Justin Masterson gets his ML debut

Here's the scoop on Masterson from Soxprospects.com:

Scouting Report: Big righty with an ideal pitcher's build. Dominated the Cape Cod League in 2005. Masterson has a three-quarter delivery with a slinging-type motion. His arsenal includes a sinker, a slider, and a change-up.

Of those pitches, his best is a phenomenal plus-sinker with an excellent heavy drop -- he can vary its speed from 84-94 mph, catching many hitters off balance. Also mixes in a very good slider that sits in the low 80s, and an improving 77-81 mph four-seam circle change. Uses his sinker predominantly as his out-pitch, but also can make use of his secondary pitches to get out of jams.

Could stand to mix in his changeup a bit more. His mix of pitches results in a high groundball-to-flyball ratio, getting a lot of double plays. Very good command of the zone. Prepares well for every game and pitches with confidence on the mound. Strong character, Masterson is one of the most likable persons and teammates going.

Converted to a starter in 2007 after coming out of the pen for Lowell in 2006, may still project as a reliever at this point depending on how well his change-up progresses. Needs to work on keeping his delivery consistent deep into games. Ultimately, Masterson's ceiling is a #2 starter or a dominant set-up man.

Bottom Line: He has the stuff to be a solid starter, but word on the street is he could find his way into the bullpen later this year... either way I expect a decent start from him today and then he'll be back in the minors...

As for Joe Saunders - He's been great so far this year (3-0, 2.15) but he was mediocre last season at 8-5 with a 4.44 ERA and a .298 BAA... That said the Sox have not seen much of him and the Sox that have are either in AAA (Kielty: 5-9, 2 2B) or have been cut (Mirabelli: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI).

The Bad -- Ortiz has seen the most of Saunders, but is just 2-10 and Manny is 0-5. The Good -- Dustin Pedroia is 4 for 9 and Saunders has never seen Ellsbury before... so I expect our electric 1-2 punch to lead us to victory.

Here's the line up for today:

RF -- Jacoby Ellsbury
2B -- Dustin Pedroia
DH -- David Ortiz
LF -- Manny Ramirez
1B -- Kevin Youkilis
3B -- Jed Lowrie
SS -- Julio Lugo
CF -- Coco Crisp
C -- Kevin Cash

P -- Justin Masterson