Red Sox State of the farm: Catchers

BY Jay Piques , October 11th, 2007 There may be multiple causes for the success of the 2007 squad, but perhaps none as important as how the farm system was able to plug up potentially gaping holes in the lineup and provide cost-controlled alternatives to over-priced free agents. Not to mention how budding stars like Buchholz, Ellsbury, and Pedroia impact the rosters of the following years' lineups. Unfortunately some of these guys don't get noticed until they get to Portland or even Pawtucket. For those of you with better things to do with your time than scouring assorted scouting reports let me offer you a cheat sheet. I'll break it down between the current starter and how many years are left on their current contract, the closest prospects to the bigs, and the best prospect years from now. The Current: Jason Varitek. (1 year remaining) There may not be a better player to embody the spirit of the old Sox generation, the consummate professional who leads by example. Unfortunately years are never kind on catcher's bodies and though he rebounded from an injury in 2006, 'Tek still shows the signs of a catcher who's best years are behind him. If signed to another contracts the Sox will be paying for the real twilight of his career. His best utility will be reduced to a mentor, backup catcher, and possible fill-in first basemen. The Closest: George Kottaras. (LHB - 24 years old) Never mind his slow start to 2007. Many people lose sight of how long it takes a catcher to be big league ready. Not to mention the turn-around he showed after the mid-season mark jumping from .196/ .272/ .304 to .318/ .389/ .582. There is no reason that Kottaras cant make the jump up the club in 2008. He already has experience catching the knuckler, and his 15 hr potential bat plays a lot better in the bigs than Cash / Mirabelli. The Future: Ty Weeden. (RHB - 20 years old) With two big "ifs" 1. If he stays at Catcher and doesn't move to first, 2. He slims down or at least turns some of the extra baggage into muscle. The simple fact that his bat could profile as an everyday first-basemen's should tell you something about what kind of talent and power potential the Sox have stored away in the lower levels of the farm. Weeden also has a strong arm, though most scouts suggest he needs work on his accuracy.