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 and the Midwest League.
Now it’s time to take a look at where any Red Sox farmhands ranked in the top 20 of the South Atlantic League where the Greenville Drive play.
The Red Sox had four farmhands ranked in the top 20 as outfielder Brandon Jacobs (8th), shortstop Xander Bogaerts (10th), outfielder Bryce Brentz (16th) and first baseman Miles Head (20th) all garnered some attention.
Jacobs was a 10th round draft choice for the Red Sox in 2009 out of high school and has moved up a level each year. This season in Greenville, Jacobs hit .303 with 17 home runs, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 115 games.
Bogaerts was signed as international free agent in 2009 out of Aruba. The 19 year-old skipped the GCL and NY/Penn Leagues and put himself on the map with a solid 2010 season. In 72 games for the Drive, Bogaerts hit .260 with 16 home runs, 45 RBIs and one stolen base.
Brentz was a first round draft choice for the Red Sox in 2010 out of Middle Tennessee State and spent a better portion of his season playing in Salem. He played in 45 games for the Drive where he hit .359 with 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and two stolen bases. In 75 games with Salem, Brentz hit .274 with 19 home runs, 58 RBIs and one stolen base. When you combine his stats for the season, he hit .306 with 30 home runs, 94 RBIs and three stolen bases.
Head was a 26th round draft choice out of high school for the Red Sox in 2009. He also split his season with the Drive and Salem. In 66 games for the Drive, Head hit .338 with 15 home runs, 53 RBIs and four stolen bases. In 63 games for Salem, he hit .254 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. When combining his stats between the two clubs, Head hit .299 with 22 home runs, 82 RBIs and four stolen bases.
Since the Red Sox don’t have a team anymore in the California League (which gets announced today), the next look we’ll have is on Friday when the top 20 prospects for the Carolina League are announced.
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