As the 2013 season draws nearer, there are a few things that all baseball fans can count on:

Rankings, predictions, ratings and grades.

Basically a collection of various evaluations regarding everything from a team's starting rotation to a franchise's minor league prospects.

John Sickles of SB Nation and MinorLeagueBall.com released some preliminary grades of the top minor league prospects in the Red Sox organization on Monday.

This was far from the first evaluation of Red Sox prospects since the 2012 season concluded.

One thing that stood out was that the top three are identical in ranking to the top three ranked by Baseball Prospectus last October.

The consensus is that Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley and Matt Barnes are the Red Sox' top three prospects.

Bogaerts is clearly the class of the entire organization, though.

Prospectus implies he's a future All-Star. Sickles refers to him as one of the game's "top elite prospects."

Of greater importance is that Baseball Prospectus seems to think Bogaerts could make his major league debut as early as this coming season.

It is not just that Bogaerts is the top prospect in the Red Sox organization. He also ranks high when stacked against the rest of baseball's best minor league talent.

The Baseball Haven ranks Bogaerts fourth overall among all of baseball's top minor league players.

MinorLeagueBall.com ranks Bogaerts fourth among all offensive prospects.

Any way you slice it, Bogaerts appears to be one of the brightest young prospects in all of baseball. Even if he's not destined to play shortstop long term, his stock is very high.

Teams rarely part with prospects of Bogaerts' stature. The Kansas City Royals took the bold step of dealing top prospect Wil Myers (one of the few prospects ranked higher than Bogaerts) to acquire starting pitcher James Shields this past December.

The Red Sox don't appear inclined to deal Bogaerts. When the New York Mets were shopping reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, the Red Sox reportedly rejected an offer which would have sent Dickey to Boston in exchange for Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley.

If Bogaerts doesn't remain at shortstop, he could land at either third base or in the outfield. Ultimately, his position won't matter if he hits as well as predicted. Teams make space for players such as Bogaerts.

Jose Iglesias is a career .135 hitter in the majors. Stephen Drew is signed to a one-year contract. There hasn't been stability at the Boston shortstop position since the days when Nomar Garciaparra was a regular starter.

Even if Bogaerts isn't a shortstop for the duration of his career, he's clearly in position to provide a major upgrade from what Red Sox fans have unfortunately grown accustomed to since the end of the 2004 season.

Expect to hear a lot more about Xander Bogaerts. He could start to have an impact at the major league level this season. The level of that impact could range from the inconsistent play that typifies most rookie debuts, to that of a future star shining in the present.