Six Pack

You’ve just finished reading profiles of the top 50 prospects in the Red Sox chain. And yet, if you’re to look at this list in November, you may wonder, hey, 50 prospects and no mention of the guy who won the American League Rookie of the Year? (FREE PREVIEW OF PREMIUM AND MAGAZINE CONTENT!)

Fifty prospects and no mention of the rookie who led the Sox in saves in 2007? No mention of the pitcher who led Sox minor leaguers in strikeouts…or the first baseman who led the organization in homers…or the pitcher whom the Sox selected with a compensatory pick in last year’s draft…or the catcher who is yet another promising power hitter from last year’s draft?

Alas, the criteria we used in compiling the Diehard Top 50—players must be 27 years old or younger, must have played at least one game for a Sox American-based farm club and must still retain rookie eligibility in Major League Baseball—eliminated six players who should be household names to Sox fans by October: Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka, Devern Hansack, Daniel Bard and Caleb Clay, first baseman Lars Anderson and catcher Tyler Weeden.

Had these six players been eligible for the list, our top 10 likely would have looked very different. But their ineligibility for the list does not diminish the impact they may make this season. Here’s a look at the sextet.


DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Actually, Matsuzaka was a household name in Boston long before he finally signed with the Sox last December. The Japanese import, who agreed to a six-year, $52 million deal after the Sox bid $51.1 million for the right to negotiate exclusively with him, is already a merchandising and marketing machine who should be the ace of the Sox rotation no later than Opening Day 2008.

Matsuzaka, 26, was the top pitcher in Japan for much of his eight-year career with the Seibu Lions (108-60 with a 2.95 ERA and 1,355 strikeouts in 1,402 2/3 innings) and was named the Most Valuable Player of last year’s World Baseball Classic after he led Japan to the crown.

Matsuzaka is the first Japanese starter to jump to an American League team in the prime of his career since Hideki Irabu, who was a bust for the Yankees from 1997-1999. But given Matsuzaka’s stuff (a six-pitch arsenal, including a fastball that has been clocked as high as 97 mph) and his work ethic (in Japan, he reportedly threw 150-pitch bullpen sessions the day before a start), the Sox believe he is far better suited—physically and mentally—than Irabu to handle the pressures of American baseball.

He’d better be: Anything less than 15 wins and an ERA under 4.00 will be considered a disappointment.

“I think one of the things that made Daisuke so attractive, besides his obvious talent and character and makeup, is the fact that he is 26, and for the next six years, we hope to get the prime of his career,” Theo Epstein said during Matsuzaka’s introductory press conference Dec. 14. “It’s not a short-term transaction, it’s not a quick fix or a band-aid for next year’s pitching staff. We want Daisuke to be with the Red Sox for the rest of his career and [to] do many great things.”


DEVERN HANSACK: The Rip Van Winkle of prospects. Hansack, who is believed to be 29 years old—the Sox list his birthday as Feb. 5, 1978, but other sources have his birth year as 1980 or 1982— never pitched beyond Single-A for the Astros and sat out the 2004 and 2005 seasons before the Sox signed him after watching him during a tournament in the Netherlands in early 2006.

All Hansack did was become the ace of Double-A Portland’s staff (8-7, 3.26 ERA), win the decisive game of the Eastern League Championship Series, earn a promotion to the major leagues and throw a five-inning no-hitter against the Orioles in the final game of the season.

There was a burgeoning belief over the winter the Sox’ search for a closer to replace Jonathan Papelbon would end with Hansack, who has an arsenal and delivery similar to that of Orlando Hernandez. The concept of Hansack closing appeared slightly less likely as the Sox signed several veterans over the winter to vie for the position, but former Portland manager and current Sox advance scout Todd Claus believes you’ll be hearing plenty about Hansack in 2007.

“I think Hansack is going to make that major league team,” Claus said. “I haven’t looked at the numbers, I couldn’t tell you [the numbers]. I just know that he can fulfill many, many roles. He can start, he can long relieve, he can close. He can do anything. He’s got a resilient arm and he’s got good stuff.

“He could be a guy that a lot of people are writing stories about.”


DANIEL BARD: Signability was a big reason Bard, considered a top 10 talent in last year’s draft, slipped to the Sox at no. 28. The University of North Carolina product didn’t sign until Sept. 4, far too late to join one of the Sox affiliates.

But the right-handed Bard proved worth the wait during the instructional league last fall in Ft. Myers. “The ease with which he throws—you hear about him throwing 100 mph and all that,” Sox director of amateur scouting Jason McLeod said. “He can do it and he’ll make it look real easy.

“The ball just explodes out of his hand and he’s just a different animal. Throwing against wood bats, he can sink the ball, and I really think he’s a guy that’s going to break a lot of bats at 93, 94 mph. I’ve never seen a kid throw as hard as he does as easy as he does.”

Bard still needs to develop an off-speed pitch, but if he can perfect that during the spring, watch out. The Sox will be cautious with him at first, but given his experience at North Carolina, they won’t hesitate to move him through the chain if his performance warrants it. Don’t be surprised if he’s in Fenway by September.


CALEB CLAY: Unlike Bard, Clay signed with the Sox shortly after he was selected out of an Alabama high school with a compensatory pick in between the first and second rounds (44th overall). But as a precaution, the Sox shut down Clay, who didn’t begin to pitch until halfway through his senior season, and sent him to Ft. Myers so he could get acclimated with the minor league complex.

Clay impressed the Sox during the instructional league with his athleticism, velocity and feel for pitching. He throws a mid-90s fastball with a sinker and a rapidly developing changeup. And while McLeod made it clear he wasn’t comparing the two, he said it was difficult to look at Clay and not think of another Alabama product he once signed—Padres ace Jake Peavy.

“By no means am I saying he’ll become Jake Peavy,” said McLeod, who was with the Padres from 1994-2003. “It’s that kind of stuff. The 94[-mph fastball] and the good change. Now his thing is he’s only pitched [since] March [2006], whereas Jake was so far advanced on the mound.”

Clay is likely to open the season in extended spring training before joining short-season Single-A Lowell in June. “Caleb just needs innings,” McLeod said. “But he’s a tremendously gifted athlete with a very good arm.”


LARS ANDERSON: Considered a first-round caliber talent coming out of high school in California, Anderson slipped to the Sox in the 18th round due to, you guessed it, signability concerns. Signing the left-handed hitting Anderson was a coup for the Sox, who are low on both power hitters and corner infielders throughout the chain.

What most impressed the Sox about Anderson, though, was not his natural power but his mature approach at the plate. “The thing that really is impressive is that most of the balls he hits out are to straight away centerfield or to left-centerfield,” McLeod said. “You don’t see high school players doing it like that. He’s doing it so easy. He just flicks the ball and it goes over that Green Monster out there in centerfield. So obviously we like the power potential with him. We think he can hit and hit for a lot of power.”

Anderson will likely open this season in extended spring training before joining Lowell, but like fellow 2006 draftee Aaron Bates, he may not be long for the Spinners if he succeeds immediately. Don’t be surprised if Anderson ends up at Single-A Greenville before the end of the summer.


TYLER WEEDEN: Another high school player who was considered an early first-day talent, Weeden slipped to the Sox in the 16th round due to concerns he’d accept a scholarship to the University of Arkansas. Currently a catcher, Weeden—who also played quarterback in high school—is big enough and athletic enough so that he may one day give the Sox yet another option at first base.

“He’s got a big arm [and] big, raw power from the right side,” McLeod said. “He’s probably not as advanced a hitter as Lars is at this time, but he can really juice the ball.”

If Weeden remains behind the plate, he’ll likely spend the season with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox.


Diehard managing editor Jerry Beach can be reached at [e-mail]. To receive a free issue of Diehard, call 888-979-0979.