#10. (Tie) Lowell pitchers Kyle Weiland and Stolmy Pimentel. Weiland’s 0.77 WHIP is great no matter what level. He was a man amongst boys at Lowell and I expect he’ll move through the system fast. Stolmy pitched damn well for an 18 year old, finishing with an impressive WHIP and a SO/IP close to 1. Both these guys look to have a high ceiling.

#9. Oscar Tejada. Continues his solid development. Finished the year at .261 at Greenville, but makes the list because he’s ONLY EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD!!

#8. Yamaico Navarro. One of our better prospects, and at a key position. Continues to hit and field as he moves up the ladder, hitting .363 with outstanding SLG and OPS numbers - not bad for an 8th round pick!

#7. Zach Daeges – Here’s one of the few Lancaster graduates who actually kept hitting after leaving high A. He also has good plate discipline. He didn’t hit for a lot of power in Portland so his future as a big leaguer may depend on his defense, which I’ve heard both good and bad about.

#6. Argenis Diaz. Hit much better than expected this year at both Lancaster and Portland and defensively, he is supposedly a big-league caliber SS already. And he’s only 21! If the offense is for real, he gives the Sox some real flexibility in the middle infield (e.g., move Lowrie to second or 3rd, trade Lowrie, even trade Pedroia as unlikely as that would be).

#5. Michael Almanzar. He was outstanding in the GCL, then skipped Lowell for Greenville where he barely hit over .200. But for a 17 year old, this is pretty damn impressive! It’s hard to predict the success of a 17 year old so he’s a wait and see, but he might be the BEST talent in our system including Anderson!

#4. Dan Bard. An amazing turnaround in one year! #1 on my Biggest Disappointment list a year ago - Then: a 6.42 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 56 walks in 61 IP with lots of wild pitches and hit batters. Now: a 1.51 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and dramatically improved control at higher levels. The shift to relief and the major improvement in control are the clear reason for this turnaround, although his increased walk ration in Portland versus Greenville is cause for some concern. Otherwise, he’s Joba Chamberlain-dominant, and could find a spot on the Sox roster next year.

#3. Michael Bowden. Continued his strong development through AA and into AAA at only 21. I think he’s really a tough guy to predict for next year, as he could be a bottom of the rotation starter (with a questionable ceiling that might be as high as a #2), middle-reliever (which he actually might be best suited for), or pitching for some other team since he’s VERY valuable trade bait.

#2. Luis Exposito. Where did this guy come from?! From so-so offensive numbers a year ago to suddenly crushing the ball at Greenville and Lancaster. This complements his supposedly good defense. With Mark Wagner’s struggles this year, Expo is now probably our best catching prospect, and at a position we critically need help.

#1. Lars Anderson. Continued to prove that he’s the best prospect in the system, with an OPS well over .900 in both Lancaster and Portland at only 20 years old. I’m just wondering what the Sox do with Youk and Lowell when Andersen hits Boston, maybe even sometime in 2009.

Near misses: Beau Vaughan, Charlie Zink, Jeff Bailey (I know he’s older, but a .967 OPS in AAA!), Mitch Dening, Josh Reddick (missed the list because he struggled in Portland and doesn’t walk enough), Joe Thurston, Chris Carter, Dusty Brown.

To me, the #1 story in the minors in one Daniel Bard. This guy was stuck on the fast train to Neighborgallville, and after seeing Craig Hansen and Bryce Cox become highly-touted bullpen failures (not sure Cox is a failure yet, but his stock plummeted last season), most people were convinced that the same fate awaited Bard.

A role change here, a mechanics tweak there, and 1 year later he is the best bullpen prospect in the system, and maybe as high as #2 overall (Soxprospects has him at #4, but I can see an argument for him over Bowden and Reddick). A massive turnaround.

Bard had a great year, no doubt about it, but if he can't get those walks down, he might avoid Neighborgallville but he probably won't avoid Aardsmatown.

BTW, he barely played last year (9 games) before being put on the Temporarily Inactive List (i.e. he was not injured). His emergence this year, to me, is a bigger story than Dan Bard dominating Greenville as a reliever.

Shouldn't Che-Hsuan Lin be somewhere on this list? The power isn't really there yet, but he's emerged as one of the fastest players in our system, possibly even faster than Ellsbury/Kalish, and we got to see his cannon arm in action for Taiwan in the Olympics. I'd rate that over Daeges.

Do you have any idea what the disciplinary issue was with Exposito? I've heard a problem being referenced, but I'm not sure what it is. I certainly am interested in what he might turn into. A power hitting catcher who can play good defense and hit for average is certainly something we can use. I do worry that if he doesn't develop more plate discipline he could struggle at the higher levels, but I definitely have my eye on him.

Sorry to tell you but Kalish doesn't have anywhere close to the speed of Ellsbury.

I'm not sure how Charlie Zink is a near miss. Simply because he's a non-prospect? Because he's pushing 30? He had breakout year!

In all of the Int'l league, he was tied for 2nd in IP, tied for 2nd in W despite the shit support he got some games, 2nd in league ERA, He gave up fewer hits, runs, HRs than most of the top starters and had the best WHIP in the league.

He also threw 2 run, 4 IP ball before getting lit up in his major league debut that came on 3 days rest.

For a guy who's had some success early, and then a few years of crap, this is easily one of the best stories of the year.

Way to not answer my question.

Legitimate speed and good OBP in a center field prospect. Cannon arm. Played for his country in the Olympics. No mention???

Not sure why you feel so strongly about Lin's performance this year. A .249 BA and OPS barely touching .700 (.701) in middle A does not make for a Minor League story of the year. Yeah, he's got a high ceiling, great speed and defense but the guy has not yet shown he can hit, and may never even make the bigs because of his bat. This list is really about guys who got it done this year.

I hear you, brs, on Zink. Those are all good arguments, but you can also make good arguments for the guys on my list as well. I think that having to leave quality guys off the list, whoever they are, underscores just how good the Sox Minor league system is right now.

I think you're missing some numbers on Lin that make a difference.

Namely, 33 SB's, a .340 OBP, and a ~.100 IsoD. If all he becomes is a super-speedy good defender with good plate discipline, there's definitely a place in MLB for that.

Definitely not a Top 10 positive story, but you have to include the major injuries to 3 top pitching prospects from the 2007 draft. Nick Hagadone, Austin Bailey and Drake Britton all went down with major arm injuries.

Add on to that the cancer diagnosis for Anthony Rizzo and it was not a good year for the health of the 2007 Amateur Draft.

1. Jed Lowrie -- productive and steady starting shortstop the whole second half of the season
2. Justin Masterson -- contributing effective innings where asked
3. Lars Anderson -- rising to AA and posting huge rate stats there
4. Michael Bowden -- rising to AAA, contributing in a major league start
5. Josh Reddick -- dominating high-A, earning promotion to AA
6. Dan Bard -- earns another season to prove he wasn't a completely wasted draft pick
7. Chris Carter -- shows he can be a useful part of something
8. Argenis Diaz -- rises to AA, holds his own, dazzles with the glove
9. Yamaico Navarro -- good progress, another middle infield prospect
10. Zach Daegas -- continues to look like Kevin Youkilis Jr.
11. Felix Doubront -- One of two starting pitchers on this list; that's problematic.
12. Mitch Denning -- shouldn't we hear more about this person?

I was especially bummed about Hagadone's injury. He definitely would have been top 10 and could have made a impact in the bigs next year.

Red Sox award their Minor League Players of the Year Awards: