John Sickles top 20 Red Sox prospects 2012

[sinkhole]

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/12/13/2633672/boston-red-sox-top-20-prospects-for-2012#storyjump

He loves Matt Barnes. A B+ is a high grade for a pitcher who has not faced pros yet. Sickles must have loved his Uconn tape.

Getting Shoppach today means Ryan Lavarnway may be the Sox version of Jesus all stick no postion. There are worse problems to have.

I know very little about top prospect Xander Bogaerts.

Jose Iglesias and Lars Anderson have dropped. They may regret moving Anderson when his value was higher.

Overall the Sox are loaded lots of catchers, 3b, ss and arms.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Xander Bogaerts is really young (19) but this past season he showed the potential to become an extremely huge bat with plus defense. Basically, he became the top prospect by shear potential but some worry that he'll never get there. I'm a little wary on Bogaerts but they're saying that he has the tools to become a perennial all-star. He's playing shortstop at the moment but is projected to eventually end up as a 3B or a left fielder. He'll probably start in A ball this year and make it up to AA maybe by the end of the year. I'd say he's two years from actually becoming a member of the Boston Red Sox.

I'm not too worried about Iglesias. He was injured for a lot of last year so I feel his value hasn't changed either way. He's still an elite defender and will crack the league regardless of offensive potential. He'll have most of the year in AAA again and definitely at this moment projects as the starting SS for 2013 with Marco Scutaro coming off the books. And if Marco Scutaro struggles offensively early in the year, I would not be surprised to see Iglesias become a full time starter for the Sox after the All-star break.

Lars Anderson is pretty worthless now. It was a shame the Sox never moved him but we had hope he'd be the ultimate replacement to Youk at 1B. Then Adrian Gonzalez came. I wish they shipped him instead of Rizzo to the Padres, but c'est la vie. Anderson will be a lifetimer in the minor leagues.

Lavarnway has only been catching since 2007 when people realized the he has the build of a catcher more than any other position. If he spent more time in the minor leagues, he could become a serviceable catcher, but his bat is too valuable to stay down in the minor leagues. I think the Red Sox will eventually trade Lavarnway to a team who needs a DH with pop who can occasionally catch - servicing a team with an older catcher. He'd be a great fit for the Chi Sox (with Pierzyncki as C and Dunn as their current DH) or the Detroit Tigers (Ordonez and VMart).

And a lot of people are very high on Matt Barnes. Some argue he is the best pitcher in the minor leagues for the Sox. I'd think it's probably Ranaudo but they're almost on the same level. They'll both be starting for some major league team within the next year or two.