Last Year's Prospects

Last year was an exciting year for the Sea Dogs, with a bunch of top prospects coming through town, with a handful of middling prospects along for the ride as well. Let's see how they are all doing this year.

1B Jeremy West: Earned a return trip to Portland, where he has hit 294/364/462-8-46 in 85 games, mainly as a DH. He needs to hit for more power to make an impact in the big leagues, I believe.

2B Dustin Pedroia: He was promoed to AAA mid-season last year and remains there this year. Started slowly this year following a Spring Training injury, but has heated up lately: 307/382/431-3-32 in 80 games with an impressive 35/24 BB/K ratio. He should be in Boston in September, and I expect him to start for the BoSox next season.

SS Hanley Ramirez: Traded to Florida in the offseason as part of the package for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell, Ramirez has hit 271/336/433-9-30 with 26 steals over 90 games as the Marlins starting shortstop. That's pretty darn good for a 22 year old middle infielder.

LF Chris Durbin: Durbin performed well for the Sea Dogs last year and made the EL all star team. He was returned to Portland and has been plagued by injuries for much of the year. He is hitting 261/348/394-4-23 in 62 games on the season. His power numbers are down, which could be a result of the injuries. He was always a C/C+ prospect and I think he's still there, meaning he'll probably be 4th/5th OF in the majors some day.

CF David Murphy: He was also returned to Portland at the start of the season, but was promoted to Pawtucket after a month. He's really taken a shine to AAA, hitting 306/391/543-6-28 in 48 games for the PawSox. He's truly re-established his prospect status this year, after looking like a first-round bust as recently as last June.

RF Brandon Moss: He's sort of the opposite of Murphy. Moss had a huge year in 2004, then was OK in Portland last season (making the EL All Star game), leading many to assume he would be promoted to AAA. Instead, he was returned to the Sea Dogs, for whom he started very slowly. He's rebounded to hit 275/339/425-8-60 in 91 games. Moss has turned into a bit of an enigma, with impressive power numbers (including 29 doubles), but quite a bit of trouble with contact (75 K's). At 22 he's still quite young, and doubles at this age often translate to home runs in a couple of years. I believe that he can still establish himself as a solid major leaguer.

SP Jonathan Papelbon: When he left Portland last June he was known simply as Jon. Started a few games for the Sox last season, then came back as a setup man at the end of the season. He was quite effective in that role, but was given the keys to the closer's job when Keith Foulke proved not to be ready. He's been pretty good in that role: 44 G, 50 IP, 2-1, 0.54 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 29/32 in saves, 50K/9BB. Simply dominant. I still believe he'll be in the starting rotation as early as next year - his stuff is too good to limit to 80 innings per year.

SP Jon Lester: Yet another 22 year old. Lester didn't lengthen his name upon his promotion to Boston in June, but otherwise has also shown himself to be major league ready. In 8 starts for the Red Sox, he's 5-0, 2.38 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 37K/29BB in 45.1 innings. The walk rate (and, as a result, WHIP) is too high, but Papelbon's was pretty high last year, too. As Lester gains confidence, I think the walk rate will come down, and then look out. He's already proven to be a battler, bearing down with runners on base and keeping runs off the board despite allowing quite a few base runners. His ceiling is very very high.

SP Anibal Sanchez: He also went to the Marlins in the Beckett/Lowell trade. Sanchez started the year in AAA, but was recalled to Florida at the end of June. Sanchez has allowed just three hits and zero runs total over his last two starts, and is now 3-0, 3.41, 1.24, 15/12 in 29 innings. Sanchez doesn't have a history of walking a lot of batters, so I expect the K/BB to improve quite a bit. He's a month younger than Lester and another high-ceiling guy, though prior injuries are a concern for him.

SP David Pauley: He's sort of the pitching version of Durbin - a pretty good AA player who probably is in line for a bullpen or 5th-starter role in the majors. Pauley dominated the Eastern League, was called to Boston for three spot starts with limited success (7.88 ERA, 2.31 WHIP), then returned to Pawtucket where he has continued to struggle: 6 starts, 34.1 IP, 1-2, 5.24, 1.66, 11K/15BB. Not too good, but he's young for the league at age 23.

RP Cla Meredith: He was here for a very short time at the beginning of 2005 (in fact, I never got to see him pitch) but looked pretty good at that time. He had his struggles in Boston and Pawtucket after leaving Portland, then he was sent to San Diego in the deal to return Doug Mirabelli to the Red Sox this spring. He finally regained his form pitching for the Portland Beavers (3-0, 1.39, 0.93, 24/4 in 32.1 IP), and he's gone 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 8 innings pitched for the Padres.

RP Manny Delcarmen: He spent half the season playing for the Sea Dogs in 2005 before shuttling between AAA and the majors over the last couple of months. This year he seems to have established himself as one of Terry Francona's top setup men, appearing in 25 games with a 1-0 record, 3.25 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 24/8 K/BB ratio in 27.2 innings pitched. He's gained confidence in his ability to get major league batters out, and it shows in his July numbers: 1 run, 11 K's in 10.2 innings.

RP Edgar Martinez: El Guapo, Jr. is a raw pitcher with a lot going for him, including a mid-90's fastball and good control. He's been given the opportunity to be "the Man" in the Portland bullpen and has been mostly up to the task: 2-3, 8 saves, 45.2 innings, 2.96 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 42K/14BB. He got bit by the home run bug and struggled for a few weeks in June, but seems to be back on track.

RP Craig Hansen: The prize from the 2005 draft, Hansen started the season in Portland to pitch on a program to develop his repertoire beyond a 97 mph fastball and 88 mph slider. (Why he would need more than that, I don't know!) When AA hitters proved to be no test, the program was moved to Pawtucket. When "Proven Veterans" proved to be ineffective in Boston's bullpen, Hansen was given a chance for the big team. He's done OK so far: 15 IP, 1-0, 4.20 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 13/3 K/BB ratio. He's a few innings behind Delcarmen and Lester in learning to trust his stuff to be good enough in the big leages, but he's getting there. Hansen is the guy that I believe will allow Papelbon to return to the rotation.

Wow! That's 14 top prospects who came through town in 2005. Of those 13:

• 7 are currently contributing to major league teams, four with Boston, and one has established himself as a bonafide star (Papelbon). I believe all seven have solid major league careers in front of them.
• 2 have been promoted to AAA and are playing very well at that level, possibly setting dates for their major league debuts before the end of the season.
• 1 has made his major league debut and is currently adjusting to AAA.
• 4 remain in Portland, where all have played well if failing to tear up the league. I believe that two of these guys (Moss and Martinez) are still in line to make significant contributions at the major league level.

Not taking anything away from this year's team, which remains in first place in the EL North, but last year at Hadlock was a special time to watch some terrific prospects come through town. The Red Sox continue to draft good players, however, and perhaps it won't be long before we have another house full of up-and-coming stars in town.