Red Sox Advanced Minors Prospects To Watch
Tomorrow the Boston Red Sox will open their season in Philadelphia. They will carry 2014 minor leaguers such as Mookie Betts, and they will see plenty of new stars emerge from their system. But where can you watch them in 2015?
Pawtucket
The Pawtucket Red Sox will be the host of plenty of elite prospects. Garin Cecchini, Bryce Brentz, and Devin Marrero are all nearly major league ready. If and when an outfielder goes down, Brentz will be there to provide an extra right handed bat.
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Mareno will also be up if there is an injury to a middle infielder. Don’t expect Dustin Pedroia to play every game like he usually does; manager John Farrell will have an eye on giving him days off. Marerro could be an answer there. Brock Holt would likely play second base in a time of need, but Marerro offers ample backup for Xander Bogaraets at shortstop with the utility role gone.
The PawSox players that fans likely have their eye on the most is outfielder Rusney Castillo. Castillo shouldn’t be in Pawtucket for long, especially if he lights it up.
Lastly for the offense, Blake Swihart might be up before fans think. The catching super-prospect would surely be called on if he hits in Triple A and the Red Sox catching situation gets dire. Christian Vazquez is out for the season, and a combo of Ryan Hanigan and Sandy Leon does not seem sustainable.
Matt Barnes is starting the season in Pawtucket as a starter, but if and when the Red Sox need a relief pitcher, Barnes is a good pitcher to have in a one inning situation. Top lefties Brian Johnson and Henry Owens will also get looks if the pitching depth struggles, as it might project to do.
Keep Your Eye On: It might be time to shine for Sean Coyle. He will start at second base and the 2010 third rounder might finally have a chance to breakout. Like many others in the system, he is blocked from the big leagues, but might be an underrated trade chip. He hit .295 in Portland was a .375 OBP.
Portland
Typically, a Double A team has an organization’s top prospects. That’s not exactly the case for Boston, who has many advanced prospects in Pawtucket.
Portland’s strengths come from three sleeper prospects, starting with outfielder Kuery De La Cruz. The 23 year old hit .295 in 70 games with Portland last season, and one season later should be even more developed. If and when Castillo is sent to Boston, De La Cruz could end up in Pawtucket.
22 year old outfielder Henry Ramos broke out in 2014 with Portland, hitting .326 in his 48 games with the Double A club. It’s the highest he has hit by far in any window of opportunity, and he’s young enough to emerge as a top prospect this season.
Jantzen White is a name that has emerged out of nowhere after being a 24th round pick in 2013. He hit .330 in 65 games with the Greenville Drive last season and showed power with eight home runs. He was bumped up to Salem where he kept it up with a .296 average. Now he will be the starting third baseman on a Portland roster reaching for prospects to develop.