Head over to John Sickel's MinorLeagueBall.com to find his rating of Boston's top 20 prospects in the farm system that he posted today.
Here's how he rates them:
Hanley Ramirez, SS, A-
Jon Papelbon, RHP, B+
Brandon Moss, OF, B+
Anibal Sanchez, RHP, B
Jon Lester, LHP, B
Dustin Pedroia, SS, B
Christian Lara, SS, B-
Luis Soto, SS, B-
Kelly Shoppach, C, B-
Abe Alvarez, LHP, B-
Ian Bladergroen, 1B, B-
Andrew Dobies, LHP, B-
Manny Delcarmen, RHP, C+
Jeremy West, 1B, C+
Mickey Hall, OF, C+
Cla Meredith, RHP, C+
Tommy Hottovy, LHP, C+
David Pauley, RHP, C+
Mike Rozier, LHP, C+
Kyle Bono, RHP, C+
I also did my own Top-10 rating when Minor League Ball first came out. Here's how I broke them down at the time (I also added where they are predicted to start in 2005):
Hanley Ramirez, SS, AA, 21
Jon Lester, SP, AA, 21
Abe Alvarez, SP, AAA, 22
Jon Papelbon, SP, AA, 24
Brandon Moss, OF, A (high), 21
Anibal Sanchez, SP, A (high), 21
Dustin Pedroia, SS, A (high), 20
Manny Declarmen, SP, AA, 23
Juan Cedeno, SP/RP, AA, 21
Kelly Shoppach, C, AAA, 24
The only thing we agreed on completely was Hanley Ramirez being the number one prospect in the Sox's system. But our one through six picks are the same, just in a different order.
Our biggest difference in opinion is where Abe Alvarez is slotted. I have him ranked high, because I really like Abe, and think he'll have a solid career, but Sickels seems not to have faith in his "stuff."
I also have Juan Cedeno at number nine for my list, but he is mysteriously absent for Sickels' list. Maybe he forgot about him, but I definently think Cedeno is more of a prospect at this point in time than Mike Rozier.
I'll be going more in-depth on Sox prospects before the season begins, as I enjoy to watch them and rank them. I'll be providing a weekly update on four Sox prospects so readers of Over The Monster can keep an eye on them as well.