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With the winter meetings over, the focus now shifts to what teams have on the farm and what they can expect in the spring. We're a little too early for the latter just now, given it's still 2015 and all and really, still the fall, but prospects are another story. Baseball America released their Red Sox top-10 on Wednesday, and the key takeaway is that, after a series of promotions over the last few years and the trade for Craig Kimbrel, this is still a loaded system.
The list falls off a little after the first five names, but all five of them are likely top-100 prospects, and the first four might very well be top-50 or top-30 types, depending on who you ask. That's after trading Manuel Margot and Javier Guerra for Kimbrel, and after promotions for Eduardo Rodriguez, Blake Swihart, and Henry Owens in 2015.
The scouting reports for Boston's top-10 are subscriber only, but the list itself is available for free:
- Yoan Moncada
- Rafael Devers
- Andrew Benintendi
- Anderson Espinoza
- Michael Kopech
- Brian Johnson
- Sam Travis
- Deven Marrero
- Luis Alexander Basabe
- Michael Chavis
Let's not act like the six through 10 spots are full of nobodies, either. Brian Johnson could be a starter in the majors, or maybe an even more successful lefty out of the pen thanks to his control. Sam Travis could have a future as a big-league first baseman. Deven Marrero's glove is big-league worthy, even if his bat never quite gets there. Michael Chavis was a first-round pick in 2013, finished the season with a strong power showing -- he had a .215 Isolated Power from July onward -- and will still be 20 years old as the 2016 minor-league season approaches its end.
Now, those aren't potential star-level players, but they do show you that, while there is an apparent drop off in talent, it's not as if the Sox system is four or five guys and then nothing. Plus, it's not just about the prospects yet to become big-league players. If you wanted to construct a top-10 for under-25 players on the Red Sox, you could, and it would be ridiculous. Like, say:
- Xander Bogaerts
- Mookie Betts
- Yoan Moncada
- Eduardo Rodriguez
- Blake Swihart
- Andrew Benintendi
- Rafael Devers
- Anderson Espinoza
- Henry Owens
- Michael Kopech
The oldest player on that list is Swihart, who will be 24 on April 3. You could argue a few of those players could be shuffled around, but the important thing is that Boston has all of them. The Red Sox youth movement is going just fine.