With the minor-league regular season over, it's time to look back at what the farm has accomplished in 2012. The plan is go to team-by-team, as we did for our daily prospect updates, but this time around, we'll review by position, so you get a sense of where the Red Sox are strong and where they are lacking depth.
Previous entries: Lowell Spinners Middle Infielders
Jose Vinicio, SS
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 18 | Lowell | NYPL | A- | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
2012 | 18 | Greenville | SALL | A | 278 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 56 | .277 | .320 | .371 |
3 Seasons | 650 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 56 | 22 | 27 | 117 | .271 | .313 | .381 |
The Red Sox don't have many middle infield prospects at Greenville at the moment, but Jose Vinicio merits your attention. This was his age-18 season, and he hit .277/.320/.371 in a league where your average position player .258/.334/.384, but was also nearly 22 years old. He's raw in all respects, but has tools that should develop both offensively and defensively.
Vinicio is one of the many shortstop prospects in the system, and will likely be in High-A Salem in 2013 to make room for Boston's first-round selection from this past summer, Deven Marrero. It's a heady assignment for Vinicio, considering he'll still be a teenager, and didn't have the kind of stint at Greenville that Xander Bogaerts had in 2011 before the same age-related promotion. It'll be a good challenge for him, though, given he needs to develop pitch recognition and plate discipline.
Bryan Johns, 2B
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 23 | Portland | EL | AA | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .143 | .143 | .143 |
2012 | 23 | Greenville | SALL | A | 302 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 50 | 56 | .232 | .371 | .303 |
2012 | 23 | Salem | CARL | A+ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .143 | .250 | .143 |
2 Seasons | 374 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 76 | .214 | .337 | .273 |
Johns played at three levels, but most of his work came at Low-A Greenville. There wasn't a whole lot to like offensively here, as he didn't hit for any power whatsoever, and hit all of .232. The on-base percentage looked good, though, thanks to a 17 percent walk rate, especially when compared to his 18 percent punch out rate. Johns' potential is as a utility player, but he'll have to do something that resembles hitting in order to get to that point. Considering he might be 24 years old and still in Low-A in 2013, hoping for that could be a bit much.
*****
Jose Garcia, 2B/SS
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | 21 | Greenville | SALL | A | 400 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 9 | 45 | 88 | .251 | .338 | .367 |
5 Seasons | 1544 | 57 | 11 | 25 | 90 | 33 | 133 | 374 | .234 | .307 | .346 |
Garcia has been in Boston's organization for a while now, as he was signed back in 2008. Nearly everything in Garcia's game is just missing from where it needs to be, as Sox Prospects points out. He rushes plays defensively, despite having the tools to be an above-average defender. He has plate discipline, but also strikes out quite a bit for someone who doesn't have much power. His batspeed should do more for him, but his swing can get long. He's too aggressive, especially for someone with his mediocre pitch recognition. There's a lot of work that needs to be done here to get Garcia to the point where he can be considered a legitimate prospect, and not just another organizational middle infielder who still has youth on his side.