Christian Vazquez, who is a ridiculous defensive catcher, is hitting .289/.374/.397 in Portland right now.
He's got 43 BB and 41 K's.
May not get a ton of pop out of him, but he throws out 45% of base stealers, takes a lot of walks, and rarely strikes out. If he can be a .350-.360 OBP guy at the MLB level and control the running game, that would be a huge addition.
Barnes successful in AAA debut
5.1IP 3H 2BB 7K 0R 86pitches
Red Sox top pitchers have been killing it the past couple months:
Webster last 8 starts (AAA): 45.2 IP, 28 hits, 2.56 ERA, 15 BB, 49 K, 3 HRA
Ranuado in AAA: 30.1 IP, 32 hits, 2.97 ERA, 7 BB, 21 K, 1 HRA
Owens (AA): 24.2 IP, 12 hits, 1.09 ERA, 14 BB, 38 K, 1 HRA
I don't have Barnes numbers for AA, but his last month or two before his promotion was his best stretch of the season, and his first start in AAA was a success.
RDLR has definitely hit a wall since July. Not sure if its fatigue or what but he'll need more time in AAA.
Britton and Workman have also both looked good so far the majors. Still think Workman is a starter though long term
At worst, that would be a terrific backup C and late-game defensive substitution.
Suddenly the Sox seem flush with real potential at this position. Good article on Swihart from Sept 2:
http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index...uite_a_ca.html
From what I see so far, I'd be very happy with this duo manning the dish for the Sox for a while in the future.
Unbelievably, the Red Sox could have 9 preseason top 100 prospects next year.
Bogaerts
JBJ
Owens
Cecchini
Barnes
Ranaudo
Betts
Swihart
Ball
Not mentioning Manuel Margot, Jon Denney, or Luis Diaz, all of whom are major break out candidates for 2014.
Baseball America just rated the Red Sox's farm system to be #1 in baseball for top-level prospects.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/major...act-potential/
here's a link for todays BA chat ref the red sox farm. www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1387205875
Nice article about Mookie Betts.
http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index...l_friends.html