2012 Red Sox Top Prospect Voting: Let's Get This Thing Started

Lavarnway has definitely had more success than WMB, but I don’t hold minor league numbers to be king when evaluating prospects. WMB still has to work on pitch recognition and his K/BB rates are a little alarming, but if he can work on that he could round out into a consistently plus offensive contributor with plus defense at third. He has a very good swing and generates a lot of power; if he can cut down on the strikeouts, he should be able to hit for a decent average and walk rate along with his plus power.

Lavarnway, on the other hand, has consistently produced but is not brimming with tools. I doubt his ability to play first, so I see him really as a C/DH type. I believe he can work up to a mediocre/average defender behind the plate, and that would be fine if the Sox get a defense-first backup catcher. I would imagine Lavarnway will only catch 3-4 times a week during his peak seasons, with the other days off or at DH. I wouldn’t really be surprised if Lavarnway ends up as a three true outcomes hitter, although he might be able to hit for a solid average (.270-.280 range).

and how likely they are to actually make the majors.

…but yeah, I think a V-Mart comp as a reasonable ceiling is probably a better one. Good call. This still makes him a top 50 to 75-ish prospect, but I think that’s appropriate for a plus offensive “catch enough” guy.

I sort of felt like he was moved around to keep his bat in the line up, but not enough to consider him a top 5 catcher.

There are, at best, vague questions because of the midseason jump to AAA that resulted in a pretty mediocre line at AAA. He’s been improving every year, and has great bat speed.

But the book on him is that it’s still far from a lock that he can play the position. Hence giving him this year at Triple A.

Middlebrooks has improved at the plate ever year. I may certainly be mistaken, but my impression was always that he’s a plus player defensively, with maybe not a “Sox” caliber bat. Last year was a big step forward, we’ll see if he can hold the power.

Though I believe both have noted his improvement.

Given that he was coming off injury and entering his first year facing the rigors of professional baseball. He actually had a really strong debut in Greenville before tapering off in Salem, but even there he was decent given the post-promotion aspect. Looks like he’ll be able to start comfortably in Salem and hit Portland around June. If things go well, he could be starting in Triple-A at 23, which is about what you’re looking for.

I might have thrown one to Kalish, even though he’s clearly not going to win.

Injury and all, I still think he may be the best player we have on this list when we look back in 10 years.

way to go everyone.

Rizzo and Kelly haven’t been doing too great (unfortunately for the reputation of the Sox’ system). Gonzo hasn’t blocked any prospects—just Lars and a Beltre re-signing, the latter of which might have blocked Middlebrooks. Crawford could potentially block someone toward the end of his deal, but right now we’re in need of an OFer even with Crawford (though of course his contract is a burden in regard to acquiring players from outside the system).

So it’s not like the farm has produced a “very good” team that somehow Theo ruined by acquiring other players. Masterson is the only prospect that comes to my mind who has been dealt since the last championship and who we currently miss. But I think it’s hard to argue too severely against the V-Mart trade.

He’s still so young compared to those around him, and he already got moved up to the big league club for his defense and speed. If he can acheive the growth with the bat at AAA this year that he missed due to rapid advancement, he could put himself back into the top 5 by the time we do this next year, right?