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Stephen Drew is feeling better, for the most part, but not quite well enough to move on to the next step that will allow him to return to action. Drew suffered a concussion against the Twins last week, when he was hit on the helmet by a pitch, and has not played since while dealing with the concussion symptoms.
According to Maureen Mullen, Drew has not yet taken the concussion test that is required of him in order to get back on the field -- chances are good this means that the symptoms, while lessened, have not entirely vanished. Concussions are tricky, so until he's officially cleared to play again, everyone is going to be cautious. In fact, they have to be, as we discussed earlier this week. It's against the rules to not be cautious with a concussion, even if the player in question never goes on MLB's seven-day disabled list specifically created for concussions.
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We're less than three weeks from the start of the season, so there aren't very many top 100 prospect lists left to be published. Fangraphs released their own on Monday, giving us one fewer to wait for. Marc Hulet, who handles much of the prospect duties at Fangraphs, ranked four Red Sox prospects in the top 100. Really, though, he ranked four Boston prospects in the top 55, and none in the next 45.
You might think you can guess the order, but Hulet is one of the few who approves of Matt Barnes over Jackie Bradley. Therefore, we end up with Xander Bogaerts (#5), Barnes (#41), Bradley (#54), and Allen Webster (#55). Hulet doesn't have scouting reports up for each player -- in fact, the only Sox report is that of Bogaerts:
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston (2013 LVL: AA/AAA, ETA:2014 ): Bogaerts displayed uncanny power for a teenager in 2012, while also hitting more than .300. He has to tighten up his plate discipline and there are questions about his ability to stick at shortstop long term but his ceiling is immense.
He does, however, break things down a bit. The Red Sox have the second-most prospects in the AL East, behind the Rays, and are tied for fourth-most in the AL, with the Astros, and behind the Rays, Rangers, and Twins. Overall, they're in a five-way tie for eighth-most, as the Nationals, Reds, Dodgers, and Astros all have four as well.
For what it's worth, unless you're super lazy, you can get to Hulet's full reports easily enough. And if you are lazy, well, just click here, as it contains scouting reports for Boston's top 15 prospects.