Lowell Spinners update: Manuel Margot, Ty Buttrey, Jamie Callahan

Manuel Margot, OF

Margot was Sox Prospects' 2012 Dominican Summer League player of the year, and with good reason. He made contact, he walked a ton, and he even hit for what constitutes power in that league -- the average slugging was .330 in 2012 in the DSL, and the average line was .243/.337/.330. Now, Margot is 18 years old, and stepping into short-season ball in the New York-Penn League.

Margot profiles as a center fielder, according to Sox Prospects, and he has the potential to develop power. While his approach is promising, he still needs to work on pitch recognition -- more advanced pitchers will afford him that opportunity.

*****

Ty Buttrey, RHP

Buttrey was Boston's fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft, and though he's out of high school, he's already 20 this year -- it's a good thing he got to spend time, even five innings, in the Gulf Coast League before the year ended given that. He's already 6-foot-6 and with the kind of weight you want in a pitcher that tall. The thing to watch with Buttrey will be his velocity -- it fell last spring before he was drafted, but that was attributed to his bouncing between starting and relief. There's a very good chance Buttrey is the best pitcher the Red Sox selected in the 2012 draft -- this is why they were willing to go roughly $1 million over slot for him -- and Lowell could be, for all intents and purposes, his first step towards realizing that potential.

*****

Jamie Callahan, RHP

Callahan went in the second round, and unlike Buttrey, was a bit younger than most high school arms. He's now just 18 years old, and will be that age until nearly the end of August. He didn't pitch well in limited time as Buttrey's teammate on the GCL Red Sox, but it's 8-2/3 innings from a pitcher who wasn't old enough to vote yet, so we can cut him some slack.

Sox Prospects says his fastball sits 88-92, but sometimes hits the mid-90s. He also features a curve, a slider, and a change-up, but as you'd expect from a teenager, they aren't finished products, and won't be for some time -- he'll be focusing more on his fastball than anything in short-season ball. There's a lot to like about Callahan, especially with his youth, and if he and Buttrey can take some steps forward right out of the gate, there will be plenty of quality pitching in Lowell. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though: this is basically the first real pro pitching either has done.

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