Keith Couch is one of the more intriguing Red Sox pitching prospects right now, and is currently pitching for the high A Salem Red Sox. Last year he went 7-5 with a 3.54 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and 123 strikeouts in 137.1 IP for the Greenville Drive.

This year, he’s 4-3 with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.52 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts in 46 inning for the Salem Red Sox. His FIP is 3.11, which is very impressive and suggests that he’s been better than his ERA suggests.

He throws a 90-93 MPH sinker, a 77 MPH curveball, and a low 80s changeup that still need work. He’s most likely suited for the bullpen, but it’s too early to say for sure. He’s one of the more underrated Red Sox prospects right now, and hopefully he gets talked about more going forward.

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Mookie Betts is a shortstop (who is being converted to second base) who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of last year’s draft. He had committed to Tennessee but he signed on August 15th for $750,000 with the Sox and played in one game for the GCL Red Sox, where he went 2-4 with a stolen base.

According to SoxProspects, he is known for his athleticism and is projected as a good contact hitter down the line. He is projected to be a plus defensive player as well. He played 4 sports in high school (fooball, baseball, basketball, and bowling), which is always something you like to see in a player.

He is projected by SoxProspects to start out the season in Lowell in June and is expected to move up to Greenville in 2013.

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Matt Spalding was the Red Sox 29th round draft pick last year. He was signed for $275,000 on August 13th, 2011 although he was committed to the University of Louisville before signing with the Sox.

He features three pitches right now, a 91-95 MPH fastball, a high 70s curveball, and a developing changeup. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to start the season with the GCL Red Sox and he is currently in extended spring training.

Photo credit to Bryan Green

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Justin Erasmus is a 22 year old reliever for the Greenville Drive. He was born in South Africa and signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent out of the Australian Academy in March of 2007. Erasmus has been very impressive for the Red Sox since signing, and outside of yesterday’s rough performance (Erasmus gave up 4 runs in one inning), he’s been good this year as well. He throws a good two seam fastball, along with a mid 70s curveball and a changeup.

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Recently I had time to do a quick interview with Red Sox 1st base prospect Boss Moanaroa. Moanaroa was signed by the Red Sox out of New Zealand in May of 2008 and was signed for $120,000. Last year for the Lowell Spinners Moanaroa struggled a bit, hitting .241/.339/.399 with 5 home runs,  11 doubles, and 3 triples. The pop was there, but he had trouble adjusting to the pitching.

But Boss has turned things around this year, to say the least. He’s currently hitting .289/.433/.424 with 4 home runs, 4 doubles, and a triple to his credit. Obviously, the most impressive aspect of his game right now is his ability to get on base so far this season. One of his weaknesses was supposed to be that he had a below average approach, but he hasn’t looked like he has a below average approach this year. It’s still early, but Moanaroa has impressed many with his hitting.

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Recently I had a chance to do a quick interview with Red Sox prospect Reynaldo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a 26 year old slugger out of Colombia who is currently playing for the Portland Sea Dogs. He has a powerful bat and was discovered by the Red Sox in an independent league when he was playing for the Yuma Scorpions. In 2009, he was named the Independent Leagues top prospect by Baseball America.

He’s currently hitting .258/.348/.546 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, and two triples. He currently is a 1st baseman, but he can play left field if needed. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to become a major league bench player with improvements with strike zone management and selectiveness.

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Henry Owens was drafted by the Red Sox in the supplementary first round in 2010. He ended up signing for $1,550,000, a hefty fee for a supplemental first rounder. The money will not be spent in vain though, as Owens is a top-notch prospect and has front of the rotation potential. He is projected by SoxProspects.com to start out the season in Greenville, which is a testament to how far along Owens already is, even though he’s only 19. He has been underrated going into 2012, much of that is due to him not throwing a professional pitch yet. But when scouts see what he can do this year he won’t be underrated much longer.

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Garin Cecchini was the Red Sox 4th round draft pick in 2010. He signed for $1,310,00 and the Red Sox have to be thinking that his signing is going to be a bargain. In his stint with the Lowell Spinners 20 year old Cecchini hit .298/.398/.500 in 32 games. He hit 3 home runs and 12 doubles in 114 at bats for the Spinners. Although his season was cut short by a wrist injury, he impressed and is ready to go out and impress the Red Sox brass.

There isn’t much you can criticize Cecchini for. He has plus power potential, solid speed, good defender, plus arm, and good plate patience. At this point it seems as if he has been heavily underrated by scouts and baseball writers alike. He is definitely a player to watch out for going into 2012 and Red Sox fans should be ready to see him in Boston eventually. We’d like to thank Garin for taking part of his time to do an interview with us and we wish him luck in the upcoming season!

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Alex Hassan is a 23 year old outfielder who spent all last year playing for the Portland Sea Dogs. Hassan is a Massachusetts native who grew up in Milton. He was drafted by the Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2009 draft. Hassan has done nothing but impress since being drafted by the Sox. He is known for his excellent plate discipline and ability to grind out at bats. He received an invite from the Red Sox to be a part of Major League spring training and played against the Twins today, walking twice in 2 plate appearances. He is projected to start in Portland this year, although I think he should start off in Pawtucket based on his performance last year for the Sea Dogs. We thank Hassan for taking time out of his day to do an interview with us and wish him the best of luck!

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Recently I had a chance to interview Blake Swihart, the Red Sox first round pick in 2011. The 19 year old catcher out of Cleveland High School in New Mexico appeared in 2 games last year for the GCL Red Sox and is projected by SoxProspects.com to start out the year in Greenville. Many experts said that the reason that Blake dropped so low in the draft was due to concern that he wouldn’t sign with the team he was drafted with. The Red Sox took that risk and they’ve got to be feeling very happy that they drafted him. He’s currently rated the #10 Red Sox prospect and has a ton of potential. We thank Blake for taking the time to do an interview with us. Best of luck to you in the upcoming season and in your career Blake!

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