Prospects on the Sea Dogs

Between all the rainouts and away games, there's not been a lot momentum at the Sea Blog. I thought I would fill the void by going back to John Sickels' listing of Boston's top prospects heading into this season, and see who is on the Portland roster.

1) Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, B+. Good bat, good glove. Through yesterday's games, Ellsbury was tearing up the EL to the tune of 455/500/705-0-9 with 9 extra base hits and four steals through 10 games. He could play himself up to Pawtucket before the All Star game.

2) Clay Buchholtz, RHP, B+. "Good combination of stuff and command," which makes him sound a bit like Jonathan Papelbon. He's only made two starts for Portland, with a 3.82 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10/2 K/BB ratio in 9.2 innings pitched.

10) Bryce Cox, RHP, B-. A reliever, but not a closer. He's another guy that I haven't seen pitch. Cox has been effective thus far. He's appeared in four games without allowing a run over 7 innings pitched.

17) Jed Lowrie, 2B/SS, C+. He's got good on-base skills, but disappointed a bit last season. Through nine games, he's hitting 212/270/364-1-3.

19) Jeff Natale, 2B, C+. Another diminutive (5' 9") middle infielder who is surprisingly good with the bat. Just 147/333/176-0-2 through the first 10 games, but the six walks belie good plate discipline. Last year, Natale hit 304/446/469-17-87 with 103 walks between Greenville and Wilmington. At 24, he's a little on the old side for a prospect, but if he continues to hit he'll have a career.

Others of note: OF Jeff Corsaletti (303/395/364-0-6); LHP Tommy Hottovy (6.00 ERA in 9 IP); RHP Kyle Jackson (9.64 ERA with 7 walks in 3.2 IP);