Name: Kalish, Ryan

Position: Outfielder

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

#: 55

Age: 23

Size: 6' 1" 205 lbs

Acquired: Drafted in the 9th round of the 2006 Amateur Draft

Contract:  Pre-Arb

Comments: Thanks to the departure of Casey Kelly, Kalish sits at the top of many Red Sox prospects lists. He projects to be a very good major league outfielder who can hit for some power and steal some bases. Kalish posseses the defensive prowess and speed to roam centerfield for the parent club and may be doing so in the very near future. In 2010 Ryan was forced up to the parent club primarily due to injuries and performed well for a 22 year old posting 0.252/0.305/0.405 slash line in 179 PA. While these do not look great on the surface, he performed much better in September (0.808 OPS) than in August (0.583 OPS) which could show that he needed a small adjustment period. He stole 10 bases in only 53 games, getting caught only once.

Career Stats (minors)

PA: 1590

BA: 0.284

OBP: 0.372

SLG: 0.438

OPS: 0.810

HR/SB: 40/85

Unique Stat: In 2010, Kalish played at 3 levels, AA, AAA and the Majors. Between those three levels he hit 17 HR and stole 35 bases.

Analysis: Kalish showed in 2010 that he is either ready or nearly ready to play in the majors. It's not hard to fathom that he will slide right into J.D. Drew's spot as the team's starting RF in 2012. What is done with Kalish in 2011 is a bit of a mystery, although the indications are that he will start in Pawtucket to get max playing time. The likelyhood of him seeing more time with Boston in 2011 is very high either due to injury, lack of performance or as a September call-up if everything works out with the starting outfielders. He projects to be a 20/20 type outfielder with above average defense at any of the outfield positions.

Tomorrow: John Lackey