It's been a heck of a year for Felix Doubront.
One year ago, Doubront was in a bit of a purgatory within the Red Sox system. Make no mistake, he was a solid prospect, but he was always sort of hanging around the edges, never drawing as much attention as the big names in the system.
For a guy with that sort of reputation, Double-A is one of the big potential proving grounds, but really it seemed more that what Felix had to prove was that he could hold down "prospect" status at all. He did more, blowing through the level with a 2.51 ERA in just 43 innings before hitting Triple-A. And, again, he really just didn't have any trouble at all where guys like him are supposed to struggle.
Of course, what's got him so high in Red Sox fans' eyes is that he then hit the majors and held his own with some solid starts and relief pitching. Not dominant, but very nice from a rookie up until he surrendered a couple of bombs to the Orioles in his last appearance.
A sad farewell, but one that still has Red Sox fans hoping that he'll be taking a role with the team. If he doesn't make it this year (as a lefty reliever after dominating southpaws in his short MLB stint), than don't be surprised if a good year has the Nation calling for Daisuke's rotation spot.
OK, that went a bit long, so let's move on.
1. Ryan Kalish, OF
2. Anthony Ranaudo, RHP
3. Jose Iglesias, SS
4. Felix Doubront, LHP
Same system as before. Recs are votes, prospect profiles can be found here, and vote away!