The Red Sox farm system has been thinned out a great deal, with the team trading upper level prospects for established players. Adrian Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey, and Mark Melancon all figure to be significant contributors in 2012 and beyond, but those trades have left the Red Sox with very few significant prospects who could contribute in 2012.
There are, however, many high upside players who just finished seasons in A ball. The Red Sox have four players on Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein's top 101 prospects list, with SS Xander Bogaerts leading the way at 32, with Brandon Jacobs at 46, and potential Kevin Youkilis replacement Will Middlebrooks at 55. Keith Law has Bogaerts as the Sox top prospect as well, and includes catcher Blake Swihart in his top 100, but Middlebrooks and Jacobs both missed the cut. Also in the system is outfielder Bryce Brentz, who Goldstein ranked at the #6 prospect in the system, and is coming off a massive 30 homerun season, split between low-A and high-A. Finally, there is Sean Coyle, who flashed signs of promise in his full season debut at low-A as a nineteen year old, hitting .247/.362/.464. But what can we expect from them?
