The Free Agency Free 2013 Boston Red Sox -- Starting Pitching

For new prospect watchers, overvaluing the top guys in their team's system is a common problem. Without having years of experience watching guys grow through the minors before failing in the majors, it's easy to start thinking of players as "sure things" that they most assuredly are not. Trades that a year ago would've seemed like fantastic ideas due to the lack of MLB-level players leaving their team become suddenly undesirable as names they now recognize start to get sent all over the country.

Rather than attempt to curtail this problem, though, I feel the need to instead indulge it. So, for the rest of the week, I'll be creating the (near) perfect-world scenario team for the Red Sox a few years down the line, all without the use of free agency. For the sake of this exercise, the Sox will be able to resign players who would become free agents during the time between now and the start of 2013.

Today we'll start with the starters.

The top-2 names in the rotation are not going to be surprising. Josh Beckett is a prime candidate for a contract extension next season, and the Sox are unlikely to let him get away without a fight. Jon Lester is already signed through 2013 with a team option for 2014, and barring massive regression he, too, is here to stay.

From there, we have a number of options to fill out the last 3 spots. Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract will run out after 2012, and with his quirky pitching tendencies, inconsistencies, and disagreements with management it's not unlikely that he will leave the team if he hasn't already been traded. Clay Buchholz and Casey Kelly have to be the next two names on the list. Each of them are projected as top-of-the-rotation starters and have put up incredible numbers in the minors. Buchholz has had mixed results in the majors, but I still expect him to be a #2 guy at worst. So let's slot them in at #3 and #4 respectively. This leaves a plethora of names still in the running for the #5 slot, making it the first contested position.

5^th Rotation Spot Candidates: Michael Bowden, Junichi Tazawa, Stolmy Pimentel, Felix Doubront, Stephen Fife

Winner - Stolmy Pimentel gets the nod from me here. Of the 5, Bowden, Pimentel, and Fife are the ones who can reach the mid-90s with their fastball, but Pimentel is the one most likely to hit it consistently later if he fills out. He also brings youth, being 2-3 years younger than the other candidates, and a couple of very good secondary pitches. His repertoire may be on the small side, but his curve and change are more likely to be major-league level pitches than some of the others' secondary stuff.