Mark Wagner, Boston's 9th-round pick in the 2005 draft, is establishing himself as the organization's top catching prospect. After debuting last summer in short-season A-ball for Lowell, the 22-year-old from Lakewood, Calif., is off to a fantastic start this year for the Low-A Greenville Drive.

At 6-1, 205 lbs., he appears to have the tools to be a good defender, and offensively he's been quite impressive this year. He's in the top 15 in the league with his .879 OPS.

He is much needed to become a solid prospect because varitek is already showing his age and the sox could definitely use some youth at catcher.

At 22 years old, I'd like to see him doing it at a higher level. Is he old for this league? I know catchers develop a bit later than other players, but it seems 22 years old in Low A is a bit old.

I agree that it would be nice to see him at a higher level this year, and I'd expect to see him in Wilmington for the second half of the season. But I think 22 is the average age in the Sally League (and Wagner turns 22 next week). Also, keep in mind that he's not someone who was drafted as an 18-year-old out of high school and has been kicking around the system a few years. This is his first full year of pro ball.

With Wagner he can take alittle bit longer to develop because Jason Varitek was not in the majors fulltime until I believe he was 27.

Wagner's .874 OPS has him in the top 10 in the South Atlantic League.

[codebox]
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO OBP SLG AVG
285 41 88 25 1 7 42 136 38 42 .397 .477 .309[/codebox]

Mark Wagner got promoted to Wilmington and was the DH in the game against Frederick tonight.

Wagner put up an .842 OPS for Greenville before being promoted in mid-August to Wilmington, where he struggled offensively. He turns 23 next June.

His final numbers in High-A:

[codebox]AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO OBP SLG OPS
.169 17 65 8 11 4 0 1 5 7 9 .243 .277 .520[/codebox]

Wagner, whose great season at Low-A Greenville last season earned him a promotion to High-A, is the starting catcher this year for the Lancaster Jethawks, Boston's new High-A affiliate in the California League. He's taken advantage of the hitter-friendly conditions out west early on, and is hitting .345/.394/.448, for an OPS of .842, with 1 HR and 6 RBIs through 7 games.

Wagner has a hit in all 12 games he's played so far this year and is 2nd in the California League with a .380 batting average. He has a .418 OBP and is slugging .500 (1 HR, 3 2Bs) for a .918 OPS.

Wagner has slowed down a little after a torrid start, but is still enjoying his first California League season, hitting .304 with 3 HRs in 112 ABs. He's definitely benefitting from Clear Channel Stadium as he's posted a 1.027 OPS at home and just .633 on the road.

From today's LA Times:

Bob Cuomo - Wagner proving to be quite a catch at Lancaster; Southern California has produced more than its share of major league players. In this space, we'll take a look at how Southland players are faring in the minors. This week: the Class-A California League

According to Baseball America, Mark Wagner is the best defensive catcher in the Boston Red Sox minor league system.

The Red Sox say he is excellent at throwing runners out and blocking balls in the dirt, and is a good game caller. They also say he has no particularly dominant offensive tools, that they're all average or above average.

Well, the Red Sox just may have to adjust the latter part of their scouting report, because Wagner is proving that he can be a factor offensively as well as defensively.

Wagner, Boston's ninth-round pick in the 2005 draft from UC Irvine, is the catcher for the Lancaster JetHawks. He has made only four errors in 63 games, but perhaps even more important, he's batting .315 (11th in the league) with nine homers and 51 RBIs. His slugging percentage is .532.

Wagner, who occasionally is the JetHawks' designated hitter, recently has a four-game stretch during which he was eight for 14 (.571) with nine RBIs. In his last 14 games, he is 17 for 45 (.378) with 12 RBIs.

Wagner, whose batting average on June 27 was .306, was 0 for 5 on June 30 against the High Desert Mavericks and 0 for 4 in his next game, July 2, against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

His offense helped the JetHawks clinch the league's South Division first-half title with a 12-4 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers on July 4. He homered twice and drove in five runs.

I'm curious to see how much of that offensive production is playing in Lancaster. Certainly a hitters park.

Quite a bit of it, according to his splits.

He's hitting .259/.379/.422 on the road, for a respectable OPS of .801. But his home splits are a staggering .360/.442/.612 - that's a 1.054 OPS. He's putting up solid numbers away from Lancaster, but he's still an overall product of that park.

Mark Quirk, Union Leader - Wagner's in high gear: Car enthusiast wins rave reviews for his work behind the plate

Wagner, 23, was a ninth-round pick of the Red Sox in the 2005 draft. Last season, while at Lancaster of the California League, he finished fifth among Red Sox minor leaguers with a .318 batting average and was rated by Baseball America as the best defensive catcher in the Red Sox minor-league system.

Before play on Wednesday night against Manchester, Wagner was hitting .271 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.

...

During spring training, Varitek took Wagner and the other catchers out for dinner a few times and picking up the tab wasn't the only generous gesture the captain made during those meetings.

"It's an inspiration and it's a good learning tool," Wagner said. "He's one of the best in there. To be able to talk to him and see how he goes about his business. It's a great learning experience to try to build off."

Modesty is another one of Wagner's best attributes. He admits he's good at just about everything he does as a catcher, but knows he has a lot of work to do before he can make it in the big leagues.

"I feel like I can pretty much do it all," Wagner said. "I just need to continue to work on developing that whole package. I feel like I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now in terms of everything I do, I just need to refine everything I do."

So far he's been able to do that at every level. In college he did it at the University of California-Irvine, and then at Lancaster last year. So far the Sea Dogs are happy with what he's been able to do with Portland, and it only seems like a matter of time before he makes it to the show.