Hey there Over the Monster. My name is John, and I for some reason am a self-professed Phillies fan. I do sports writing on my own site, which includes looking at the Phillies minor-league system quite a bit. However, I can only do this so much for my own team, so I've started to look at other systems across the MLB. I've made posts about the Marlins, Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays systems. Now I'm trying to continue the AL East even though I started with a NL East division mate of the Phillies. Everything I write here is my first impression of what I read.

Obviously if I'm going to look at the Red Sox system I can't ignore Yoan Moncada, the guy the Red Sox paid $63 million to get (albeit half was a fine for exceeding their international spending limit). They paid him more than the Reds paid Aroldis Chapman in 2010, setting a new record for the highest bonus paid to an amateur player. From what I can read about him, this money seems pretty worth it. Moncada has a plus hit tool, power, and arm. His speed is plus-plus, and in his first season of minor league baseball at low-A Greenvile he has a speed score of 8.6 from Fangraphs. They consider 7 to be excellent, so a 8.6 is about as good as it gets. His "worst" tool is his fielding, which is still above average. Fangraphs' Chris Mitchell projects his totals in the majors to be very similar to what Andrew McCutchen has done since reaching the majors. Moncada having Andrew McCutchen-level success coming from a position where hitting talent is rare (2B) makes his price tag look very worth it. He just has to be my favorite prospect here, no doubt about it. Right now he is the #10 prospect in baseball according to mlb.com and the #1 second base prospect.

Before this season, the next best prospects according to Fangraphs' Kiley McDaniel were C Blake Swihart, LHPs Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens, then OF Rusney Castillo. Swihart, Rodriguez, and Owens all have future values of 60 and Castillo is close behind at 55. This system is graduating a lot of really good players with even more on the way.

The Red Sox weren't strangers to the international market before Moncada as the #2 and #3 guys in the system are also international signings. OF Manuel Margot and 3B Rafael Devers follow behind Moncada in the rankings. Scouts differ on which of the two Dominican signings is better than the other, but both are very solid players. Margot is the more developed and all-around prospect, while Devers has better raw tools at the plate. Margot is projected to have an above average hit tool with average game power, as well as plus to plus-plus speed both on the basepaths and in the outfield. His arm is a bit above average, but no cannon by any means. I don't know if he's center field material yet because of that arm, but he has the instincts for it that can lead to a plus-plus glove. Devers is the riskier and more raw prospect, but he looks like a cleanup hitter if I've ever seen one. His raw power is plus with game power that could be plus as well. His speed is fringey, but he also had to shed a lot of weight, so maybe that bumps up to average with less weight on him. What scouts are concerned about hitting-wise is that he swings at a lot of pitches because he could hit all of them. That won't work in pro ball, so the Red Sox developmental team will have to improve his plate discipline. He already flashes above average opposite field power; this a positive sign among prospects, and shows potential for good game power. His defense is smooth, but a bit sluggish due to his fringe speed. Scouts think he will be able to stay at third, but don't be surprised if he becomes a DH for the pro team. Personally, I like Margot more than Devers as he has more of the tools necessary to succeed in the majors even though he doesn't have the raw power of Devers. The only thing going against Margot is the logjam of outfielders the Red Sox have right now. Margot probably won't make his debut until 2017, and hopefully by then something can be figured out in the outfield (Speaking of which is Hanley Ramirez doing good enough out there to warrant staying in the outfield? I've wondered that since I saw he was moved there).

After graduating so many pitchers, the best pitcher in the system right now is lefty Brian Johnson, not to be confused with the AC/DC frontman. Johnson has made his major league debut, but is in AAA right now. He isn't very flashy, but was big league ready before this season and has solid tools across the board. Some scouts have given his command a plus grading, but it's more like above average. His delivery isn't anything special but it gets the job done. His fastball stays 90-91 T94 with an average to above average curve and an above average chageup that flashes plus. He should be a back to middle of the rotation guy for the Sox that you know what you're going to get from him. He is the #46 prospect in the MLB and the 4th best lefty in the majors by mlb.com.

There are a couple other guys that while they don't have the best future value or ranking, I still like and I think should have an eye kept on them. In the middle of the pack, there's 3B Michael Chavis and SS Deven Marrero. Chavis is much better defensively than Rafael Devers, and flashes above average speed, making some scouts think he could move over to second base. However, with Moncada in the system, Chavis looks to stay at third. I like Chavis in the field better than Devers as Chavis has a plus arm and above average fielding. If Chavis can harness his plus raw power and calm down his swing, he has 10-20 HR with a .275 average potential. The best defender in this system might be Marrero. His glove is plus to plus-plus and his arm is definitely plus. He combines those skills with above average speed to make a very good shortstop build. He has been in AAA for most of this year however to try and develop his bat more as it is fringey at best. He most likely will stay in a 8 or 9 spot in his career, but his defense should be worth it. The best mid-tier pitcher to me is righty Michael Kopech. This is what Fangraph's Kiley McDaniel had to say about him:

Kopech was the Red Sox other 2014 first rounder and, while he’s more raw than Chavis, the upside is even higher. He sits 92-97 mph as a starter and was another hit of instructs, sitting 95-98 mph with plus life in short stints; one scout mentioned Kevin Brown for the fastball and delivery. Kopech has cleaned up his delivery some since last summer’s showcase circuit and adopted a hard slider that’s plus at times to go with a changeup that flashes average or better, but his long limbs still cause command issues. One Red Sox source said some in the org have Kopech in their top 5, though others have him lower than I do.

One thing I always like doing is finding a fringe level guy that I think has the potential to make some form of an impact in the pros. In this system, the guy that stood out to me was righty Pat Light. He flashes a plus-plus fastball that has hit triple digits but will usually stay in the 95-97 range. The heater has sinking motion, causing a lot of guys to either swing and miss and ground out. His slider is above average flashing plus and will most likely be his strikeout pitch. He's added a changeup that still has room to improve and is walking a lot of batters. His K-BB% is just 4.9. His control is his bar to the major league bullpen. If he gets that down, he'll be set but until then don't expect him in the majors.

This is the part of the writeup where I add what I think the team's farm needs. Here's the thing; I can't find anything. They have blue chips through the international market, plenty of power, speed, and defense. The closest thing I can think of as a hole would be pitching, but that's because most of the good pitching is in the majors. This team is on the cusp of succeeding; there's a lot of talent, now it's up to the coaching staff to manage the talent and put in the right place. This system is a lot better than any others I have researched, and definitely can be in consideration for the best system in baseball.

~John Town, Philadelphia Sports Voice