The View from Landsdowne Street: Grading the Boston Red Sox Minor League System

Expect to see him in Boston for a little while once the roster expands.

Behind Bowden the drop off is only marginal. Kris Johnson, their first round pick in 2006, and Brian Price, a supplemental pick this year, are both on their way to making impacts in the major leagues.

Johnson pitches for Portland and has settled in nicely after a rocky 2007. He is 7-4 with a 3.47 ERA, but the only problem seems to be that he is still struggling with his control and still feels lingering effects from Tommy John surgery in college.

Price has a small sample size for his pitching statistics, but his raw stuff makes him a good bet to eventually make it up I-95 to Boston. He has yet to develop an effective third pitch, but a mid 90's fastball and low 80's slider are a good start to any pitch repertoire. He was in Rice's bullpen this past year, but the Sox have plans to start him.

Behind those prospects the cupboard still is not bare. Devern Hansack and David Pauley are both capable spot starters who can give the Red Sox innings when players on injured.

The two real x-factors are Charlie Zink and Felix Doubront.

Zink is in Pawtucket and has made his name with the team as a knuckleballer. In the offseason, he works with Tim Wakefield, and after a brutal 2007 campaign in Pawtucket, he has come back this year and been the best pitcher on the team.

His numbers are 9-2, 2.42 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a .199 BAA. He has learned how to place his knuckleball so it is becoming unhittable.

Doubront is a 20-year-old international signee. A soft thrower, Doubront mixes a myriad of pitches into his arsenal to keep hitters off-balanced. After suffering through injuries and an awful season last year, he has really improved this season with Greenville and could make the rotation someday.

Grade: A-

Relief Pitching:

This is much tougher to evaluate because starters become relievers and vice versa all the time in the minor leagues. But the one player whose future role with the team is not in doubt is Daniel Bard.

Bard was the team's first round draft pick last year out of North Carolina where he was a starter. But with his violent arm action and style of pitching, he is better suited for the bullpen and possibly even the closer role.

His fastball routinely touches 98 on the radar gun and mixes in a still-developing curveball and change up. The only real problem in the foreseeable future is his control. He struggled with his location in 2007, and he paid the price with a rough season in Lancaster.

Once he was sent back to Greenville he was able to change his arm angle, drop it down a little, and he has picked up life on his fastball and regained confidence in his pitches.

The next man down is another enormous lefty named Hunter Jones. Jones really burst onto the scene earlier this year with ridiculous numbers with Portland where he had a 1.18 ERA.

He is still working on his pitches that he feels comfortable throwing and seems to add a new pitch everyday and drop a different pitch.

Now with Pawtucket, he has been solid but not spectacular. He is only 24 and needs a lot of refining, but he seems destined to be a part of the Red Sox or some other teams bullpen.

Grade: B

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