The Boston Red Sox will enter the 2015 season with five prospects ranked in the top 100, according to MLB.com.
Catcher Blake Swihart (18), left-handers Henry Owens (19) and Eduardo Rodriguez (89), third baseman Rafael Devers (96) and outfielder Manuel Margot (99) cracked the top 100 list, which was released Friday during a special that aired on MLB Network.
ESPN.com’s Keith Law recently included the same five Red Sox farmhands in his top 100 breakdown, though the players’ exact rankings varied from those handed out by MLB.com. Swihart was the highest-ranked Sox prospect on Law’s list. The young backstop checked in at No. 10 overall.
While Law pegged Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs as the top prospect in Major League Baseball, MLB.com chose to stick with Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins. Buxton entered 2014 as baseball’s No. 1 prospect on nearly every major list, and an injury plagued season did little to cool the hype.
Swihart, Owens and Rodriguez all are candidates to make their major league debuts in 2015. Margot, 20, likely is a couple of years away. Devers, who turned 18 in October, still is very early in his development despite the tremendous upside he already has shown in the minors.
Thumbnail photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
