Anthony Rizzo gets promoted

Last week one of my favorite prospects, Anthony Rizzo, was promoted to Double-A Portland to fill the void of Lars Anderson.

Rizzo has a really solid '09 campaign between Greenville and Salem. He was off to a slower start in 2010 but slugged .491 in 114 at bats for Salem this year.

Rizzo is a plus defender at first base and at just 20 years old his bat is coming along nicely. Keep in mind he is just a year and a half removed from chemotherapy as well.

Although the sample size is small, Rizzo's LD rate is way down and FB rate up from his career numbers. Could this be a change in approach to loft more balls or simply random noise? The only way for us to know is to watch him in person or simply wait for him to accumulate more at bats.

Baseball America Red Sox Top 10 prospects

Baseball America has released its top 10 prospect list for the Boston Red Sox.

Its hard to argue with their selections, although Michael Bowden is notably absent. The one player I think they have drastically underrated is Anthony Rizzo. As I noted over at SOSH,

I'm pretty high on Rizzo, to me he could be a better first base prospect than Anderson. He posted a .357 wOBA as a 20-yr old in Advanced-A and is a solid defender +5 according to Total Zone. His home run power has been a little slow to develop but he has good size and did hit 37 doubles last year.

Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in May of 2008 and after undergoing chemo he was declared cancer free in November of '08. He was a sixth round pick in 2007 and excelled in his first full season this year. He has good gap power (37 doubles) and should add more home run pop as he returns to full strength. With his great defensive ability he may actually be a better prospect than Lars Anderson. He will likely start the year in Advanced-A and could move up to Double-A by mid-season.

Updated Top 10 Prospects

As you can see from the sidebar at left, we have updated the organization's top 10 prospect list. The rankings are compiled using a variety of scouting reports as well as minor league statistics, with heavy emphasis on the 2009 season. The rankings are as follows:

1. Casey Kelly

Kelly saw action on the mound and at shortstop, although his future is most certainly as a pitcher.

2. Ryan Westmoreland

In his first professional season Westmoreland posted a .401 on-base percentage and slugged .484. He was also 19-19 in stolen bases.

3. Josh Reddick

Reddick played well enough in Double-A to warrant a promotion to the majors. He posted a .382 wOBA and .871 OPS in Portland.

4. Michael Bowden

Bowden had somewhat of a down year in Triple-A. His 1.87 K/BB rate and 4.08 FIP were above his career averages. Still, Bowden is possibly the closest major league ready pitcher in the organization.

5. Junichi Tazawa

In his first professional season Tazawa quickly rose from Double-A to the majors. He made 18 starts for Portland with a 3.35 FIP and 3.38 K/BB rate. He also threw 25.1 innings with the Red Sox, allowing 43 hits and striking out 13 while walking 9.

6. Lars Anderson

Anderson began the year as the top prospect but faltered in his second go-around with Portland. His wOBA slipped to .315 and his ISO dropped to .112 after a breakout performance in 2008.

7. Ryan Kalish

Kalish had the biggest breakout in 2009. He tore up Advanced-A with a .513 slugging percentage and .428 wOBA. In Double-A he had a wOBA of .360 and slugged .440 while stealing 14 bags.

8. Stolmy Pimentel

The 19-year old exhibited excellent control while strikeout out nearly 8 batters per nine innings in Single-A. He had a 3.62 FIP in 117.2 innings.

9. Anthony Rizzo

Rizzo split time between Single-A and Advanced-A posting wOBAs of .390 and .357 respectively. His power is still developing but with his 6'3 220 pounds frame he should be able to generate more home run power in the future.

10. Ryan Lavarnway

Lavarnway has massive power and belted 21 home runs to go along a with a .255 ISO this season in Single-A. He was a little old for the competition level so it should be interesting to see how well he retains his power at higher levels.

Red Sox Minor League Mid-Season Report

C Tim Federowicz

Federowicz earned a recent promotion to Salem after dominating the Carolina League. He is posting a .979 OPS and an impressive .579 slugging percentage. He leads all Red Sox minor leaguers with 11 homeruns and also has a Gross Production Average of .317.

1B Anthony Rizzo

Rizzo, just 19 years old, also was recently promoted to Salem. Rizzo had an OPS of .859 with Greenville. His extra base hit % was an outstanding 41%. His wOBA was .374 and his secondary average was .302.

2B Ryan Khoury

Khoury's .378 OBP and 15% walk rate stand out here. Although he is struggling from the plate a bit, his secondary average is still .315.

3B Jorge Jimenez

Jimenez sports a .811 OPS and .369 wOBA. He has also drawn nearly as many walks (24) as strikeouts (30), an impressive feat for a young hitter.

SS Oscar Tejeda

From an offensive statistics standpoint, this is the organization's weakest position. Tejeda gets the nod here, although his .310 wOBA and .351 slugging are from good.

OF Josh Reddick

Reddick has since cooled off from his blistering start, but his overall stat line is still impressive. He is slugging .514. His secondart average is .354 and his wOBA stands at .373.

OF Che-Hsuan Lin

Lin's .361 OBP and speed (16 sb) make him an interesting prospect. His plate discipline is well-beyond his experience level and he is drawing walks at a rate of nearly 13%.. His speed also translates to stellar range in the outfield.

OF Dave Mailman

Mailman's performance in Greenville earned him a promotion to Salem this past week.. He posted a .824 OPS with the Drive. He had a secA of .297 and also stole 10 bases in 12 tries.

DH Aaron Bates

Bates has come back down to earth since his call-up to Pawtucket; however, for the season he still has a combined OPS of .818 and a .370 OBP. Bates isn't walking as much this season, but his raw power is still there and it should be just a mater of time before he adjusts to AAA pitching.

Honorable Mention

Mark Wagner

Ryan Lavarnway

SP Stolmy Pimentel

Pimentel's 2.70 FIP is impressive especially despite allowing a .378 BABIP. Just 19 years old, Pimentel has averaged over 8 Ks per 9 innings this season.

SP Clay Buchholz

Buchholz' 1.90 ERA and 3.13 K/BB ratio. His WHIP is .92. His BABIP is absurdly low at .212 which suggests it may be hard for him to continue his dominance, but Buchholz will continue to showcase his stuff for the front office.

SP Casey Kelly

Kelly will likely switch back to shortstop soon after the all-star break, but his future appears brightest on the mound. Between Greenville and Salem this season he has a 3.14 FIP and a 4.6 K/BB rate. His command has been superb, as is his 4.3% HR/F rate.

Mid-Season MVP -- Tim Federowicz

Mid-Season Cy Young -- Casey Kelly

Surprise Prospect -- Anthony Rizzo

Disappointing Prospect -- Michael Almanzar