1) Lars Anderson, 1B, Grade A-: Will hit for power and average, I’m confident home runs will increase.
2) Michael Bowden, RHP, Grade B+: Another personal favorite, strong command of solid stuff.
3) Daniel Bard, RHP, Grade B: Can hit 100 MPH, turned things around, command still a question but huge upside.
4) Josh Reddick, OF, Grade B: At this point I’m not that worried about Double-A struggles. Not a walk machine but it seems to work for him.
5) Ryan Westmoreland, OF, Grade B: No numbers yet, this is based on scouting reports indicating power, speed, and good plate discipline.
6) Michael Almanzar, 3B, Grade B-: Needs work with strike zone judgment, but huge upside. Miguel Cabrera type? If he gets the zone under control. . .
7) Ryan Kalish, OF, Grade B-: Strong leadoff skills, and young enough for the power to come.
8) Nick Hagadone, LHP, Grade B-: Can’t rank higher than B- until we see how he comes back from Tommy John. Excellent stuff when healthy.
9) Yamaico Navarro, SS, Grade B-: Tools and youth, with good offensive upside for a middle infielder.
10) Oscar Tejeda, SS, Grade B-: Tools and youth. I will cut him some slack due to health problems this year.
SYSTEM IN BRIEF: The Red Sox have thinned out a bit at the top, but the system is recharging very quickly and is still quite deep overall. Anderson and Bowden are personal favorites. They have a mixture of tools guys and guys with polish, which I like to see, and they have a nice balance of pitchers and position players. They draft guys from high school, they draft guys from college, they spend money in Latin America and Asia. This is how a big-money team SHOULD run a farm system, and it will ensure the team is competitive for years to come.
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I recall Will Shortz relaying a story about how when he took over editing the NYT Crossword from Eugene Maleska he would get many letters saying the puzzle was too easy and just as many saying it was too difficult. He always thought about sending the opposing viewpoint letters as responses.
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