Ryan Westmoreland surgery

This news broke a few days ago but Ryan Westmoreland was scheduled to undergo brain surgery today after he was diagnosed with a "cavernous malformation". Putting aside his vast potential as a ballplayer let us hope that his surgery and recovery process go smoothly and according to plan.

Let us share our thoughts and prayers for this young man and his family. By all accounts he is a bright and talented kid and hopefully he best days are still ahead of him.

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.

Ryan Westmoreland shows promise

Rhode Island native Ryan Westmoreland is having great success in his first season of professional baseball. Playing for the Lowell Spinners, Westmoreland has showcased all of his tools an potential.

Westmoreland is hitting .292/.396/.483 in 250 PA. His walk rate is 14.3% and he has showed a very advanced hitting approach at the plate. He is extremely athletic and has speed to burn. So far he is a perfect 17-17 in stolen base attempts.

He leads the New York-Penn League with a .423 wOBA along with wRC (both available on FanGraphs) at 47.4 runs. His speed score is 5th highest at 7.6.

While he has been mainly limited to DH duties since recovering from shoulder surgery, he does project as a solid centerfielder down the line.