Baseball America is busy right now putting together its top 20 prospects lists by league now that the minor league baseball season is over. They got it started with the Arizona League, the Gulf Coast League, Appalachian League, Pioneer League, the Northwest League, NY/Penn League, the Midwest League, the South Atlantic League, California League, Carolina League and Florida State League.
Now it’s time to take a look at where any Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the Eastern League where the Portland Sea Dogs play.
The Red Sox had three farmhands in the top 20 as third baseman Will Middlebrooks (8th), catcher Ryan Lavarnway (15th) and outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang (18th).
Middlebrooks was 5th round draft choice by the Red Sox back in 2007 out of high school. He spent most of the 2011 season with the Sea Dogs before his promotion to Triple-A. In 96 games for the Sea Dogs, Middlebrooks hit .302 with 18 home runs, 80 RBIs and six stolen bases. In 16 games with the Pawtucket Red Sox, Middlebrooks hit .161 with two home runs, eight RBIs and three stolen bases. When you combine his stats along with four games with the Lowell Spinners on a rehab assignment, he hit .285 with 23 home runs, 94 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 116 games.
Lavarnway was a 6th round draft choice of the Red Sox out of Yale in 2008. He split his time with the Sea Dogs and PawSox before his promotion to the big club late in August. In 55 games with the Sea Dogs, he hit .284 with 14 home runs and 38 RBIs. In 61 games with the PawSox, he hit .295 with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and had one stolen base. In his 17 games with the Red Sox, he hit .231 with two home runs and eight RBIs. When you combine his minor league stats, he hit .290 with 32 home runs, 93 RBIs and a stolen base.
Chiang was signed as an international free agent out of Taiwan by the Red Sox back in 2005. He played 88 games for the Sea Dogs hitting .340 with 18 home runs, 76 RBIs and six stolen bases. He was traded by the Red Sox to the Seattle Mariners in the Erik Bedard deal.
Our final look on a top 20 involving Red Sox farmhands will come on Friday when the International League top 20 is released.
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