Boston Red Sox 2012: 5 Prospects to Track for 2013

We all know who to watch for next year. 

Every team's fanbase loves to watch prospects. The natural optimism that the next Jacoby Ellsbury, or Dustin Pedroia, or Jon Lester is going to stride into spring training, win a job with hard work and then win Rookie of the Year.

It does happen (Dustin Pedroia). It doesn't happen often, though.

For every guy you see make a major league roster, there are countless others who never will make it. Some will only make it for a week, or a game, or a month before being sent down to Triple-A. Many won't ever make it again.

Many Red Sox fans already know who Will Middlebrooks is. They also know that Felix Dubrount could start the season in the starting rotation in either Pawtucket or Boston, depending on how his spring training turns out.

There are also some guys in Boston's minor league system who will earn their very first spring training invite in 2012. Some will only stay a week or two before being sent back down to the minors. Their time will come though—perhaps in 2013?

Here are five guys whose stats and progress Red Sox fans may want to keep an eye on through the 2012 season.  

Xander Bogaerts

If you glanced at the photo above and thought to yourself, " that guy looks really young." There's a reason for that. It's because he is. 

Xander Bogaerts is 19 years old, and he just turned 19. He won't be 20 until October 2012. Yet he's one of the higher rated players in the Red Sox organization. 

He's a lanky athletic shortstop who very well might not be someone to watch for 2013. He might be better suited for 2014. Then again, who knows? 

He's got tons of athletic ability as well as noticeable power for someone whose body has yet to even fully mature. Last season at low Single-A ball he hit 16 home runs in only 265 at bats. He could be a shortstop or a third baseman depending on how he develops. 

He probably won't even sniff the big leagues in 2012. 2013 could be different, though. 

Matt Barnes

When you're a first-round pick in the NBA or NFL draft your chances of becoming a successful NBA or NFL player are pretty good. 

When you're a first-round pick in the MLB Amateur Draft you've got a good shot, but nothing is assured. Yes, the club that drafts you will give you a nice signing bonus, and that bonus insures that you'll be given ample opportunity to prove yourself and advance through the minor league system, but you still have to perform at various levels of minor league baseball—a far cry from the instant starting positions that many NFL and NBA first-round picks find themselves with. 

Matt Barnes was the 19th overall pick in last June's MLB Amateur Draft. He was a dominant college pitcher at the University of Connecticut. College players who are drafted high in the draft generally don't have to endure as many levels of minor league ball. Barnes could easily start the 2012 season as high as Double-A ball in Portland.

Barnes was one of the more well regarded pitchers available in last June's draft, and there are plenty of expectations for him to become a pretty good starting pitcher at the major league level. The Red Sox aren't going to rush him, though.

Barnes is unlikely to get any big league time in 2012. He could conceivably be called up when rosters expand in September, but the Red Sox would probably prefer to have a healthy, experienced major league rotation in tact at that point, so calling up a highly touted Double-A or Triple-A pitcher who is slated as a starter might not be to anyone's benefit.

If Barnes performs to expectations in 2012, then come 2013 he could be given a chance to earn a spot in the Red Sox starting rotation, but this season will probably be spent in the minors.  

Kolbrin Vitek

The 2012 season is going to be very important for 2010 first-round pick Kolbrin Vitek. 

Vitek, who was drafted out of Ball State in 2010 as a third baseman, has yet to show the power bat or solid glove the Red Sox had hoped would develop when they selected him with the 20th overall pick in 2010. 

Then again it's only been a bit over a year of minor league ball. There's still time for development, and with Will Middlebrooks and the aforementioned Xander Bogaerts in the system, Vitek could end up being moved to the outfield as he climbs up the minor league ladder. 

Last year at high Single-A ball in Salem, N.C., Vitek got a full season of work, and his results raised a few red flags. He hit .281, but with only six home runs and 43 runs batted in.

Most concerning is his high strikeout rate. Vitek had 102 strikeouts in 473 at bats. That's a rate the Red Sox would be concerned with even if he was mashing the ball, something he clearly was not doing. 

Yet as a first-round pick, he's going to be given ample opportunity to succeed. If Vitek can turn it around this season then he'll get advanced through the system. Is he going to make the majors? Red Sox fans probably won't get a chance to see him play in a major league game until late 2013 at the earliest, but the team is hoping he's worth the wait. 

Bryce Brentz

While Red Sox fans all over New England debate whether or not Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick would be a better right fielder for Boston in 2012, the front office is probably considering trade offers for them on a near daily basis. 

Why would the Red Sox trade one or even both of these guys? 

Bryce Brentz—a supplemental first-round draft pick (36th overall) in the 2010 Amateur Draft out of Middle Tennessee State. Brentz is coming off a very good 2011. He played at both Single-A ball and high Single-A ball in Greenville and Salem, and combined to hit .306 with 30 home runs and 94 runs batted in. 

Brentz, who at one point in his baseball career was a pitcher, has a cannon of an arm and could project as a starting right fielder in the majors. 

It's worth noting his performance was at Single-A ball. Most of the guys at that level are not ex-college players. At 22 years old, Brentz was one of the older players in the league, and while the production was great, he's going to have to continue to improve at Double-A this season to become a legitimate big-league prospect in the minds of many general managers. 

If Brentz were to excel this season at Double-A ball, he could be in Triple-A by late summer, and by 2013 he could have a legitimate shot at contending for a spot in the majors if the Red Sox haven't solved their right-field position long term by then. 

Anthony Ranaudo

Anthony Ranuado is a player with a very high ceiling. Whether or not he reaches that ceiling is another thing altogether. 

At 6'7" and 230 pounds, he has the physical presence to be a staff ace. That's what he was as a sophomore at LSU when he led the Tigers to the College World Series. 

He entered his junior year of college with sky-high expectations and promptly fulfilled almost none of them. First he missed considerable time due to elbow tightness. Then upon his return he was ineffective as he was admittedly out of shape (via ESPN.com), a result of not being used to the downtime that goes hand-in-hand with an injury.

That caused his draft stock to fall, and when the 2010 draft took place, Ranaudo, who was at one point projected as a top-five pick, fell all the way into the Red Sox laps as the 39th pick in the first supplemental round of the draft.

Last season Ranaudo gave glimpses of the promise that had him so highly touted as well as showed some of the reasons why all "future ace" type pitchers are viewed with a degree of skepticism.

At Single-A ball he was great. He had 50 strikeouts in only 46 innings of work, and he allowed only 6.8 hits per nine innings pitched.

Once he advanced to high Single-A ball at Salem, he took a downhill turn. He had a 4.33 earned run average, 67 strikeouts in 81 innings of work and an 8.9 hits per nine innings pitched ratio.

Ranaudo's physical build and decorated college career coupled with his high draft position insure that he will be given a lot of chances for advancement. It's not out of the question that he earns an invite to spring training in 2012. His arrival in the big leagues is anyone's guess but were he to start to really put things together this season he'd be moved up quickly.