Future #4: The Boston Red Sox

Why they're ranked fourth:

Boston has one of the premier offenses in the game. They use a great blend of speed and power, and 1-9 they're very athletic. The pitching has tremendous upside, but it's currently a work in progress until those ceilings get met. They Sox have a lot of money tied up, but they have just as much coming off the books in the next year. The biggest issue is farm depth: between 2005-2008 the Sox looked to have one of the deepest systems, but whether prospects busting (Lars Anderson and Joshua Reddick), needing brain surgery (#1 Sox prospect for '09 Ryan Westmoreland), or the trade for Gonzalez (Kelly, Fuentes, and Rizzo) the farm has thinned out. To propel them further in the rankings the Red Sox need to prove they can still develop able bodied position players.

TEAM: Boston Red Sox

LEAGUE: American League
DIVISION: East

Top Pitching Prospect: Anthony Ranaudo

Top Hitting Prospect: Ryan Westmoreland

Marquee Player: Dustin Pedroia

Future Lineup

Lineup Number. Name: Position, Bats- Best Tools

"The Rat" does it all for the BoSox

1. Ryan Kalish: Rightfield, LH- 5-tools

2. Dustin Pedroia: 2^nd Base, RH- 5-tools

3. Adrian Gonzalez: 1^st Base, LH- Power/Patience/ Defense

4. Kevin Youkilis: 3^rd Base, RH- Power/Patience/Defense

5. Carl Crawford: Leftfield, LH- Speed/Defense

6. Jed Lowrie: DH, S- Patience

7. Ryan Lavarnway: Catcher, RH- Power

8. Jacoby Elsbury: Centerfield, LH- Speed

9. Jose Iglesias: Shortstop, RH- Defense

Future Rotation

Name, Throws

1. Jon Lester, LHP

2. Clay Buchholz, RHP

3. Anthony Ranaudo, RHP

4. Drake Britton, LHP

5. Josh Beckett, RHP

Closer: Daniel Bard

Overall Evaluation

Areas of Improvement:

They have a lot of money locked up in Josh Beckett and John Lackey. Both have upside, but struggled last season. Carl Crawford will be locked up for a while and the Sox are banking that his athleticism lasts into his 30s. Despite Lavarnway’s offensive upside he’ll continue a long line of defensively inept Boston catchers. The farm system lacks in upper echelon talent, and no one really sticks out in the lower levels.

Outfield:

The Sox outfield is incredibly athletic. Elsbury and Crawford have awesome speed. Ryan Kalish has developed into a  5-tool player and he has a lot of potential. He’s a shoe-in 20-20 player; his ceiling might be closer to 30-30. A big hump will be seeing how Elsbury recovers from 2010 injuries, and how Crawford ages.

Infield:

The corners have ridiculous offensive clout. Even if the Sox can’t resign A-Gon in 2010 they can attack Fielder and Pujols through free agency. Dustin Pedroia was on the verge of a 20-20 season before getting hurt in 2010, and he’s hitting his prime years.

Rotation:

Lester gets better every year; he’s a top 10 starter, and he’s just 27. Clay Buchholz has a well-groomed changeup and could be an ace on most teams. Anthony Ranaudo was considered the best pitching prospect in ’09 before getting hurt. He fell to the Sox late in the 2010 draft and he’s got a great ceiling. Drake Britton has already been compared to lefties like Danks and Lester and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop.

Intangibles:

The Sox brass has worked to emphasis defense and it’s working. They have an athletic outfield that can cover a lot of ground. A-Gon and Youkilis are both gold glove winners. Once he hits the Bigs, Jose Iglesias will be a vacuum and pair great with Dustin Pedroia.

Boston also has a great young core that is combined with a great batch of veterans with playoff experience. Combine that with one of the best player’s managers in the league and you have a fantastic blend of personality.

On top of it all Boston will be shedding a lot of money after 2011. They’ll be losing big contracts in J.D. Drew and David Ortiz and that’ll give them a lot of financial flexibility. Epstein has made it a priority to lock up young players, and he’s done so with Youkili, Pedroia, and Lester.