Minor League Update

Minor League Update time!

The clubs are: Pawtucket (AAA), Portland (AA), Lancaster (Hi A), Greenville (Lo A), Lowell (short season A), GCL (Rookie)

1B – Lars Anderson – Lancaster

The hulking lefty may have been trying to do too much his first week in the California League going 3 for 15 with just one double.

2B – Chih-Hsien Chiang – Lancaster

Chiang is a good hitting infielder though second basemen have to be very good to be solid Major Leaguers as 2nd base in the majors often gets inhabited by minor league shortstops (see Pedroia). Chiang went 3 for 10 in the first week of the season.

3B – Jorge Jimenez – Lancaster

After a solid year (.887 OPS) at Lowell Jimenez has come out cooking in Lancaster with a 1.335 OPS. He’s a bit old for the league (23) so that plus his position give him a chance to advance rapidly if he keeps it up.

SS – Jed Lowrie – Pawtucket

Lowrie picked up where he left off in Spring Training…which is to say he came out slow going just 1 for his first 11 though 4 walks kept the OBP at a tolerable .333.

OF – Reid Engel – Lancaster – Featured Freddy Prospect

Still just 20 years old Engel was expected to go to Baylor upon his graduation from high school. Theo Epstein used the Sox’ financial advantages to entice (read: buy) Engel into the Sox system. He has tremendous speed though he has yet to translate it into baseball terms. It is believed in some circles that his pure athleticism makes him a very high upside kind of prospect though far from a sure thing as his baseball tools are raw.

In his first three games of the year Engel went 7 for 16 with a double and a homer.

OF – Josh Reddick – Greenville

The 21 year old is out of the box fast going 4 for 11 with a double and a triple and five runs batted in.

OF – Brandon Moss – Pawtucket

Returned to Pawtucket after his game tying homer in Tokyo Moss just kept hitting. In his four games he hit .364 with two doubles and a triple.

C – Mark Wagner – Portland

Considered the best long-term prospect in the system Wagner struggled early going 1 for 9 without a walk or extra base hit.

SP – Bartolo Colon – Pawtucket

Colon’s first start was a doozy as he went five strong innings. In those five innings he allowed just a single hit and single walk while working in the low to mid-90s on the radar gun.

SP – David Pauley – Pawtucket

It came without the fanfare of Colon’s start but Pauley was every bit as good. He allowed just three base runners over five innings while striking out three and allowing an unearned run.

SP – Michael Bowden – Portland

Bowden who struggled upon his promotion a year ago came out fast with a solid start going 4 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and one run. In that time he fanned five while walking two.

RP – Craig Hansen – Pawtucket

The early returns on the big righty’s sleep apnea surgery were positive. Hansen worked four innings with six strikeouts and while he walked three he allowed just one hit.

RP – Daniel Bard – Greenville

The 2006 1st rounder has struggled as a starter. Moved full-time to the bullpen for 2008 he has mirrored Hansen by getting out quickly. In three innings he whiffed one, struck out five and allowed just one hit.

Wild Card – Chris Carter – Pawtucket

Carter came out fast going 6 for 13 with three doubles good for a 1.226 OPS.

Thanks as always to Baseball America, Baseball Reference and Sox Prospects