2026 SoxProspects Donation Drive

Hello readers and listeners!

Now that all the Red Sox affiliates are in full swing and our June rankings have been released, we’re excited to kick off our annual donation drive! Our goal is to raise $15,000 to keep SoxProspects.com running on all cylinders. For nearly 23 years, we’ve kept the site completely free, and we hope to continue doing so for as long as possible. If you’re able to contribute, we sincerely appreciate your support. To donate, please visit our Donations Page. All payments are securely processed through PayPal, though you don’t need a PayPal account to make a contribution.

Donations help cover two primary areas of expense:

• Scouting travel costs for our first-hand coverage of dozens of games each year; and
• General IT expenses, including hardware, software, internet, and hosting fees.

We’ll be running this year’s drive through early-to-mid August. In recent years, contributions have ranged from $10 to $500, and thanks to your generosity, we raised over $15,000 during our 2025 drive. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who chipped in. While SoxProspects remains free, many other prospect sites operate behind paywalls. For example, Baseball America charges approximately $120 per year for digital access -- and rightly so, as they produce outstanding content (we subscribe ourselves!). We believe our work could justify a similar model, but we’ve chosen to keep SoxProspects open to all readers for as long as we can. Donations from our community are what make that possible.

Finally, if you’re a regular reader but not yet a member of the SoxProspects Forum, we invite you to join us! We’re always excited to welcome new voices and fresh perspectives, especially during the peak of the season. 

As always, thank you for your continued support, whether you’re reading, listening, posting, or donating.

Sincerely,

The SoxProspects.com Team

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Ian Cundall Joins Baseball America

We’re excited to announce that Ian Cundall will be joining Baseball America full‑time as a Prospect Writer beginning April 1. The good news for SoxProspects readers is that Ian will continue hosting the SoxProspects.com Podcast and remain a valued friend of the site. SoxProspects fully expects to maintain the same high standard of content our audience has enjoyed for years.

Ian first joined the SoxProspects staff in October 2010 as our Northeast Scout. He became a regular presence on the podcast in July 2011 and was promoted to Director of Scouting in November 2013. Over the years, Ian has scouted hundreds of games across the Red Sox system, including stops in Boston, Worcester, Pawtucket, Portland, New Hampshire, Greenville, Salem, Lowell, and Fort Myers.

In November 2025, Ian began contributing to Baseball America in a part‑time role, and he will now be expanding that role in the weeks and months ahead. As most of our readers and listeners know, BA has been a leading authority on prospects across the MLB, college baseball, the international market, as well as the MLB Draft for over 45 years. 

At SoxProspects, we take immense pride in developing talented prospect writers and analysts and helping them advance to full‑time roles in the industry. Our staff members and alumni have gone on to work for or contribute to ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun, The Worcester Telegram, MLB.com, and more - and Ian’s next step is yet another example of that tradition.

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Join the SoxProspects Team as a Content Editor!

Are you detail-oriented and passionate about the Red Sox minor league system? SoxProspects.com is looking for a Content Editor to join our staff in 2026! This is a great opportunity to contribute to the most comprehensive source for Red Sox prospect news while gaining valuable experience in digital content management. We’re seeking someone who can commit through the end of 2026, with the hope of building a long-term relationship if it’s a great fit. This role generally will require about 1–2 hours per week, and you’ll have flexibility to work on your own schedule.

What You’ll Do

As a Content Editor, you’ll help maintain and improve the quality of our site by:

• Tracking key data, such as scouting reports, transactions, injuries, photo usage, ex-player status, and content errors.
• Potentially making live updates to the site, including entering transactions and statistical data.
• Supporting a variety of projects that keep SoxProspects accurate and up-to-date.

What We’re Looking For

• Familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• A proactive, self-starter attitude—someone who can work independently with minimal oversight.
• Basic understanding of baseball statistics.
• Experience editing web content (HTML or similar) is a plus, but not required. If you don’t have experience, we’re looking for someone tech-savvy and eager to learn.

Why Join Us?

This is a volunteer position, but it’s an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in content management and digital publishing. Our team holds itself to a high standard, and many former staff members have gone on to work for ESPN.com, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, the Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and more!

Ready to Apply?

Email info@soxprospects.com with your resume and a brief overview of your skills and experience relevant to the role. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Join the SoxProspects Team as a Social Media Specialist!

Are you passionate about the Red Sox farm system and love creating engaging content? SoxProspects.com is looking for an enthusiastic Social Media Specialist to join our staff in 2026! This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your creativity, grow your digital skills, and become part of the most comprehensive source for Red Sox prospect news. We’re seeking someone who can commit through the end of 2026, with the hope of building a longer term relationship if it’s a great fit. This role will generally require a commitment of a few hours per week during the baseball season, and less during the off-season.

What You’ll Do

• Create eye-catching graphics for Twitter and Instagram that bring our content to life
• Post engaging, game-related updates during evenings during the baseball season.
• Help maintain a strong presence across platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook—and possibly TikTok, BlueSky, or Threads.
• Expect to dedicate a few hours per week during the season, with a lighter load in the offseason.

What We’re Looking For

• Familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system.
• Ability to post professionally on major social platforms.
• Flexibility to share game content during evenings (not every night, but some availability is key).
• Experience creating visual content and graphics.
• A proactive, self-starter attitude—someone who thrives with minimal oversight.
• Strong attention to detail and a basic understanding of baseball stats.

Why Join Us?

This is a volunteer position, but it’s a great stepping stone for aspiring digital media professionals. Past SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, the Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and more!

Ready to Apply?

Email info@soxprospects.com with your resume and a brief overview of your skills and experience relevant to the role. We can’t wait to hear from you!

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SoxProspects.com Welcomes Feature Writer Andrew Parker to the Staff

SoxProspects.com is thrilled to announce that Andrew Parker has joined the staff as a Feature Writer. Andrew has already created a name for himself covering the minor leagues, arriving with four years of experience writing for Beyond the Monster, where he produced in-depth coverage on the Red Sox organization. During his time with BTM, he was a regular presence on the Worcester Red Sox beat, spending nearly every homestand in the clubhouse creating first-hand content based on extensive player and coach interviews.

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Help Wanted: Staff Writer & Social Media Specialist

We are opening two new positions at SoxProspects.com! For both of these positions, we're seeking a commitment through the end of 2025, but ideally, we’re looking for someone who will want to stick around with us long term if there’s a mutual fit. Here are the details of the positions:

Staff Writer: The Staff Writer will write our daily Cup of Coffee column once or twice per week, author our Weekly Notes column at least once per month, and otherwise chip in to help on SoxProspects News as needed. We also usually ask for some extra help during draft week, which is happening in the July 13-15 time range in 2025. The time commitment for this position will be roughly 2 hours per week during the season, with significantly less in the off-season.

Social Media Specialist: The SMS will join our existing social media team helping to assist with our Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok feeds, both during the day and in the evening during games. The overall time commitment will vary. The primary task for this position will be to help post to our social media accounts in real-time during Red Sox affiliate games in the evenings, so an ideal candidate will be someone who can regularly – but not necessarily every single day – follow games and post noteworthy content. We also are all ears on ideas for new and interesting content to add to our social media accounts!

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2024 SoxProspects Donation Drive

Hello readers and listeners! Now that the minor league season is fully underway, we're asking for your help to raise $10,000 to keep SoxProspects.com running on all cylinders. We have kept the site free for over 20 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting; and (2) general IT costs such as hardware, software, internet costs, and hosting fees.

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Help Wanted: SoxProspects Social Media Specialist

We are looking for an enthusiastic Social Media Specialist to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2024, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. We are hoping that this position will help work on expanding our social media presence beyond Twitter, while also serving as a backup on Twitter. We expect that the commitment would be a few hours per week during the baseball season, and less in the off-season. 

As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with flexibility to be able to post using the site’s social media platforms as needed, maybe a couple times per day, including during business hours (ET). This does not mean being on call around the clock, but it will not work if the applicant is totally unavailable to post during the entire workday every day. 

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SoxProspects.com top stories of 2021

The 2021 season was not quite a return to normalcy, especially at the minor league level. However, a full slate of games something more closely resembling a traditional operation here at SoxProspects.com, a resurgent major league squad, and the organization's highest draft pick in over 50 years led to a surge in interest in the system. With that background, we present our most-read articles and most-downloaded podcasts of 2021.

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SoxProspects.com Redesign

Hello to all of our readers! This morning we launched a newly-redesigned SoxProspects.com home page. It’s been in the works for a couple months and we’re really excited about it. Please take a look at soxprospects.com when you get a chance. (You may need to refresh your browser). As with any redesign, we expect that some of you will be really jazzed about it off the bat, while some of you will be bummed that we changed the look-and-feel that we’ve all been accustomed to for almost 18 years. Some of the testers felt that way initially but pretty much everyone eventually came around to liking the new design much better. From our perspective, here are some of the benefits of the new design:

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SoxProspects welcomes moderator (back) to team

The SoxProspects.com team is happy to announce that longtime contributor jmei (John) is rejoining the moderator team. 

John previously served as a moderator from 2012 until stepping away in July 2019. He was a leader on forum management team and has long been one of our most knowledgeable and insightful posters. We are thrilled to have him back on board.

Head on over to the forum to welcome him back and converse about the rest of the goings on in the system.

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Help Wanted: Scouting Report Manager, Web Editor, Social Media Specialist

We are opening three new positions at SoxProspects.com! For each of these positions, we're seeking a commitment through the end of 2020, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. Here are the details of the positions:

Scouting Report Manager. A member of our Scouting Team, the Scouting Report Manager will review a subset of our scouting reports each week for accuracy, recency, grammar, and formatting, and work with the rest of the Scouting Team to update those reports as needed. Other responsibilities may include: (1) maintaining the public scouting log; (2) turning updated Scouting Reports into columns on SoxProspects News; and (3) scouting Red Sox affiliate games. We anticipate that the time commitment for this position could be roughly 2-4 hours per week. 

Web Editor (Content Specialist). A member of the web editing team, the Web Editor (Content Specialist) will be responsible for: (1) aggregating news articles about Red Sox prospects on a daily basis; (2) working with the News staff to ensure those links are included in our weekly notes posts; and (3) updating SoxProspects.com to post those links to our rankings pages each morning. We anticipate that the time commitment for this position will be roughly 15-20 minutes per day. Interested applicants could also branch out into other areas. 

Social Media Specialist (Game Time). The SMS will join our existing social media team and will take lead responsibility for live-posting intriguing content during Red Sox affiliate games. The overall time commitment will vary. We’re really looking for someone that follows those games regularly and is generally available to tweet in the evenings – it doesn’t need to be every day, but the more interest and availability, the better. The SMS could also contribute by starting posts on the SoxProspects Forum to drive interesting conversations. 

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James Dunne Promoted to Managing Editor of SoxProspects News

I’m happy to announce that James Dunne has been promoted to Managing Editor of SoxProspects News. James joined the SoxProspects staff in November 2011, and has been one of our lead writers for several years. He became a co-owner of the site in January 2018.

In his new role, James will be managing the staff writers and editors, leading the direction of content, driving consistency and style, and continuing to write. James's promotion will allow Chris Hatfield to focus on overall site direction, the podcast, media appearances, rankings, and scouting.

A Massachusetts ex-pat, James is now based in Syracuse, NY. He loves baseball, Pearl Jam, and beer, so I happen to like the cut of his jib.You can follow James on Twitter at @JamesDunneSP.

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2019 Donation Drive - We Need Your Help!

Dear readers,

We're asking for your help to raise $7,000 to keep SoxProspects.com up and running for another year. We have kept the site 100% free for over 15 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Our other costs to run the site often go up on an annual basis as well, and our ad revenue only covers a portion of those costs. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help us keep the site going. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees, etc.).

Your donations help us travel to Fort Myers in March to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League each year, which are vital to get “one-stop shopping” for prospects across the system at levels we can’t see regularly. They also help cover the costs of travelling to affiliate games for regular first-hand coverage. We anticipate that our total costs will exceed $16,000 in 2019. While we may cover about half that from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs in order to keep the site going.

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Introducing Updated Player Pages

We are pleased to introduce an updated player page template for our SoxProspects player pages, which we are starting to roll out this afternoon. Scroll on over to any of the player pages for our top ten prospects to take a look.  For example, here’s a link to the new player page for Tanner Houck.  You can compare that to the look of his old player page, which is linked here. Note that you may need to refresh your page for the new page to appear. 

Some benefits of the new template include:

• 54% larger photos, many thanks to intrepid photographer Kelly O’Connor
• White background behind primary text (as opposed to old grey background) for easier reading
• Cleaner formatting for scouting reports, links, and stats (reduced wasted space, cleaner and more balanced white space)
• Larger fonts
• Updated and reconfirmed data
• More consistency on data presentation
• Twitter and Instagram links for individual players
• Space for listing the former college commitments for high school draft signees
• Links to Kelly’s photo pages for individual players
• Clarity on listing birthplace rather than residence 
• “Open new window” links for current season stats and advanced stats

As of this afternoon, the new template has been rolled out to the top ten prospects in the system.  We will apply the template to other prospects if they enter the top ten on a rolling basis.  Additionally, we expect that we may be able to expand the template to all top twenty prospects some time in May. We also think that we might be able to apply the new template to all current players next off-season. (That one is a stretch goal with lots of contingencies).

The scouting reports for the top ten prospects have also been updated in conjunction with this update.

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Introducing Patreon Game Updates

Here at SoxProspects, we are always trying to think of new ways that we can bring content to our readers—and to listeners of our podcast. In our most recent edition of the SoxProspects Podcast, we announced our newest feature: Patreon Game Updates.

We'll be introducing this feature next week as a pilot program. The series will feature short audio recaps of games scouted in person by staff members, and it will be exclusive to our Patrons on Patreon.com who pledge $2 per episode and up. As we described on the most recent episode of the show, these short clips will give us the opportunity to provide our Patrons with detailed updates that expand beyond what we feature on the podcast itself. 

For example, on a given night, Chris might go deep into the starting pitcher's pitch count, what was working, what wasn't, details from at-bats, and the like. Or Ian might get into more details on at-bats by a certain hitter or hitters that night, analyzing more minutiae than we have time to do on the regular show.

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Help Wanted: Web Editor & Copy Editor

SoxProspects is opening two positions for 2019! We’re looking for a Web Editor and a Copy Editor to join the Staff in January. We're seeking a commitment through at least the end of 2019, but ideally we’d find a couple new staffers who will want to stick around for the long-term if there is a mutual fit. 

Web Editor: The primary responsibility of the Web Editor will be updating certain pages of the site on a timely basis after transactions occur in the Red Sox system. The primary pages that need to be updated each transaction are the Transactions and Roster pages and each player’s page. Other pages occasionally need updating for a limited number of transactions, including the rankings pages, 40-man page, draft history and international signings pages, and the ex-players page. The hope is that the Web Editor will eventually take lead responsibility for these updates, with a handful of other web editors available to make the updates when needed. 

Applicants should have regular availability to perform the above tasks, including reasonable flexibility during business hours (ET) if needed. Overall, the estimated time commitment is about 3-4 hours per week during the season. The busiest time of year, by far, is from the June draft until the August 31 waiver trade deadline (extra backup is available during that time).

For requirements, we are primarily looking for someone with: (1) the availability and flexibility listed above; (2) a basic familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system (you don’t need to be an expert); (3) a perfunctory knowledge of HTML or web editing programs; and (4) exceptional attention to detail. 

Copy Editor: The hope is that the Copy Editor will edit 3-4 Cup of Coffee columns per week and also about 25-35% of our other columns and features. In total, the commitment is maybe 2-3 hours per week during the minor league season, and much less in the off-season. 

Applicants should ideally have prior collegiate (or professional) writing or editing experience. It’s also very important that the applicant have a reasonable amount of availability to edit during business hours (ET), and the ability to edit the Cup of Coffee either early in morning (at or before 7 am) or late at night (often in the 11:00 pm hour) for 3-4 days per week. We also hope that applicants will have a very strong attention to detail, some knowledge of AP style, and a basic familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses, the better.

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2018 Donation Drive - We Need Your Help!

Dear readers,

We're asking for your help to raise $8,000 to keep SoxProspects.com up and running for another year. We have kept the site 100% free for almost 15 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Our other costs to run the site often go up on an annual basis as well, and our ad revenue only covers a portion of those costs. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help us keep the site going. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees, etc.).

Your donations help us travel to Fort Myers in March to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League each year, which are vital to get “one-stop shopping” for prospects across the system at levels we can’t see regularly. They also help cover the costs of travelling to affiliate games for regular first-hand coverage. We anticipate that our total costs will exceed $15,000 in 2018. While we may cover roughly half that from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs in order to keep the site going.

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Help Wanted: Social Media Specialist

We are looking for an enthusiastic Social Media Specialist to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2018, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. We are hoping that this position will manage the SoxProspects Twitter account, help coordinate our strategy for other social media platforms, and input stats on our rankings pages 2 days per week during the season. In total, the commitment is a few hours per week during the baseball season, and less in the off-season. 

As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with flexibility to be able to post using the site’s social media platforms as needed, maybe a few times per day, including during business hours (ET). This does not mean being on call around the clock, but it will not work if the applicant is unavailable to post during the entire work day every day. In terms of the stats entry, that generally needs to happen by 9:00 am on the two days, and it takes about a half hour once you get the hang of it.

The applicant should also have experience with posting content to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. We’d also love a go getter that can work on their own without much hand holding or oversight. To be upfront, we all work remotely, there’s little to no face-to-face interaction, and we all have real jobs. So the expectation is that after some onboarding the new hire will take the bull by the horns. 

We also hope that applicants will have a strong attention to detail, a professional attitude, a perfunctory understanding of baseball stats, and a familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses already, the better.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an aspiring digital specialist to gain experience!  Members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets! Others have gone on to become part owners of the site!

This is a volunteer position, as are all positions on the SoxProspects.com staff. However, we try to hold ourselves to a high standard. We will only consider applications that are thoughtful, organized, and professional. If you are interested in applying, please email info@soxprospects.com by 2:00 pm ET on January 26, 2018.  Provide a resume and a basic overview of your skills and experience with respect to the requirements outlined above. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Help Wanted: Contributing Editor

We are looking for an eager editor to join the SoxProspects Staff immediately! We're seeking a commitment of at least through the end of 2018, but ideally we are looking for someone who will want to stick around with us for the long-term if there’s a mutual fit. The hope is that the new editor will write 2 Cup of Coffees pieces per week, edit 2 Cup of Coffees per week, and be responsible for editing 25-35% of our other columns and features. The editor could also be responsible for backing up other editors or writers when they are temporarily unavailable. In total, the commitment is maybe 3-4 hours per week during the minor league season, and much less in the off-season. 

As for requirements, we’re looking for someone with prior collegiate (or professional) writing/editing experience. We’d love a go-getter that can work on their own without much hand holding or oversight. To be upfront, the whole staff works remotely, there’s little to no face-to-face interaction, and we all have real jobs. So the expectation is that after some onboarding the new hire will take the bull by the horns and run with it. It’s also very important that the applicant have a reasonable amount of availability to edit and write during business hours (Eastern Time). 

We also hope that applicants will have a very strong attention to detail, a professional attitude, some knowledge of AP style, and a basic familiarity with SoxProspects.com and  the Red Sox minor league system. Top-to-bottom expertise is not necessary, but the more background the applicant possesses already, the better.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an aspiring editor to gain experience! Members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets! Others have also gone on to become part owners of the site!

This is a volunteer position, as are all positions on the SoxProspects.com staff. However, we try to hold ourselves to a high standard. We will only consider applications that are thoughtful, organized, and professional. If you are interested in applying, please email info@soxprospects.com by 2:00 pm ET on January 26, 2018.  Provide a resume and a basic overview of your skills and experience with respect to the requirements outlined above. A writing sample is not required, but can't hurt (if you do submit a sample, please submit only one). We look forward to hearing from you!

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SoxProspects welcomes new ownership team members

We’re pleased to announced that we added five new members to the SoxProspects.com ownership team this week! 

Senior Database Engineer Mike Reynolds has been with the site since April 2005.  In 2008, he took over responsibility for operating and maintaining the site's stats, schedule, and standings databases.

Senior Staff Writers Jim Crowell, James Dunne, and Will Woodward contribute to regular pieces on SoxProspects News such as Weekly Notes, the Fort Report, the Cup of Coffee, Fall-Winter League Round-Up, our draft coverage, and other features. Jim joined the staff in July 2011, followed by James and Will in November 2011.

Senior Web Editor Matt Picard joined the staff in February 2013. He handles web updates to the main site, including transactions, team rosters, and player pages. He has also been working with Mike Reynolds on improvements to the stats database.  

They join Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews, Executive Editor Chris Hatfield, and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall as members of the site’s ownership team.

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2017 Annual Donation Drive - We Need Your Help!

Dear readers,

The SoxProspects.com Annual Drive is still on! 

We still need your help to hit our fundraising goal of $10,000 to keep the site up and running for another year. We are still quite a long way from this goal—less than halfway as of this writing, in fact—so if you've thought about contributing before but haven't gotten around to it, now is a GREAT time to jump in and show your support! In order to meet our fundraising goal for this year, we are extending the Annual Drive to run through the end of the minor league season in September.

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2017 Annual Donation Drive - Help Keep SoxProspects Up & Running!

Dear readers,

We're asking for your help to raise $10,000 to keep SoxProspects.com up and running for another year. We have kept the site 100% free for almost 14 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Our other costs to run the site often go up on an annual basis as well, and our ad revenue only covers a portion of those costs. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help us keep the site going. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees, etc.).

Your donations help us travel to Fort Myers in March to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League each year, which are vital to get “one-stop shopping” for prospects across the system at levels we can’t see regularly. They also help cover the costs of travelling to affiliate games for regular first-hand coverage. We anticipate that our total costs could approach $20,000 in 2017. While we may cover roughly half that from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs in order to keep the site going.

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Matt Huegel moving on from SoxProspects

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Managing Editor Matt Huegel has stepped away from SoxProspects.com, effective as of the outset of the 2017 season, in order to focus on his professional career.  He has provided us with over seven years of devoted service and we are really going to miss his contributions. 

Matt joined the site as a Staff Writer in March 2010, and soon thereafter he was promoted to Editor.  In 2013 he was promoted again to Managing Editor and became a part owner of the site.  During his time here, Matt has served as an editor for SoxProspects News, been one of the regulars on the Podcast, and contributed as a web editor, contributor for ESPN Boston, regular presence at McCoy Stadium, and a feature writer.  A cross-section of the players that Matt has interviewed includes Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Bobby Dalbec, Michael Kopech, Brian Johnson, CJ Chatham, Sam Travis, Travis Shaw, Andrew Benintendi, Austin Glorius, Garin Cecchini, Jose Iglesias, Mauricio Dubon, Matt Barnes, Brandon Workman, and Steven Wright.

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Support SoxProspects in 2017

Dear Readers,

As we often mention, SoxProspects.com has been providing free content to Red Sox Nation since 2003.  We earn a little bit of revenue from our ads, but that has declined in recent years as Google Ad revenue rates have decreased.  Unfortunately, that revenue is generally not enough to cover our costs, which include travel expenses to scout games in New England, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, and technical expenses such as hardware, software, hosting fees, and subscriptions.  We anticipate that our total costs could approach $20,000 in 2017.  Over the course of 2017, we’re hoping to raise $10,000 to help cover these costs.  We’ve come close to raising this amount in each of the the past couple years thanks to donations from our generous readers.  
 

It’s worth noting that similar baseball prospect sites charge for content in the range of $35 to $70 per year. We'd like to think that we'd be worthy of comparable rates if we ever decided to go that route, but we’d prefer to operate on ad revenue and donations if we can. If you’re able donate, we thank you profusely - it's truly appreciated!
 

This year, we’re offering three options for readers to donate:

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SoxProspects.com's Top Posts of 2016

This is about a week late, but happy new year! Closing the book on 2016, we saw the Red Sox return to the playoffs after a pair of last-place finishes, while President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski continued his trend of trading away pieces of the farm system to augment the Major League roster. In an annual tradition, we look back at our most-read News Page posts of the year. When you're done checking these out, look back at the top posts of 2015, 2013, and 2012!

Thanks to everyone for reading. Cheers to a great 2017!

- Chris

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Help Wanted: Web Editors & Social Media Specialists

SoxProspects.com is seeking applicants for the positions of Web Editor and Social Media Specialist for the 2017 season. 

Help Wanted: Web Editor (2)

Position Overview: We're looking to hire two Web Editors to join the SoxProspects staff through at least the end of the 2017 baseball season, reporting to and working with our Senior Web Editor. The primary responsibility will be to update the stats on the home page and Prospects 21-60 page every other day (or some other arrangement where the task is divvied up among the two Web Editors). The hope is that the two new Web Editors will split this daily task, which takes roughly 20 minutes per day and should be completed either late at night following the end of all games or in the morning before 8:00 am (ET). The other responsibility will be to serve as a back-up to the Senior Web Editor to help update the Site’s Transactions, Roster, and player pages as transactions occur, on an as-needed basis when the Senior Web Editor is busy or unavailable. Applicants should have regular availability to perform the above tasks, as well as reasonable flexibility during business hours (ET) if needed. Overall, the estimated time commitment is about 2 hours per week, maybe 3 hours in the heaviest few weeks of the season. 

Basic Requirements 

• Commitment to the position from now through the end of the 2017 season, with the potential to renew for future years
• Availability and flexibility to make stat updates and web updates as noted above
• A basic familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system (i.e., an understanding of basic facts about the system; don’t need to be an expert)
• Perfunctory knowledge of HTML or web editing programs
• Attention to detail
• A basic understanding of baseball stats
• Professional attitude and demeanor
• Age 18+

Help Wanted: Social Media Specialist (2)

Position Overview: We're looking to hire two Social Media Specialists to join the SoxProspects staff through at least the end of the 2017 baseball season, working with our current Social Media Specialist as well as our managing editors. The primary responsibilities will be managing our Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube platforms. Additionally, one Social Media Specialist will be responsible for editing/producing our Podcast, while the other will take responsibility for occasional editing of the SoxProspects Wiki. 

Applicants should have flexibility to be able to post using the site’s platforms as needed, maybe a few times per day, including during business hours (ET) if needed. (Note that this does not mean being on call around the clock, but it will not work if the applicant is unavailable to post during the entire work day every day). Overall, the estimated time commitment is about 2 hours per week. 

Basic Requirements 

• Commitment to the position from now until the end of the 2017 season, with the potential to renew for future years
• Availability and flexibility to post as noted above
• A solid familiarity with SoxProspects.com and the Red Sox minor league system (i.e., knowledge of key players, some feel for at least recent history of the system)
• Experience with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
• The podcast position will require basic understanding of editing podcasts (concept of audio editing, uploading, and posting; training will be provided on specifics)
• Attention to detail 
• A perfunctory understanding of baseball stats
• Professional attitude and demeanor
• Age 18+

***

Compensation: All four of these positions are unpaid opportunities, as are all the positions on the SoxProspects Staff. However, most staffers have found the experience on the Staff to be rewarding in other ways, such as through the camaraderie of the team, invitations to occasional staff events, and the overall experience gained. We will train whoever gets these positions from the ground up on our systems and processes. Positions at SoxProspects are a great opportunity for aspiring digital content developers to gain experience and exposure in the sports industry. It’s worth noting that members of the SoxProspects staff have gone on to write for ESPN Boston, Baseball Prospectus, the Baltimore Sun, the Sun Sentinel, MLB.com, and MiLB.com, among other outlets.

Selection Process: If interested, please email mike@soxprospects.com and provide a list of relevant skills and experience with respect to the position you are applying for, by Friday, November 11, 2016. If you apply for the Social Media Specialist Position, please let us know if you are interested in the Podcast position, the Wiki position, or both (if both, whether you have a preference). Resumes are strongly encouraged. We look forward to hearing from you! We hope to make decisions on these positions in November. Although this is a volunteer position, we evaluate applications based on their professionalism, attention to detail, and merits as if this were a paid job, so please approach the application process accordingly. Familiarity with the site is a plus, but level of fandom of the Red Sox will not really be a consideration. 

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2016 Annual Drive - Help Keep SoxProspects Free!

Dear readers,

We're asking for your help to raise $7,500 to keep SoxProspects.com free for another year. We have been able kept the site 100% free to the public for almost 13 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As we scout dozens of games first-hand each year, travel costs pile up. Other site costs often go up on an annual basis as well, and our ad revenue only covers a portion of them. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help keep the site free for everyone. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) general IT costs (hardware, software, internet costs, hosting fees).

Your donations help us travel to Fort Myers in March to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League. They also help cover the costs of travelling to affiliate games for scouting and regular first-hand coverage. We anticipate that our total costs will approach $15,000 in 2016. While we make limited funds from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs.

In recent years, several readers made donations ranging from $5 to $100 to help defray these costs. We even had a handful of big donations over that amount, and ultimately raised about $7,000 in 2015. Thanks so much to everyone who chipped in!

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Site Announcement: Revised Prospect Scouting Scale

After much back and forth among the Scouting Staff, I am happy to announce that we are launching a revised Prospect Scouting Scale, effective immediately. The purpose of the change is to make the Scale more closely correspond to the generally accepted 20-80 scale for overall player grades used by professional scouts, major league organizations, and other talent evaluators. Here's a look at our new scale:

While the new scale is fairly analogous to the previous scale in certain areas, there are some clarifications, as well as significant changes at grades 4.5 and below.  For example, a grade "4" is now an Emergency Up and Down Player, a grade "3" is an "Org Player" who contributes at Double-A or Triple-A, and a grade "2" will be a player who struggles to advance past A-Ball.  Additionally, we added a grade "4.5" on the scale. Many professional scouts use the terminology 4Yes/4No or some other secondary indicator to differentiate between bench players and emergency players. We will be using 4.5 to make that differentiation. However, we will not be using a ".5" between other grades on the scale.

As was the case previously, an abbreviated explanation of the scale will be shown in a red box in the left-hand column of the rankings pages, and the full explanation of the Scale, with details as shown in the above image, will live on the About Us page. Additionally, we will continue using three numbers on the rankings pages: a "most likely MLB projection," a floor, and a realistic ceiling.  Note that the player rankings will not necessarily always directly correspond to the projection grades, as we will also be factoring in floor, ceiling, and risk factor into rankings.

All prospect grades on the home page have been updated in connection with the launch of the new Scale. Watch for more updates when the initial 2016 season rankings are published around April 7. We may still be in the process of tightening up grades in the coming week.

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Help Wanted: Database Coordinator

SoxProspects.com is seeking applicants for the position of Database Coordinator for the 2016 season. See below for details.

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Help Wanted: Writers, Editors

SoxProspects.com is seeking applicants for the positions of Staff Writer and Staff Editor for the 2016 season. See below for details.

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SoxProspects.com's Top Posts of 2015

Happy New Year! As we turn the page from 2015 to 2016, there is plenty of hope in Red Sox Nation despite the club's third last-place divisional finish in the past four seasons. A new General Manager President of Baseball Operations, a new ace, and a new closer joining an exciting young core of players brings that excitement for a new season.

As we do at this time of year, we like to take a look back during the offseason at the year that was. One way we do that is through our Top 40 Season in Review series, which will reach number 3 in the countdown tomorrow and continue into the new year, followed by our 2015 Graduates in Review. We also enjoy looking back at our top posts of the past year. Although, for some reason, we missed last season (oops?), it's fun to look back at what everyone wanted to read about in 2013 and 2012 (love that shot of Xander in the parade at the top of the 2013 post - nice work, Kelly).

Thank you to everyone for reading (and listening!) in 2015, and cheers to a great 2016!

- Chris

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Annual Drive - Thank You!

To everyone who participated in our Annual Drive by donating over the last month, I want to thank you immensely.  We received about $7,000 in donations from over 150 contributors – passing our initial goal of $5,000.  Because of your donations, we will be able to send a team of scouts to Greenville and Salem games this week and another team to the Fall Instructional League. We’ll also be able to cover our costs, continue covering the Boston, Pawtucket, Portland, and Lowell squads on a regular basis, and return to minor league spring training in 2016.  We’re wrapping up the drive in conjunction with today’s draft signing deadline. 

Again, thank you so much for the donations as well as all the kind words about the site!  That’s what keeps us going every day.

Cheers,

Mike Andrews

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2015 Annual Drive - Help Keep SoxProspects Free! (close to goal)

Dear readers,

We’re asking for your help to help raise $5,000 to help keep SoxProspects.com free for another year. We've kept the site 100% free to the public for almost 12 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As you may have also noticed, we continue to expand and improve our first-hand scouting content. Unfortunately, costs continue to pile up to travel to games and host the site. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help keep the site free for everyone. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) web hosting fees (including forum hosting costs).

Your donations help us travel to Ft. Myers in the spring to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League. They also help cover the costs of travelling to Pawtucket, Portland, Salem, Greenville, and Lowell games for scouting and regular first-hand coverage. In terms of web hosting costs, the site resides on four servers, each with its own set of annual fees. We anticipate that our costs will exceed $15,000 in 2015. While we make limited funds from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs. 

Read full post ...

2015 Annual Drive - Help Keep SoxProspects Free!

Dear readers,

We’re asking for your help to help raise $5,000 to help keep SoxProspects.com free for another year. We've kept the site 100% free to the public for almost 12 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As you may have also noticed, we continue to expand and improve our first-hand scouting content. Unfortunately, costs continue to pile up to travel to games and host the site. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help keep the site free for everyone. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) web hosting fees (including forum hosting costs).

Your donations help us travel to Ft. Myers in the spring to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League. They also help cover the costs of travelling to Pawtucket, Portland, Salem, Greenville, and Lowell games for scouting and regular first-hand coverage. In terms of web hosting costs, the site resides on four servers, each with its own set of annual fees. We anticipate that our costs will exceed $15,000 in 2015. While we make limited funds from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs. 

Read full post ...

2015 Annual Drive - Help Keep SoxProspects Free!

Dear readers,

We’re asking for your help to help raise $5,000 to help keep SoxProspects.com free for another year. We've kept the site 100% free to the public for almost 12 years now, and we hope to do so for the foreseeable future. As you may have also noticed, we continue to expand and improve our first-hand scouting content. Unfortunately, costs continue to pile up to travel to games and host the site. So we're reaching out to the community for donations to help keep the site free for everyone. Donations help cover site costs in two primary areas: (1) first-hand coverage travel costs for scouting and player columns; and (2) web hosting fees (including forum hosting costs).

Your donations help us travel to Ft. Myers in the spring to cover spring training and in the fall to cover the Instructional League. They also help cover the costs of travelling to Pawtucket, Portland, Salem, Greenville, and Lowell games for scouting and regular first-hand coverage. In terms of web hosting costs, the site resides on four servers, each with its own set of annual fees. We anticipate that our costs will exceed $15,000 in 2015. While we make limited funds from online advertising revenue, your donations help us ensure we can cover those costs. 

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Rankings Report: But what about Moncada????

It's a question we've received a lot recently:

"When are you guys gonna rank Yoan Moncada?"

Now, if you've been paying attention, you knew that we were planning to debut the 19-year-old Cuban infielder as the system's number two prospect, behind Blake Swihart. This decision came after a quick but spirited debate among the SoxProspects brass when news broke of Moncada's agreement with the Sox way back on February 23, during which we agreed on the following:

• Moncada was either first or second in the system, for sure. It was just a matter of which. Internal opinions differed on that, but we all knew it was basically a crapshoot based on what we'd read.
• Naming a new top prospect in the system is just... different. It means something. You will never see a player described in a mainstream news article as "the system's consensus second-best prospect." This is also evidenced by the fact that players are aware of (or made aware of) this in a way they aren't necessarily as a "top five" prospect or something. Conversations with Lars Anderson proved that this was something he was aware of, and I've always surmised that the pressure of being the top prospect in the system was why he put so much pressure on himself (as described by his former manager, Gabe Kapler, in this great piece he wrote for WEEI.com a couple years back.)
• We knew we would be adjusting our rankings after our trip to Fort Myers at the end of March, and the majority opinion was that it'd be better to move him up than move him down. Again, the number 1 spot is just different, and the idea was that we didn't want to put a guy there for four weeks and then think better of it.
• As per our usual policy, we weren't going to add him to the site rankings until his signing became official.

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Updating the scouting reports - stage two complete

Continuing our offseason project to update our scouting reports, the SoxProspects.com staff is pleased to announce that the scouting reports for players ranked 21-40 have been updated. The easiest way to check out the reports, which were written by Director of Scouting Ian Cundall and Assistant Director of Scouting Chaz Fiorino, is to head over to the More Prospects page, which links to each player's profile.

Please note that you may need to refresh the player's page in your browser to see the updated scouting report.

We are now planning to proceed position-by-position, updating the shorter, one-paragraph scouting reports rather than using our expanded format. In the future, players' scouting reports will be expanded upon their entry into the SoxProspects.com Top 40.

As always, thanks for reading!

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Unveiling the updated SoxProspects scouting reports, stage one

Today, we're pleased to announce the first stage in the rollout of a project we've had in the works for a long time: updated and expanded scouting reports for the SoxProspects Top 20!

This offseason, our scouting staff, Ian Cundall and Chaz Fiorino, is undertaking a systematic review and update of every scouting report on the website. We hate to admit it, but the fact is that some of the scouting reports on the individual player pages got a bit stale over the past year or two as we went through some unexpected staffing changes and events in our personal lives. The primary goal that this project will achieve is to bring every report up to date with our most current information, primarily from first-hand looks when we've been able to get eyes on a player.

As part of this project, we are blowing out the scouting reports for the website's top 40 prospects, and breaking those reports up into different categories, which brings us to today's unveiling. The scouting reports for the SoxProspects Top 20 have been updated in our new format, and you can check them out by going to the site's home page and using that to navigate to each player's profile. (Please note that you may need to refresh your browser on each page.)

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SoxProspects Staff Announcement: Promotions and new hires!

As we're getting into the full swing of hot stove season, I want to take a minute to thank all of our readers for reading the site, and I also want to thank the SoxProspects.com Staff for all their hard work this year.  We're on pace for approximately 15 million pageviews in 2014, which will make it one of our best years ever. I also want to make a bunch of site announcements that will surely top the Red Sox' announcement of the signings of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez yesterday.

First, in the scouting world, Chaz Fiorino has been promoted to Assistant Director of Scouting. A graduate of MLB Scouting Bureau Scout School, Chaz just joined the SoxProspects staff this past January. He hit the ground running and attended dozens of games over the course of the year, making monstrous contributions to our scouting reports. Chaz will continue to report to Director of Scouting Ian Cundall, who has fairly recently taken a more active role in the management of the site. Chris Mellen, now the Co-Director of the Prospect Team at Baseball Prospectus, remains a valued scouting adviser. 

Over in the writing department, James Dunne has been promoted to Senior Staff Writer. James joined the SoxProspects staff in November 2011. In 2014, he grabbed more breaking news stories than anyone on the staff. Jim Crowell has also been promoted to Senior Staff Writer. He has been with us since July 2011, contributing to breaking news, notes columns, the Cup of Coffee, and columns. John Gray, Will Woodward, Brian Gagnon, and Harry Burnham are all also back for 2015, rounding out a fantastic returning writing and editing staff, managed by Executive Editor Chris Hatfield and Managing Editor Matt Huegel, both of whom also serve as columnists and scouts. Additionally, Jon Meoli and Tim Healey will stick around as emeritus columnists, contributing if and when they can.  

I'm also very excited to announce that we've added four new writers to the Staff. Katie Morrison recently graduated from Northeastern (go Huskies) with a degree in communications. She has worked as an online content contributor for WEEI.com and a broadcast statistician for WEEI Radio, and came highly recommended. Jack Mitchell is a journalism student at the University of Connecticut, currently in his junior year. He has worked as an associate managing editor for The Daily Campus and done freelance work for the Hartford Courant and the Ipswich Chronicle. Eric Gendron is a reporter for The Darien Times. He has a communications degree from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College (go Bombers). Nick Rabasco is a junior at East Stroudsburg University, majoring in communications and minoring in English. He’s also a 2B/OF on the school’s baseball team. 

It’s also bittersweet to announce that Dan Hanson and Luke Lavoie will no longer be with the staff in 2015. Dan had been with us for a while, but with a fourth child recently arrived and an expert taste in wine, he has much higher callings to attend to. Luke is writing for the Howard County Times and the Laurel Leader.

On the web editing side, I’m happy to announce that longtime stalwarts Mike Reynolds and Steve Henley will be around for another year. Additionally, Jonathan Singer was promoted to Senior Correspondent earlier this year. Jon has been with the site for about ten years, so long that I can't even nail down his start date. Additionally, JP Kitson, Andrew Kolodziej, Matt Picard, Rebecca Fishbein, and Keith Wade will return for another year as web editors in 2015. Matt will be taking on a much larger role covering player transactions, replacing Alex Skillin, who’s moving on to focus his writing with SB Nation, Hardball Times, and Beyond the Box Score.

Last but not least, the forum moderators. I’m sad to report that Adam Fox has decided to step down after over ten years as a moderator. I want to thank Adam for all his hard work and contributions to the site over the past ten years.  He will truly be missed.  The returning moderating staff for 2015 includes Josh (chavopepe2), a longtime Senior Moderator, John (jmei), a newly-promoted Senior Moderator, Norm (oregonnorm), and Matt Picard. We’re also adding two new moderators – longtime readers Norberto (pedroelgrande) and Joel (iakovos11). 

With all of the new additions, I’m very excited about the "prospects" for 2015. See what I did there? 

Cheers,

Mike Andrews

Founder & Editor-in-Chief

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Help Wanted: Writers

SoxProspects.com is seeking applicants to join our writing staff. See below for details.

Position Overview: SoxProspects.com is looking for staff writers to join the staff through at least November 2015. Primary responsibilities for the position will include covering breaking news stories as they happen, including promotions, signings, the draft, and awards, among other topics. Writers will likely also be asked to take a regular weekly turn on the Cup of Coffee recap, once or perhaps twice a week, as well as contribute to our Weekly Notes feature. There also may be opportunities for enterprising writers to attend games in order to write feature stories for our News Page.

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Rankings Report: Debating the new number one prospect

Since July 20, 2012, the SoxProspects.com top prospect has stayed the same, and there was no debate necessary. With the graduation of Xander Bogaerts on Friday, however, that has changed and there was interesting discussion among the site’s management about who should be the new top prospect. Below is inside-look at that debate which included Editor-in-Chief Mike Andrews, Executive Editor Chris Hatfield, Managing Editor Matt Huegel, and Director of Scouting Ian Cundall. The four main candidates considered for the top spot were: Henry Owens, Mookie Betts, Garin Cecchini, and Blake Swihart.

Mike Andrews – Editor-in-Chief

While contemplating it for a good while, I chose Betts (pictured, right) over Owens because of Betts’ ridiculous consistency for the past 13 months, in four different leagues, all playing above his age level. I’ve also seen him quite a few times in that stretch, whether live or on MiLB.tv. It's already been established that he has a great plate approach and plays plus defense, and beyond the scouting the stats speak for themselves on offense. He really barrels up on the ball and laces it to the gaps. Betts has also been pesky on the basepaths over and above just stealing a lot of bases -- he's reminiscent of Jacoby Ellsbury in that vein.

While I also see big things for Owens, his command and control have been too inconsistent. I do think he’ll add some velocity and I love his secondary stuff, but without some refinement around the edges, the whole package will not fool advanced hitters as much once there is a book on him. That said, I see the possibility for that refinement and I still see Owens as a potential #2 or #3.

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SoxProspects at Spring Training starting ... NOW!

Folks, the time has finally arrived - the week of SoxProspects.com's on-site coverage of Spring Training in Ft. Myers. Over the next five days, our intrepid staff will be bringing you live updates from the Fort, all the ins-and-outs, ups-and-downs, and everything in between out on the back fields at the complex, from morning to evening. If that doesn't put a smile on your face, something's wrong. Heck, look at Manuel Margot here—he's obviously pretty happy about it.

Here's a preview of what you can look forward to:

Daily podcasts: We're planning to record short, daily updates on what we've seen in camp, starting Thursday. The easiest way to get those (and the rest of our podcasts!) is to subscribe on iTunes and automatically download the episodes as they go up.

Twitter: You can follow the staff on Twitter to get our live updates from the field at the accounts below.

Site account: @SoxProspects

Mike Andrews, Editor-in-Chief: @MikeAndrewsSP

Chris Hatfield, Executive Editor: @SPChrisHatfield

Matt Huegel, Managing Editor: @MattHuegelSP

Jon Meoli, Senior Columnist: @JonMeoli

Ian Cundall, Director of Scouting: @IanCundall

Chris Mellen, Senior Scouting Advisor: @ChrisMellen

Jonathan Singer, Digital Correspondent: @Jonathan_Singer

And of course, the SoxProspects.com Staff feed

SoxProspects News: While we're in Fort Myers, and over the coming week or two, we'll be posting interviews and other features here on the News Page, plus Ian Cundall's Scouting Scratch, tidbits for the Fort Report and much more.

Photo credit: Manuel Margot by Kelly O'Connor.

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New Feature: Young Graduates

I hope everybody is geared up for the start of spring training games this week! I'm writing to bring your attention to a new feature on the SoxProspects.com home page. Below the 1-20 Top Prospect rankings, you'll see that we added a new section for "Graduates Age 25 & Under." In this section, we plan on tracking recent younger graduates, such as Will Middlebrooks and Rubby De La Rosa. We also expect that players like Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Brandon Workman could join this group early in the 2014 season.

Additionally, we slid the "Graduated MLBers" section to the left-hand column and moved the "Post-Prospects" column from the Prospects 21-60 page onto the bottom right hand column of the home page. Post-Prospects will no longer be ranked, but will be listed by position. The Prospects 21-60 page will now focus exclusively on, you guessed it, the prospects ranked 21-60 in the Red Sox system.

As always, thanks for reading.  We welcome any feedback you may have.

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SoxProspects.com Top 10 Stories/Posts of 2013

It's that time again, and we'd like to wish a happy new year to all of our readers! Once again, we had our best year yet here at the website, one that has us excited for what's ahead in 2014! Here at the site, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, both started the year and finished it by adding to our ownership team, and of course, celebrated another Red Sox World Series victory just like everyone else.

It has become an annual tradition for us to count down our top 10 posts from the News Page from the past year by pageviews. We admittedly had a few surprises on here, but hey, you're the ones who are clicking the links! In a new feature this year, we'll also close out the piece with links to our most popular podcasts (and by the way, you can expect a new one to go up by the end of the week).

Thanks again. Cheers to a great 2014!

- Chris

10. Bogaerts captivates in Triple-A debut, June 15

Our own Kevin Pereira was on hand for uberprospect Xander Bogaerts's (pictured, above) debut at the minors' highest level, becoming the youngest PawSox ever. One thing I love about this story? All the quotes from Bogaerts and Pawtucket Manager Gary DiSarcina about his patience, which sound downright prescient in hindsight after his 2013 playoff performance:

"I just wanted to keep the same approach and not try to do too much because that can make you get into a funk. I've been hitting good lately, so I was just trying to do the same thing -- be patient. I was really patient today."

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