Red Sox Prospects, 11-20

11. CF Ryan Westmoreland (C+) - Westmoreland did not play in 2008 because he was a late sign, and received almost 2M to do so, which was significantly over slot bonus for his selection spot. Westmoreland is regarded as the five-tool package, with excellent defensive instincts in centerfield, plus raw power and an outstanding approach to hitting. He is extremely fast and extremely intelligent, and could shoot up with this given a strong debut. He was paid mid-first round money in the fifth round, so it seems clear to me that he has the potential to be an elite prospect when he plays.

12. RHP Bryan Price (C+) - Bryan Price is my favorite type of draft pick, and is similar to Nick Hagadone in that he is a reliever being converted to a starter. He has an excellent fastball/slider combination and if he can develop a third pitch he will be extremely effective as a starter. He has limited innings on his arms and his floor, that of an effective reliever with powerful stuff, is very impressive. His ceiling is as a front-end starting pitcher, and for that I am pretty excited. Despite allowing more hits than innings pitched in his debut, Price effectively kept the ball on the ground, sporting a 55% ground ball percentage, and he was victimized by a high BABIP of .362, which is supported by an impressive FIP of 3.13 (as opposed to an ERA of 4.03). His K% was 23.4% and his BB% was just 5.2%, and while he is old for his level he has enormous potential if he can keep those ratios up. If he performs this well next year, he is easily a B prospect and likely on the fast track to the majors.

13 SS Oscar Tejeda (C+) - I had the opportunity to take a couple of guys that I thought had lower upsides but who were more advanced here, but I prefer Tejeda's potential to be an impact performer. He does not have the present power that someone like Almanzar has, but he could grow into it, considering he's just 19 and already 6'1, and just 177 pounds. Tejeda is just not very good at baseball right now, but he's got tools galore and can man the position defensively, which speaks volumes to that potential. His fielding percentage is not great, currently, but that should improve as he ages, as he'll be only 19 in either A or Hi-A next season. On the bright side, his LD% was 16% last season, which shows the potential for improvement, and his BABIP will likely rise with his quality speed. He is a career .275 hitter despite being young for his level. He's got plenty of time for those tools to translate, and he ranks here based on his enormous potential if they do. I trust the Red Sox developmental system on this one.

14. RHP Stephen Fife (C+) - Fife is an extreme GB pitcher drafted from Utah in the third round last season. He's got five pitches that he uses including two fastballs and he has an arm that hasn't seen a lot of ware, since he wasn't a starter at Utah until 2008, instead working in middle-relief. At Lowell (Low-A), Fife had a 25.8% K rate and a 6.3% BB rate, and he had an astounding 66% GB rate. He does not have the raw stuff of Price, who ranked above him, but he has good enough stuff where he's not limited by it. He allowed 10 fewer hits than innings pitched last season and has a projectible build. If he can maintain this, he'll move up the prospect ranks. One concern is that he has quite a bit of torque in his delivery, by reports, and that may lead him to some injury concerns in the future. Still, he looks like nice value at this point in the draft.

15. RHP Stolmy Pimentel (C+) - Pimental followed up a strong 2007 performance in the DSL with an equally strong debut with lo-A Lowell. He turned 18 before the season, and has a nice, projectible frame at 6'3 and 190 pounds. He BB'd just 6.7% of the batters he faced and fanned 24.3%. Unfortunately, a couple of drawbacks were that he featured a GB% below 50% (46%) and had an FIP of 4.02, which indicates he was probably a bit lucky with fielding or other measures, considering his actual ERA was 3.14. He maintained a very low BABIP of .273 and that should certainly rise in time, which will bring his ERA closer to his FIP. I'd expect some regression from last season's performance, but even with regression, he's a prospect to watch and could shoot up this prospect list after the 2009 season, probably with Greenville as a 19 year old.

16. 1B Anthony Rizzo (C) - You won't see Anthony Rizzo on most prospect lists for the Red Sox this high, considering he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma earlier this season, but if he can make it back and return to strength, he has enormous upside for the Sox. Rizzo is currently 19 and he has obliterated the minor leagues in his span, thoguh he's strictly a 1B that is somewhat limited in athleticism, but his bat will play at the position. He only got 83 AB's in 2008 before he was diagnosed, but he was tearing up A Ball as an 18 year old, hitting .373. I'm usually cautious with injuries and small sample size projection, but the Red Sox system really tapers off after you get past Pimental. He signed above slot in the 14th round and I think his bat can carry him to the big leagues when he's healthy. He'll have to show more refinement and he'll be less young for his level when he gets back, but waiting on this guy could really pay off.

17. OF Jason Place (C) - Compared to Jeff Francouer when the Red Sox picked him in the first round two years ago, Place has absolutely flopped. He has a career 28% K% and his BB% has dropped each of the last three years, from 14 to 10 to 8%. In other words, he looks like a bust. Let's keep in mind, however, that Place turned 20 during the season last year, in Hi-A. He's got another two years at Hi-A before he would be considered old for that level. For the third consecutive year, Place raised his IsoP (.143, .145, .187), though he continues to struggle with making solid, consistent contact (LD% of just 10% last season). He is still extraordinarily raw, but he has the best raw power of anyone in the system and he can play CF defensively, though he is not the plus defender that Lin or Kalish are. Still, that kind of power in CF would be welcomed, as that's the kind of CF that Big Market teams should be targeting. He'll need to put the bat on the ball and make solid contact at a higher level of success in order to rise, but he's still got plenty of time to do it and there is way too much time to give up on him.

18. CF Peter Hissey (C) - Yet another natural centerfielder, Hissey lacks the plus raw power projection that Westmoreland has, which precludes a higher grade at this time. Hissey is a plus defender in CF with a very advanced approach at the plate and a strong, competitive nature. He's athletic with room for growth, though there are doubts about how much power he'll really be able to add. If he can make himself into a plus-defender there really won't be too much concern over his lack of power, as he'll be able to save some runs with the glove. He's going to have to slug enough (.450 range) to be a major league prospect in the future, though, but he has time to do it.

19. SS Yamaico Navarro (C) - Navarro has an excellent glove, and that alone should be able to carry him up the charts, though I'm personally not yet convinced on him, much like I am with Exposito. Navarro saw an enormous hike in his overall statistics playing at Lancaster, raising his AVG, OBP and SLG nearly .50 points each, which means it's largely based on the park. He opened the season in A Ball as a 20 year old, which is fine ARL, and he hit .280/.341/.415, which was almost identical to his Lo-A performance the previous season. His BB% remained a steady, average 8%, and his K% was an unacceptable 20.6%, considering his lack of power, also remaining steady. When he moved to Lancaster, there were a lot of inflated numbers, but the one thing that stands out is the cut in the K% from 20.6% to 15.3%. If he can continue to cut that K% he has the chance to make it as a borderline starter as a middle infielder with his excellent defense. At the very least, he stands the chance to be a solid utility player, but I like his upside more tha Argenis Diaz, who also has an outstanding glove, but who is without the offensive upside.

20. CA Luis Exposito (C) - Exposito was a 31st round pick in 2005 at the catching position and has advanced surprisingly well considering his draft position. After struggling grossly in 2006 and 2007, Exposito demonstrated impressive power in 2008, though some of that was a result of playing in Lancaster in 2008, which we can see as a recurring trend. I believe his improvement was real, judging by his performance in A Ball, and his still strong ARL (Age Relative to League). Exposito was 21 for the full season and was still young for each level he played in. His BB% was a fairly ugly 4.7% between A and A+, and his K% was 19.5%, equally ugly. He's a catcher, though, and that means a lot. He hit 21 homers between A and A+, an enormous step forward for a catcher. He raised his average higher than his career levels, largely because of an advanced BABIP, yet his LD% dropped to 16 and 14% after being between 19 and 21% in his previous two years. His IsoP raised from a high of .077 to .233 over the season, which is just an enormous leap. He has what is easily the most fluke potential here, because I have no idea if this power spike is for real, particularly with half of the season in Lancaster. We need a bigger sample size on him, because he doesn't have the contact rate to be hitting as well as he was, though the power spike could be real.