I got this over from Soxprospects.com

Top 5 are DRays, Sox, Reds, Rangers and Yanks. It's not good news for the rest of baseball when the Sox and Yanks farm systems are ranked in the top 5.

thank goodness we have the top team in major league baseball or i'd be pissed....

I have a hard time with us being ahead of the Reds. They are stacked. At least as deep as we are, great midrange and low minors guys who could significantly raise their profile this year. The only edge I want to give the Sox is two top star level A prospects in Buch and Ellsbury... but how can that go our way when the Reds have arguably the best prospect in baseball?

I know nothing about the Reds system. What I do know is that BA loves tools. Their top 10 Red Sox prospects were:

1. Clay Buchholz
2. Jacoby Ellsbury
3. Lars Anderson
4. Justin Masterson
5. Jed Lowrie
6. Ryan Kalish
7. Michael Bowden
8. Nick Hagadone
9. Oscar Tejeda
10. Josh Reddick

Where did you get this list?

On BA(Baseball America)'s website theyre not releasing the Sox list until Jan 4th.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...tiontop10/2007/

This piece is an excellent rebuttal for all those out there who have developed a hate for the Sox simply because we're the best. You know, the boobs who claim we win solely on bought talent instead of developed...

*Cue bitching and moaning*

"But the Red Sox are becoming the new Yankees. I don't like them at all."

Ive seen that same list you have above posted someplace else on the net, fwiw. I was curious what your source was.

I also wonder if we're knocked down to #3 now with Oakland adding so many high end prospects. I really really love De Los Santos. His numbers are absurd.

I got the list from the same source (soxprospects.com), from a poster who said he got it from their magazine. De Los Santos is a very nice prospect but I don't think he is enough to surpass 4 organizations. They must have a weird combination of tools evaluation and the level in which the players perform at. I'm really high on Anderson but I don't think he is #3 worthy yet (though by the end of '08 he could be number 1) and to see Bowden knocked down to the 7 slot. These players could easily make a 10th spot on other teams list:

Middlebrooks
Dent
Almanzar
Place
Lin

and maybe Bard.

It's no wonder why they would be so high on our organization if they are basing their list primarily off tools.

Oakland's system is still behind Boston's in my opinion. I like De Los Santos but Sweeney and Gonzalez are nothing special and they got completely hosed in the Dan Haren deal. They moved up a bit but not enough to move ahead of the Red Sox.

Yeah, Im not a fan of Gonzalez. Got way too much hype. Sweeney is a complete non factor to me. Doesnt have up the middle defense. Doesnt have a corner bat. Useless tweener without any real upside.

Their depth seems comparable to ours. Then again, I guess we have more high end young guys. Certainly the star high majors MLB ready guys go in our favor, too. Clay and Ellsbury are easily above Daric Barton. I like Barton but he's still young and he's a 1B without any HR power right now... and apparently he's a butcher in the field. He's put up great lines ARL wise, but still...

Yeah, youre right, In fact, Im not sure how high up Oakland is even moving. Was just thinking out loud at the time.

I do loooooove De Los Santos though.

The Rangers? Wow, that kind of came out of nowhere. I'm also somewhat surprised that we are ahead of the Reds, especially considering that Jay Bruce is the best prospect in baseball at the moment. And Homer Bailey is no slouch.

Texas really rebuilt their farm quickly with the Teixeira trade. Then they had a really, really good draft this year... Beavan, Main, etc... Also, a couple guys they already had took huge steps forward in Chris Davis and Teagarden. A year from now they very well could have the #1 farm system.

What worries a little about our system is that it seems a little soft in the middle. You have Jacoby and the No-Hit Kid ready to contribute big time in 08 but after that the next A-type talent (Lars and Bowden) are probably a couple of years away. The top 10 also includes Masterson, who put up a 4 ERA at Lancaster and Portland last year, Kalish, who's coming off an injury, and Hagadone, who profiles as a reliever.

The Johan trade would wipe some of these guys out.

It's also amazing how far Bard and Hansen have fallen.

Yeah. We are a little thin in the middle. It could be a down year for our system next year if we graduate a lot of guys.

Of course if Kalish, Hagadone and Lars produce like they should then we're going to look just as stacked, but without as many immediate contributors.

As for Hansen, he ended the year impressing people again. He could leap back into the spotlight with a strong start to 08. As for Bard... well, he got his K's back up in Hawaii but his walks were worrisome. He needs to put together at least a decent performance in a full season league before anyone puts him on a prospect list. He's still young and has talent, but hasnt done crap yet.

Will Bowden start the year in AAA? Or AA then move up when he starts dominating?

I wouldn't read too much into Masterson's ERA.

Lancaster is a launching pad and his Portland ERA is skewed by 3 really bad starts at the end of the season.

I'd expect to see him in ready by 09 along with Bowden.

I heard Hansen was throwing 90-93 and has recently corrected his sleep apnea. He could be ready for Boston by mid-season if his problems are corrected. Masterson has the stuff to be a very good 8th/9th guy and if can develope his change he could be a 2/3 starter. Kalish has been raved by scouts as a potential leadoff hitter with some pop. Bowden flat out dominated destroyed Lancaster, though scouts aren't too big on him because of where his change up is. He probably will figure as a 3/4 starter who can eat up innings. Still a very valuable commodity. Hagadone after getting torched in his debut dominated his first season of pro ball. I've heard he has the stuff to stick at the starting role, we'll see.