacoby Ellsbury, is also going to be number one on the OTM list once it's updated come spring training. He's a terrific all-around athlete that has enormous potential roaming the outfield. He could be ready late 2007.

Clay Buchholz (2) and Michael Bowden (3) are completely interchangeable. They are almost exactly the same pitcher. However, when it comes to ranking the OTM list, I'm probably going to place Bowden second and Buchholz third. Both pitchers are at exactly the same point in their careers, but Bowden is two years younger.

The rest of the list includes strong arms and high ceilings. The Red Sox may not have the best bullpen right now but, if this list shakes out, our rotation and bullpen will be extremely strong come 2 or 3 years down the line.

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Andruw Jones?

How many of those top prospects would you be willing to send to Atlanta in exchange for Andruw Jones right now? How about if/when Drew goes down this upcoming season? If I were the Braves GM, I'd ask for Ellsbury, Bowden/Buchholz and Bard/Masterson/Cox; would you take it?

Pedroia and/or Hansen would be ideal for Atlanta, but they're needed by Boston right now so they couldn't/wouldn't be included. The Braves have no need for a C or 1B, so Kottaras or Anderson would be out as well.

I honestly believe that Andruw will end up in a Red Sox uniform one way or the other, so I'm hoping that they have to give up something for him in a trade. They could then ship Crisp and/or Pena out of town in a seperate deal, so no need to worry about an OF surplus; I've read rumors about the Pirates and Nats being very interested in each of those guys respectively, with closers such as Mike Gonzalez and Chad Cordero possibly going back to Beantown. Thoughts?

by ejruiz @ Over the Monster on Dec 25, 2006 12:30 PM EST reply actions

Re: Andruw Jones?

Jones for Ellsbury, Bowden or Buchholz, and one of the strong '06 picks would be a horrible move by the Red Sox and the Theo would not do that. Jones is a great player but even that may be too much for him.

I'd prefer to trade Coco or Pena with two of those strong arms from the '06 draft.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Dec 25, 2006 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Andruw Jones?

I'm not sure that my proposed trade would be a "horrible" move by Theo and the RedSox, but I get your point. I can't say that I'm a fan of either Coco or Wily Mo (though I do love their names) so I'm not sure that we can arrive at a compromise deal. I guess I'll give it one more try: what do you think of Ellsbury, Bard and Masterson/Cox for Andruw? I'd also be interested in Ellsbury and Bowden/Buchholz for Andruw, but there aren't many prospects tandems that would be worth Andruw Jones all by themselves. If Ellsbury's the hang up, then there is no way that Boston could acquire Andruw via trade; I mean, it's going to take a #1 prospect and then some in order to make a deal for Jones work.

Beyond my specific proposals, do you think that the Red Sox will look to add Andruw, either via trade or free agency? I had thought that both LA teams would be in on him as well, but they each handed out absurd deals to overrated CF this offseason (Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.) so they're out. Other than Boston, where do you think he could go?

by ejruiz @ Over the Monster on Dec 25, 2006 3:22 PM EST up reply actions

Re: Andruw Jones?

For me, Ellsbury isn't the hang up -- Buchholz and Bowden are. They're going to be two special pitchers. Ellsbury could be a very good OF'er, but he may not be a sure-fire All-Star.

The Sox need to see how Coco and Wily Mo perform before they go looking for another outfielder. I think both will perform in 2007, but I'm sure Theo will keep an eye on him.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Dec 25, 2006 7:19 PM EST up reply actions