Boston Red Sox Top-15 Prospects of 2010, No’s 6 – 15

ALSO SEE – Red Sox Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Grades are based on a prospect’s projected value over the course of his career and how likely it is that prospect will fulfill his projected value. Various factors are accounted for including upside, red flags, actual performance, and closeness to the majors. See the 2010 Prospect Primer for more information as it relates to prospect grading and philosophy.

Hitters must have 100 or fewer Major League ABs to qualify for this list. Starting pitchers must have 50 or fewer Major League innings to qualify for this list. Relief pitchers must have 25 or fewer Major League innings to qualify for this list. Ages are listed as of May 1st, 2010. Levels are based on the highest level in which a prospect played in 2009. All grades are subject to change based on any new information I receive before the season starts.

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Player Grades
Fastball – 60 Now | 65 Future
Curveball – 60 | 70
Change-Up – 40 | 50
Control – 40 | 50
Command – 45 | 55
Pitchability – 45 | 55
ETA – 2014
Final Grade – B-

Body Type – Physical and projectable build

Stuff

Fastball – Clocked in the mid 90′s with plus life and sink…he could stand to throw it for strikes a little more often, but when he’s going well, he can command it to both sides of the plate.

Younginer has a two-seamer as well which dive bombs to the plate. His command of the pitch isn’t as good as his four-seamer at the moment.

Curveball – Plus-plus potential…looks like a high fastball initially out of his hand, coming from the same arm slot. Below you see the fastball on the left and curveball on the right:

*Credit to Mauldin Mavs Baseball

The pitch has an 11-to-5 break and because of the angle in which he releases the ball, the pitch starts out in the right hand batter’s box before breaking sharp and late back toward the plate. The pitch has the potential to turn hitters’ legs into jello. He can throw it for strikes or bury it in the dirt. Below is one type of way hitters react to Younginer’s curveball:

*Credit to Mauldin Mavs Baseball

It doesn’t always come out as sharp and tight as I describe above, so he still has to work on the consistency of the pitch as well as being able to consistently command it.
Change-Up – He really hasn’t needed one in the past, but he does have one and shows a solid feel for the pitch

Scouting Report

For sure, an aggressive ranking of Madison Younginer, who was one of the higher upside arms in the 2009 draft, but also perhaps one of the riskiest as well. He was apparently difficult for teams to scout because his high school team used him out of the bullpen.

What concerns scouts about Younginer is his arm action, which I admit is unique looking. He doesn’t look like he pronates well on his release. Pronation is an important component of protecting the arm. He doesn’t get great whip on his arm, leading to a more stiff looking arm action. Younginer also keeps his elbow very low, which is something you don’t see many pitchers do.

Younginer lands somewhat stiffly on his front leg, which could be fixed by an increase in stride length. Because he doesn’t consistently repeat his delivery, he sometimes loses control of the strike zone.

Despite his mechanical issues, Younginer’s arm is special and his future looks bright as long as he can stay healthy.

Best Case Outcome – No. 1 starter

More Likely Outcome – Too soon to say, but many think he’ll end up in the bullpen

Player Grades
Contact – 45 Now | 55 Future
Power – 50 | 55
Discipline – 45 | 55
Speed – 40 | 35
Defense – 55 | 60
Arm – 55 | 55
Instincts – 50 | 60
ETA – 2012
Final Grade – B-

Body Type – Big body, thick lower half

Scouting Report

Anthony Rizzo has an interesting backstory. In 2008, he learned he had limited stage classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is a treatable form of cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and missed the rest of the season.

Rizzo returned in 2009 and put his name back on the prospect map with a very successful season, where he split time in Single-A Greenville and A+ Salem.

Rizzo has an advanced approach at the plate. He uses the entire field, flashing above average power potential to all fields. He covers the plate extremely well, getting to balls on the outside corner and showing an ability to turn on balls on the inner half of the plate though I haven’t seen him take many fastballs and place them in the seats over the right field wall.

You can catch Rizzo leaning in when he’s expecting something away and bust him inside as a result.

Rizzo gets excellent leverage in his two-hand swing. The uppercut he generates allows him to hit a high number of balls in the air. But it’s not such an uppercut where the bat is in-and-out of the hitting zone quickly. He actually keeps the bat head in the strike zone for a good length of time.

Rizzo does struggle to get to pitches up in the strike zone though he does his best to lay off of them.

Despite well below average speed and thick lower half, Rizzo is widely praised for his defense. He has soft hands, a strong arm, and he’s quite nimble on his feet.

Rizzo will likely start the season in Double-A Portland.

Best Case Outcome – Above average first baseman

More Likely Outcome – Average everyday firstbaseman

Brief Rundown on Prospects 8 – 15

8. Reymond Fuentes | CF | Grade – B- – A bag of tools…showed off his potential with a nice debut season in the GCL

9. Derrik Gibson | SS/2b | Grade – B- – Not a lot of power, but excellent feel, approach, and discipline

10. Lars Anderson | 1b | Grade – B- – One of the more disappointing prospects in 2009…looked like he was really struggling in Spring Training

11. Michael Bowden | RHP | Grade – B- – Could be a back of the rotation starter, but for the Red Sox he’s a middle reliever

12. Alex Wilson | RHP | Grade – B- – Power arm could move quickly through the system

13. Stolmy Pimentel | RHP | Grade – B- – Somewhat disappointed by last season’s production…would like to see him to take a step forward in performance/stuff

14. Junichi Tazawa | RHP | Grade – B- – Just had TJ surgery…would have ranked in the 7th or 8th spot if healthy

15. Roman Mendez | RHP | Grade – B- – Intriguing young arm is a big time sleeper for next year

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Other C+ Prospects

16. Stephen Fife | RHP | Age – 23 – Has good stuff and throws strikes…probably a reliever when all is said and done

17. David Renfroe | INF | Age – 19 – High upside talent is a two-way player, but will be a hitter as a pro…sleeper for this year

18. Che-Hsuan Lin | CF | Age – 21 – Hasn’t shown much power, but he’s displayed an advanced level of strike zone judgement…profiles as a top of the order hitter

19. Yamaico Navarro | SS | Age – 22 – Up-and-down season for Navarro, but I like his tools and he could be an offensive minded utility player down the road

20. Jose Vinicio | SS | Age – 16 – Very raw, very toolsy and athletic true shortstop to keep an eye on in the next couple years

21. Luis Exposito | C | Age – 23 – Has an intriguing set of tools, but would like to see him walk more and has some things to work on defensively

22. Kyle Weiland | RHP | Age – 23 – Inconsistent season…will likely wind up in a relief role eventually

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order) – Kenneth Roque (2b) | Jeremy Hazelbaker (OF) | Drake Britton (LHP) | Brock Huntzinger (RHP) | Mark Wagner (C) | Brandon Jacobs (OF) | Daniel Nava (RF) | Seth Schwindenhammer (OF) | Oscar Tejeda (SS/3b) | Kendal Volz (RHP) | Anatanaer Batista (RHP) | Will Middlebrooks (INF) | Miles Head (3b) | Ryan Lavarnway (C) | Michael Almanzar (3b) | Peter Hissey (CF) | Dustin Richardson (LHP) | Felix Doubront (LHP) | Tim Federowicz (C) | Alex Hassan (OF)

ALSO SEE – Boston Red Sox Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

UP NEXT – New York Yankees Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Other References and Resources Used for This Article – First Inning and Minor League Splits