Boston Red Sox: Re-Ranking Boston's Top 10 Prospects

At the beginning of every baseball season, several prestigious sites and writers take the time to list the top prospects in the game as well as in each organization. Baseball America is one of—if not the—best site available for information about baseball prospects.

In early January, Baseball America's Jim Callis took a look at the Boston Red Sox' organization and which prospects we should be on the look out for.

It's now mid-May and plenty has changed over the nearly six months since Callis made his picks. Some of the players on his list have been great and others not so much.

The following list re-ranks Baseball America's choices for the top prospects in the Boston organization based on their 2012 performances as well their future projections.

Here are the re-ranked top 10 prospects for the Boston Red Sox.

*Baseball America uses Major League Baseball's rookie standards for eligibility in the list and I will do the same for the purpose of comparison*

**All statistics are through April 24**

10. Blake Swihart, Catcher

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 3

2012 Statistics: .214/.277/.325, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 18 R (Single-A Greenville)

Why Callis ranked Blake Swihart as Boston's third-best prospect I have no idea. The 20-year catcher is in his first season of professional baseball after being drafted in the first round last year.

In his senior year of high school he hit over .500 with 27 extra-base hits, 54 runs, 41 RBI and 19 steals. He failed to get a hit in six at-bats with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox later in the year.

Through 33 games with Single-A Greenville, Swihart has yet to get hot. He's hitting .214 and has an OPS of just over .600 which isn't good at all. He's still very young and has time to develop, but where will he play as he moves up the ladder?

Boston will most likely have Ryan Lavarnway as their big-league catcher by the time Swihart is ready to come up. SoxProspects.com writes in his scouting report that if he switches positions, he'll most likely try second or third base.

9. Garin Cecchini, Third Baseman

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 7

2012 Statistics: .300/.385/.431, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 31 R (Single-A Greenville)

Callis had Garin Cecchini at seventh, but I've decided to drop him two spots despite a pretty good start to the 2012 season. The 21-year-old third baseman put up good numbers in Single-A Lowell last season over 32 games, but a wrist injury ended it early.

In the games he did play, he nearly hit .300 with 16 extra-base hits, 21 runs and 23 RBI. He also almost had a .900 OPS. 

This season, he's off to another good start, hitting .300 and scoring a ton for Single-A Greenville. The problem with Cecchini is the same with Swihart; why is he going to play.

It seems as if Will Middlebrooks is going to be the real deal at third base, so that doesn't fair well for Garin. SoxProspects.com projects him to have the ceiling of an All-Star-caliber third baseman, but will he even get the chance at the hot corner?

8. Ryan Lavarnway, Catcher/Designated Hitter

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 9

2012 Statistics: .262/.355/.354, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 19 R (Triple-A Pawtucket)

We caught a glimpse of what the future could hold when Boston recalled Ryan Lavarnway late last season. Most wouldn't remember his late-August performance as we tended to focus on when he hit two home runs against the Baltimore Orioles on the second-to-last day of the season.

Before his promotion, Lavarnway was crushing the ball in the minor leagues. Between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, he nearly hit .300, scored 75 runs, hit 32 home runs and drove in 93 runs.

He probably could've been ranked higher going into the season since he just barely missed making the Opening Day roster. I've decided to demote him a spot since his production this season hasn't been good at all.

It's almost as if he lost all of his power, as he only has two home runs and seven extra-base hits in over 130 at-bats. He hit two homers with Boston last year in 39 at-bats. Where'd the power go?

Regardless, his past production is what should shoot him into the big leagues again, either this season or definitely in 2013.

7. Bryce Brentz, Outfielder

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 5

2012 Statistics: .300/.341/.463, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 19 R (Double-A Portland)

Bryce Brentz is definitely one of Boston's most prized possessions, but the third-best?

Last year, Brentz had an unbelievable season between Single-A Greenville and Single-A Salem which could potentially be why Callis ranked him so highly. He did hit .306 while slugging 30 home runs and also scoring and driving in nearly 100 runs each. Pretty impressive numbers from a 22-year-old outfielder.

This season, Brentz is off to another good start both offensively and defensively with Double-A Portland. He definitely projects as a great outfielder for the future but still needs more development in the outfield, according to SoxProspects.com.

As long as he can keep his offensive numbers up, and play solid defensively, he should be in the majors within the next few seasons. For now, still the seventh-best prospect in my book.

6. Jackie Bradley, Outfielder

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 10

2012 Statistics: .367/.495/.568, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 37 R (Single-A Salem)

Putting Jackie Bradley 10th on Callis' list was fair since he missed a lot of time with a wrist injury in 2011 and also had limited at-bats between Single-A Lowell and Single-A Greenville later in the year.

What could we expect from a 22-year-old outfielder? Apparently good things.

Through around 40 games this season with Single-A Salem, Bradley has been nothing short of incredible. He's hitting the ball consistently as well as hitting with power and driving runners in. He's also made himself known on the basepaths, stealing 11 bases in 15 chances.

As it seems, he's developing into a very good outfielder who could make a huge impact with Boston in the near future. According to SoxProspects.com, we can expect to see Bradley at Fenway Park around 2014.

5. Anthony Ranaudo, Pitcher

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 4

2012 Statistics: 0-1, 9.35 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6 K (Double-A Portland)

Anthony Ranaudo is one of Boston's best pitching prospects—the best according to Callis and second best in my opinion through two months of the season. He'd pitched well for Single-A Greenville last season and then struggled some after a promotion to Single-A Salem.

The start to his 2012 campaign was delayed after a mild groin injury suffered in late March that kept him from starting on time, according to WEEI's Alex Speier.

Ranaudo hasn't gotten off on the right foot since returning from extended spring training, only going around four innings in each of his two starts this year with Double-A Portland.

He's also walked more batters than he's struck out which isn't good either. Despite the slow start, there's no indication that he won't rebound and have a great year. I've also projected that he'll be in Boston's starting rotation in 2014.

4. Brandon Jacobs, Outfielder

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 6

2012 Statistics: .307/.351/.416, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 17 R (Single-A Salem)

After a mediocre 2010 season with Single-A Lowell, Brandon Jacobs erupted in 2011 with Single-Greenville. In 115 games with the Drive, he hit over .300 and had an OPS of nearly .900 along with 17 home runs, 80 RBI and 75 runs.

His strong offensive performance landed him in Single-A Salem to start the 2012 season, and although his power hasn't really shown up yet, he's still having a productive season.

It doesn't seem as if SoxProspects.com isn't as high on Jacobs as I am, but it looks as if he can be a big leaguer in the future. He definitely has a lot to improve on, especially his defense, but I am a strong believer that he could be one of the starting Red Sox outfielder within the next few years.

His offensive potential is what's going to get him there.

3. Xander Bogaerts, Shortstop

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 2

2012 Statistics: .277/.352/.426, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 12 R (Single-A Salem)

If Jose Iglesias doesn't pan out as the future of the Boston Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts definitely will. Even though SoxProspects.com thinks he could eventually move to the outfield or even third base once he grows a little more, he still will be capable of playing short.

He's only 19 years old but has all of the tools of being a future star. Signed as an international free agent in 2009, Bogaerts shined as a 17-year-old in the Dominican League.

Last season with Single-A Greenville, his batting average slipped compared to the previous year but his slugging percentage jumped after hitting 16 home runs. This season, he's off to another great start, which is another reason to start getting excited about him.

He seems like the type of minor league player who has the potential to rise through the system quickly. Just a hunch but I think Bogaerts could turn out to be more successful than Iglesias will turn out to be. 

2. Matt Barnes, Pitcher

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 8

2012 Statistics: 4-0, 0.60 ERA, 44.2 IP, 67 K (Single-A Greenville/Single-A Salem)

What a season Matt Barnes is having. Incredible. You can't blame Callis for not seeing this coming, but I'm sure Barnes would have jumped up a ton in his list should he had been able to predict the future. Just drafted out of the University of Connecticut last season, Barnes is already the top pitching prospect in the organization, in my opinion.

He started 2012 in Single-A Greenville but was quickly promoted after five dominant starts where he only allowed one run over 26.2 innings. That's an ERA of 0.34 in case you were wondering.

Now with Single-A Salem, Barnes has still been impressive, still striking out tons of batters and rarely allowing runners to score. If not for the man on the next slide, he would easily be the top prospect in the Boston system.

1. Will Middlebrooks, Third Baseman

BA Preseason Ranking: No. 1

2012 Statistics: .333/.380/.677, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 18 R (Triple-A Pawtucket)

When you have the type of minor league career that Will Middlebrooks has had, you deserve to be ranked No. 1 in the organization, and I completely agree with Callis on this one.

Pretty much every minor league season Middlebrooks has had has been impressive in one way or another. Through 24 games with Triple-A Pawtucket this season, Middlebrooks hit .333 with an impressive nine home runs, earning him a shot at the majors once Kevin Youkilis got hurt.

Since coming up, he's been very impressive and might have earned a permanent stay in the big leagues. In 20 games with Boston, he's nearly hit .300 with five home runs and 17 RBI.

The only way that Middlebrooks isn't Boston No. 1 prospect is if he loses his rookie eligibility by having over 130 at-bats with the Red Sox. It's that simple.