Minor League Notebook: Masterson promoted, Bard dominating

It's time to take a look and see how some Sox minor leaguers are doing so far this season.

Justin Masterson (AAA) - RHP
1 gs, 1.50 era, 6.0 ip, 4 h, 1 bb, 4 so

Masterson made his first start for Pawtucket last night, with good results. After his first start with the Red Sox, he went back down to AA Portland and seemed to struggle a little bit. He finished his tenure with Portland after eight starts with a 4.23 era and 37 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Not the best stats, but he seems to be a pitcher that does better against better competition.

Lars Anderson (A+) - 1B
159 at-bats, 7 hr, 23 rbi, .277/.383/.484

Anderson hasn't played since May 18, but after a slow start he has started to pour it on. Anderson, the best power prospect in the Sox system right now, hasn't really hit his full stride yet in Lancaster. He may benefit from a promotion to AA Portland.

Michael Bowden (AA) - RHP
11 gs, 2.20 era, 61.1 ip, 39 h, 16 bb, 58 so

Bowden started slow but has been great so far for Portland. If you like Clay Buchholz, you'll like Bowden. They're basically out of the same mold. I'd like to see a few more strikeouts out of Bowden, but no one can complain about his performance thus far.

Jon Still (A+) - C
181 at-bats, 13 hr, 32 rbi, .282/.374/.552

No one could have guessed Still's fast start. You might know the names Dusty Brown and George Kottaras, but this guess is trying to get his name in that "future Red Sox catcher" list. Still is a player that has always had a lot of potential but we've just never seen him do anything at all really. He's finally found his stroke. He's playing above his ability when it comes to power, but if he can keep up the batting average and OBP then we have a pretty strong group of catchers in the system.

Josh Reddick (A+) - OF
137 at-bats, 6 hr, 22 rbi, .343/.397/.491

Reddick, who was promoted from A Greenville after 14 games, has been mashing the ball at Lancaster -- like most players. His numbers are great, but they're inflated because he's in Lancaster. Reddick could be a really good player, but we'll need to make a better judgement on him when he heads to Portland.

Kris Johnson (AA) - LHP
11 gs, 4.25 era, 53.0 ip, 65 h, 23 bb, 37 so

Before Johnson's start yesterday (2.2 ip, 6 er), his numbers looked a lot sexier than those above. Johnson's season has been good, but his K/BB will bite him in the ass at the higher levels. If he doesn't start allowing less walks and get those strikeouts up, he'll get burned.

Hunter Jones (AAA) - LHP
5 g, 1.00 era, 9 ip, 6 h, 1 bb, 6 so

Don't know the name? Learn it. Jones is an older prospect (24) but he's been pitching lights out for awhile now. The stats above are misleading (though good). His stats from Portland: 22.2 ip, 1.19 era, 26 so, 4 bb. But get this: when he pitched in Lancaster last season (LANCASTER!) he had a 2.11 era in 47 innings. That's a true test of a pitcher. I'm not saying he's going to be the future closer of the Red Sox or anything like that, but come September (at the latest) I think we'll see him pitching for the Sox. You will hear his name sooner rather than later.

Daniel Bard (AA) - RHP
5 g, 1.17 era, 7.2 ip, 3 h, 2 bb, 10 so

Remember Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh from Bull Durham? Bard used to be him. Used to be. Now he's a stud. Before his promotion to Portland, Bard had 43 strikeouts in 28 innings for Greenville. But more impressively, he had just 4 walks to go along with that. This guy's going to be fun to watch.

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More prospects next time. This should wet your whistle, though, in the meantime. The Red Sox have a ton of prospects, some doing great, some doing horribly, but these are just a few to watch. If you want more information on Red Sox prospects, check out MiLB.com.