Marty Dobrow - Minor League Notebook: They're well organized; Affiliates filled with winners
Within the Red Sox organization, however, 2008 is almost guaranteed to be viewed as a major success. The "scouting and player development machine" Theo Epstein promised when he became general manager in November 2002 is definitely up and running.
One measure has been the number of players drafted and developed by Boston who have been major contributors at the major league level this year. Those include a few who were drafted under the Dan Duquette regime (Kevin Youkilis, eighth round, 2001; Jon Lester, second round, 2002) and several under Epstein (Jonathan Papelbon, fourth round, 2003; Dustin Pedroia, second round, 2004; Jacoby Ellsbury, first round, 2005; Jed Lowrie, first round, 2005; Justin Masterson, second round, 2006).
Within the Sox minor league system, 2008 has been a sparkling year. A number of highly regarded prospects have climbed the ladder, and the overall team success has been impressive. Four of the six minor league squads are in first or second place in their division. Within all of minor league baseball, the Sox have the fourth-best collective record at 380-314 (trailing the Yankees, Giants, and Rangers).
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Also of note was the fifth save for 2006 first-round pick Daniel Bard. After a disastrous first year as a starter in 2007 (3-5, 6.42 at Greenville, and 0-2, 10.13 at Lancaster), he has been transformed this season as a reliever. After going 1-0 with an 0.64 ERA in 15 games with Greenville, he was promoted to Double A. With the Sea Dogs, he has gone 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA. Bard, who has reached 100 miles per hour, has recently stepped into the closing role.
"He's handled everything we've thrown at him, and he's worked really hard," said director of player development Mike Hazen. "You can count on just a few fingers his bad outings. Other than that, he's dominated."
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Prospect to watch: Hunter Jones. The 24-year-old lefthanded reliever began the year at Portland, where he went 0-1 with four saves and a 1.19 ERA before getting promoted to Pawtucket. He has gone 7-2 with seven saves and a 3.35 ERA with the PawSox. In his last 23 appearances, he is 5-0 with seven saves and a 2.10 ERA.
Amalie Benjamin - The signs are good and bad
So, the Red Sox (and reportedly the Royals) broke $10 million in a draft that yielded good and bad news for baseball.
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That's where things get tricky. It's with the signees later in the draft, like 18th-rounder Lars Anderson, that teams willing to spend can clean up. Out of high school in 2006, Anderson got $825,000, well above his draft slot, and has turned into the Sox' top position prospect. Not yet 21, Anderson is hitting .330 with five home runs and 25 RBIs in 103 at-bats with Double A Portland.
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There is no question Major League Baseball is against teams giving prospects far more than their draft position warrants. While the issue may be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement, there is little that can be done at the moment.
"We work very hard each year to try to encourage the clubs to work within the slotting system," Manfred said. "Seventy-something percent of the players sign at slot. One solution is to work hard with the system we have now. Longer term, I think a more concrete solution is going to be a product of collective bargaining. We have had discussions with the Players Association in earlier rounds of collective bargaining. We are constantly evaluating solutions."
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That was the reason Kelly got what he did, but more graphic cases occurred in the lower rounds - Anderson in 2006, Will Middlebrooks in 2007 ($925,000, fifth round), and Westmoreland in 2008.
