Baseball America has their Top 20 Gulf Coast League prospects out. The Sox have two players on the list; SS Tzu-Wei Lin (#8) and RHP Francellis (Frank) Montas (#20).

Couple of comments from the scouting reports (subscription required);

Lin - "After the season, Lin played in the 18-and-under world championships again and was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player."

Montas - "Montas' fastball touched 100 mph last year and did so again consistently in 2012, sitting at 94-98"

Varitek is being hired by the Sox in some capacity.

Part of the coaching staff next year?

That was my thought too. I dearly hope it's not as manager though. I don't have any clue whether or not he'd be a good manager but if they hire him for that role now it's going to have a "win the off-season" feel to it rather than a well thought out search for the right guy.

That was my thought too. I dearly hope it's not as manager though.

I agree. Maybe he could manage after being the bench coach for a while ... but I want whoever is the next manager to be able to choose his staff, rather than having Varitek foisted onto him.

I thought it was Cafardo who brought this up recently, but I cannot find it now. According to the article I read Iglesias' original contract is up and his arbitration might be prohibitive. But I looked up his contract and it had a $6million bonus with $2 million in salary. Is the figure for arbitration is salary this year, presumably around $500K and not the salary plus the amortized value of his contract?

If the original article was mistaken, it would explain why I cannot find it.

From Boston.com today this on Varitek's role;

It will probably not be as part of the major league coaching staff. “I will be involved in some way. We’re just putting the finishing touches on something and we’ll have it finalized soon," Varitek said.

Re: Iglesias I don't think he'd be arbitration eligible yet since I'm pretty certain the arb clock starts by playing in MLB, not signing an MLB contract. More importantly, there is no way his arbitration deal would come down as prohibitive. The guy who does sort of meet that criteria is Daniel Bard who even with the nightmare season probably can get a decent deal. I don't think any deal he'd get would be so outrageous as to cause the Sox any concern, particularly with the obligations they jettisoned last month.

The premise of the article was that if you are basing arbitration off of his $2 million/year average value, he can get down to only $1.5 next year. It's not prohibitive, but it's not a bargain or saving much money for the projected production.

Again, cannot find it and it was Cafardo so it may have been wrong.

Since there isn't a separate thread for it, what about an all-Fenway team that forgets the existence of Tris Speaker? CFs are Lynn, Dom DiMaggio and Reggie Smith. Also Rich Gedman as second reserve catcher!

They have Smokey Joe Wood, so it's not a question of forgetting the original championship teams.

That's what happens when you let fans vote for stuff. It was a pretty well done ceremony, lots of fun. Cool to see Clemens in the house, seems like they are greasing the skids to welcome him back in the fold fully if/when he gets elected to Cooperstown which is excellent as far as I'm concerned. Nice touch to have relatives of various deceased members of the All-Fenway teams do the "Play Ball" right before the game.

I just stumbled over this little tidbit, Cherington on Dennis & Callahan:

One of the things, as I look back at last offseason, that didn't go perfectly was simply the amount of time that we spent on the manager search and what that did to the rest of the offseason. I would like to spend less time on it this offseason, that's for sure.

Presumably this is just Cherington displaying his weakness in the art of speaking much while saying little, but it's funny regardless.

Baseball America has their top 20 for the Sally League out. The only Red Sox (Greenville) prospect to make the list was catcher Blake Swihart who clocks in at #17. From the subscription section of the scouting reports; "If Swihart continues to develop and adds discipline at the plate, he could be a plus hitter with average home run power."

Also, the Sox have secured the #7 pick in the draft for 2013. This represents a massive opportunity. The Sox have not had a lot of high picks, just one top ten pick in the last 40 years (Trot Nixon also #7 pick) which is a good thing. Here is the last 25 years worth of #7 picks from BBRef;



Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/4/2012.

Baseball America reached the Eastern League today. It's not at all surprising that the Sox did well here with Bogaerts (#2), Barnes (#3) and Bradley (#4) high on the list. Catcher Christian Vazquez checks in at #17 as well. I find myself wondering if BA inadvertently grouped the Bs together based on being teammates but even if they get shoved around a bit, say 2, 4 and 7, it's still a good showing.

I think it's somewhat interesting that Vazquez makes the list and Travis Shaw doesn't. Acknowledging positional differences that make it tricky it seems that is a different ordering of those two players than most of what I have read.

From the subscription required scouting reports;

Bogaerts - "He's capable of staying at short for a while, though he lacks the true quickness for the position and figures to outgrow it once he fills out."

Barnes - "He'll need to refine his secondary pitches as he advances, but he made good progress this year and profiles as a possible No. 2 starter."

Bradley - "He has a strong arm that also earned recognition as the league's best. He relentlessly works on his defense, shooing pitchers out of his way as he shags balls during batting practice, and opposing managers praised his dedication."

Vazquez - "With an average arm that plays up because of his quick release and sound footwork, Vazquez regularly gets the ball from home to second in 1.9 seconds."

Also, the Sox have secured the #7 pick in the draft for 2013. This represents a massive opportunity. The Sox have not had a lot of high picks, just one top ten pick in the last 40 years (Trot Nixon also #7 pick) which is a good thing. Here is the last 25 years worth of #7 picks from BBRef;

What a difference a new century makes. The 20th Century yields on HOF in Frank and one solid player in Trot while the 21st Century already has four guys better than Trot, who knows if any will reach Frank status but it looks like a much better job of drafting of late.

Nice job on the article, Jose.

John Sickels has preliminary top 50 pitchers and top 50 hitters lists out. The Sox have two hitters on the list;

#4 - Xander Bogaerts
#24 - Jackie Bradley

Top 20 from the Eastern League came out yesterday. The Sox have two players on the list; Jackie Bradley (#5) and Drake Britton (#20). Britton's name came up in two separate articles yesterday as possible compensation for Farrell. I think that would be a mistake by the Sox. Bogaerts did not spend enough time at AA to qualify for the list;

Bradley - "Though he's an average runner on the stopwatch, he has above-average speed underway and uses it uses judiciously on the basepaths and in the outfield. He has solid arm strength but needs to improve his accuracy."

Britton - "On the one hand, he's a 6-foot-2 lefty with easy 92-94 mph velocity and sinking action, the ability to spin two distinct breaking balls and frequent feel for a changeup. On the other, he appears to rattle easily and ran up a 6.56 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in 143 innings in high Class A."

EDIT - I said in #62 that was the Eastern League, that was the Hi A Carolina League. I have this mental block that Barnes is at Portland when he was never there. Of course next year when he IS there I'll be all screwed up.

Matthew Eddy who wrote the piece about the Eastern League for BA did a chat afterwards and said this about Britton;

"I've set aside his performance in the Carolina League and come to terms with the fact that few pitchers develop in a linear fashion, and with lefties, sometimes there are no rules."

I found that an interesting perspective. I think he's 100% right that pitchers don't have the smooth development (or aging) patterns that we see with hitters.

Baseball America is done with the Red Sox relevant top 20 lists after doing the International League yesterday. In what they describe as a "lean year for the league" the Sox place two in the top 20; #6 Lavarnway and #11 Iglesias;

#6 Lavarnway - "He'll never be a plus defender and has fringy arm strength, but he has a quick transfer and makes accurate throws, erasing 32 percent of IL basestealers."

#11 Iglesias - "Iglesias finished his IL tenure by batting .329/.402/.397 in August, improving his pitch recognition and ability to sting mistakes. His hands work at the plate and he has bat-to-ball skills that allow him to make contact."

#6 Lavarnway - "He'll never be a plus defender and has fringy arm strength

How does this square with their ranking him as the best defensive prospect in the IL?

How does this square with their ranking him as the best defensive prospect in the IL?

I think it was best defensive catcher in the IL, and its voted on by managers rather than BA. Apparently there are a lot of terrible defensive catchers in the IL?

How does this square with their ranking him as the best defensive prospect in the IL?

I think the comment about it being a lean year in the league may explain that. As it was Lavarnway is the only catcher listed among the top 20 prospects.

Baseball America has their draft report cards up. (sub required). It's not a graded report card, just kind of an update on what they did plus a bunch of "Best Fastball", "Fastest Runner" type stuff. A few things of note;

Closest To The Majors: Brian Johnson, provided he doesn't have any setbacks after taking a liner to the face in mid-August. (also most intriguing background, his mother was a Doublemint twin)

Power Hitter: Among the long-term hitters, 1B Nathan Minnich (8) has the most usable pop. (Johnson and Austin Maddox actually have more power according to BA but as pitchers it's not really relevant)

Best Secondary Pitch: Ty Buttrey, who signed for $1.3 million, has a knuckle-curve that needs more consistency but could develop into a true out pitch.

Top 10 prospects sayeth Baseball America.

Callis responded to a tweet saying that if eligible Middlebrooks would have been #2 and De La Rosa would have slotted in with Barnes and Webster in the 3-5 range. I think that it's encouraging that they still show Iglesias as high as they do. The other thing that I liked in their scouting reports (sub required) is they mention Bogaerts' intelligence and work ethic. That's a recurring theme that I read about him and I find that a serious positive for such a highly regarded prospect. They also reiterate the idea that a move off shortstop is more based on expectation of growth rather than an inability to handle the position.

1. Xander Bogaerts, ss
2. Jackie Bradley, of
3. Matt Barnes, rhp
4. Allen Webster, rhp
5. Henry Owens, lhp
6. Blake Swihart, c
7. Garin Cecchini, 3b
8. Bryce Brentz, of
9. Jose Iglesias, ss
10. Deven Marrero, ss

Very encouraging on Bogaerts. Interesting that Workman got "best curve" and "best control" but didn't make the top 10.

And what did Bryce Brentz do to make the top 10? I was always under the impression that his tools were unimpressive, and that he didn't have the upside that often comes along with poor control of the strike zone. He's 23, so he's not exactly super young for the high minors. There are a whole bunch of guys I expect BA will list in the 11-30 range whom I rate over Brentz.

And what did Bryce Brentz do to make the top 10?

Obviously the 30 HR he hit in 2011 have something to do with it, but like you say, he didn't really follow it up with a big power year last year, his plate discipline isn't great, and he's not getting any younger. That said, I'm not sure anyone below him has made that strong a push to move past him. It's mostly just toolsy projectable guys who haven't done much yet.

Reading the scouting report it seems that the Sox are higher on Brentz than we are and Callis is building that into his rankings. He says that the Sox view him as a "solid regular" in right field. I think Brentz gets a boost from being closer to MLB ready than the players who would be ahead of him. They aren't perfect matches for Brentz but I think you can look at Reddick and David Murphy at comparable points and make a decent case that Brentz has a future.

For what it's worth Sox Prospects has him 6th and that includes have DLR in the list.

re: Brentz

Callis gives him 65 raw power and an above average arm. Apparently a lot of the errors he made in 2011 we as a result of carelessly showing off his arm strength which is something I guess.

Pretty encouraging reports on the top 3 pitchers (Barnes, Webster, Owens) I thought and if De la Rosa is comparable to Barnes and Webster, then all off a sudden that's a pretty solid trio in the high minors. Is one #2/3 starter and a hi-lev reliever too much to ask for? That would help a lot.

Workman was addressed in the chat. A bit less stuff than the guys who made the top 10, but just missed and is a guy that gets "overlooked".

Trying not to crib too much from the subscriber chat but Manuel Margot is a guy the Sox spent some pretty good money on and Callis had this to say about him;

"Margot has the potential to be a plus hitter/runner/CF defender with average power, though he is a long ways away. There is a lot of buzz about him in Red Sox circles."

Reading the scouting reports and the chat it is clear that Callis views the Sox system as extremely deep. He mentions how much he likes the depth at one point and just in general he seems to have a lot of positive things to say about pretty much every player he is asked about. Even a high-20s guy like Coyle is someone he thinks can be a big league regular.

65 power and a plus arm? That's not bad. What about his range? I have an image in my head of Brentz as a barely-acceptable corner defender. If he's better than that, then maybe he's got some Reddick in him.

Margot had the numbers a potential star from the beginning, and I assumed he had the tools based on his signing bonus. I really like his speed and control of the strike zone in the DSL. It's great to see the Sox talking him up, too.

The Sox system is really deep, I think that's right. They had a wonderful year in the minors, even with no draftees playing particularly well in their first shots at pro ball. If they get a couple wins from the 2012 draft like they did from 2011, this system will be all kinds of awesome.

Mostly focused on Brentz power, arm and strikeouts, but mentioned average range and that he's a below average runner.

Not really in Reddick's class as an overall athlete/defender. How is Alex Gordan's range? I always assumed mediocre since he started out as a 3B, but he scores well as a defensive left fielder due to a very good arm. Seems like that's more Brentz's defensive upside.

And yeah, I'm not sure how well a below average runner really works in Fenway's RF. Maybe a surprisingly good defensive LF as an upside?

If Brentz' range is truly "average" I think that works at Fenway's RF. I think in Fenway you need a cannon arm, the ability to go back on the ball well and the smarts to play some tricky angles well. The range can be accounted for a bit because your center fielder can shade toward right a bit because of the small left field.