Boston's future pitchers continue to develop

Team: Boston Red Sox
Date: Thursday, March 29
Location: Fort Myers, Fla.

Burning Question

With Jonathan Papelbon now confirmed as the Sox closer in the Majors, how, if at all, will that affect the grooming of other pitchers in the system such as Craig Hansen, Edgar Martinez and possibly even Devern Hansack? Will their projected 2007 roles change?

Despite his Rookie of the Year-caliber numbers before being shut down with a sore shoulder (0.92 ERA and 35 saves), Papelbon had been expected to return to his role as a starter in the Minors this season, leaving the mantle of "Red Sox Closer of the Future" very much up in the air.

However, just a week ago, that plan was scrapped and it was announced that Papelbon would keep the bullpen stopper role that he filled so well in 2006.

So how does that affect the current situations of upper-level closer prospects such as Hansen, the club's first-round pick in 2005 out of St. John's? Or the flame-throwing Martinez, who posted a 2.61 ERA and 12 saves at Double-A Portland last year?

Or even Hansack, a 29-year-old 2006 free agent signee out of Nicaragua who was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year?

For now, it doesn't really change things at all, said Mike Hazen, Boston's director of player development. The trio will continue to pitch for the PawSox with one common goal -- to make it back to the big leagues in the cases of Hansen and Hansack, or to get there for the first time in Martinez's case.

"Nobody is going to be breaking into the Red Sox as a closer," Hazen said. "They're going to be getting back to the big leagues as a Major League reliever and their role will be determined after the fact. I don't know that Major League closer is a job you earn in Triple-A, no matter how well you pitch."

Hansen was a top closer in college and projected in that role professionally, but has had his ups and downs so far in his brief pro experience. A quick riser, he made his Major League debut briefly in 2005 and had 38 big-league games in '06, posting a 6.63 ERA. In Pawtucket, he started in four of his 14 outings and posted a 2.75 ERA.

"He handled it well, very professionally," Hazen said of Hansen's late-camp option to Pawtucket. "He was disappointed like anyone would be, but now it's about, 'OK, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to get back there?'"

Hansen will not exclusively work as the PawSox closer though, as the club wants to stretch him out a little, to make sure he gets the innings he needs to improve his consistency and refine his pitches.

Hansack spent four pro seasons with the Houston Astros organization before being released. He spent the next two years as a lobster fisherman before the Sox discovered him playing for the Nicaraguan national team and signed him last spring.

He saw time as both a reliever and then a starter at Portland last year, posting a 3.26 ERA and finishing second in the organization with 124 strikeouts against 36 walks in 132 1/3 innings. He also pitched the title clincher for Portland in the Eastern League playoffs.

For now, he'll be in the rotation at Pawtucket, but that doesn't rule out a Major League job in the bullpen, which is what he did in his surprise big-league callup last September.

"The feeling is that he has a lot of value as a starter," Hazen said, "And he can always transition back into the bullpen if he needs to and there's an opportunity for him to go to the big leagues in that role."

Martinez will also be in the Pawtucket bullpen refining his secondary pitches. A converted catcher, he has a power arm and a high ceiling.

Other News of the Day

Pitcher Jon Lester is making his comeback from lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with midseason 2006 while he was in the Red Sox rotation. He heads to Class A Greenville under new manager Gabe Kapler, his teammate in Boston last year. The early-season assignment to the South Atlantic League was predicated solely on weather, combined with an East Coast spot where the Red Sox brass can easily fly in and watch his starts.

"We don't want to rush him so there will be a physical progression he goes through based on where he's comfortable," Hazen said. "There will be a predetermined amount of starts down there. We're not basing it on any sort of 'success or failure' statistically. It's not about that. It's about getting him into a situation where there's warm weather and we're not risking him losing games to rain-outs or snow-outs like in Pawtucket and Portland. Greenville plays a much more consistent schedule in April so he can stay on his five-day rotation, and to us that's the biggest thing."

The Red Sox move this season from the East Coast Class A Advanced clubs of recent memory (Wilmington, Del., in the Carolina League and Sarasota in the Florida State League) to the Lancaster JetHawks of the California League, and send that new club a very stacked young rotation. Daniel Bard, a 2006 first-round will make his pro debut, and he'll be joined by Kris Johnson (a supplemental 2006 first-rounder who had an 0.88 ERA in 14 games at Class A Short-Season Lowell), Justin Masterson (2006 second-rounder with an 0.85 ERA at Lowell with 33 strikeouts and two walks in 32 innings) along with Michael Bowden and Mike Rozier, both of whom had strong seasons at Greenville in 2006.

One thing the player development staff needed to prepare the pitchers for is the light air and "hitters league" reputation of the California League. While the stats may not mean anything, it's worth noting that last year's Lancaster team went 68-72 with a 5.60 team ERA while Boston's 2006 Class A Advanced Wilmington club was 67-71 with a 3.82.

"Yes, there is a physical element that is going to play into the season but it can't be anything they're focused on," Hazen said. "They can't pitch to the conditions. Will the ERAs be a little higher, will they give up a few more home runs? Probably. But it's something we're just going to have to monitor and know that these guys will be developing at the rate we'd hoped at that level."

Five Questions with Devern Hansack

MiLB.com: I know you were playing for the Nicaraguan national team when you were signed by the Red Sox, but how did it all come about?

DH: I was with the Nicaraguan team in Holland and I didn't really know anything about it until I got back to Nicaragua and a scout there told me that they had been watching me and I might get a chance with Boston, so I should just keep working hard. And when I came here for Spring Training I was just getting a chance, not knowing if I'd even make a team or not. So I made the Double-A team and started out relieving, and then ended up starting. At the end of the season I pitched Sunday for my team in the championships and after the game they told me I was going to pitch in Boston. And I was just so happy, it was the biggest surprise in my whole life. I just thank God for giving me health and strength to make it through.

MiLB.com: At MiLB.com during the season we got a lot of e-mails from fans in Nicaragua wanting to keep up with what you were doing. Have you found during the offseason that you've become sort of a national hero in your country?

DH: In my country it's big because I'm just the ninth one from there to reach the big leagues. So everyone appreciates it and I appreciate my fans. Also, I was only the second one from my hometown to make it and the other one, Albert Williams, never really went back after he reached the big leagues except, sadly, when his mother passed away. So I was the first one from Pearl Lagoon (pop. 1000) to go back home and everyone celebrated.

MiLB.com: Identify anyone, past or present, that you'd like to have dinner with and why.

DH: I'd just want to have dinner with my whole family. I'd like everybody together to just eat and talk baseball.

MiLB.com: What is your proudest accomplishment, on or off the field?

DH: Making it to the big leagues and trying to set an example, to be a nice person.

MiLB.com: Who is the most unusual character (player, fan, coach, etc.) you've come across in the Minors and why?

DH: Manny Ramirez, he's like insane. Everybody likes him.

MiLB.com: What is your favorite aspect of playing in the Red Sox organization and why?

DH: I appreciated them having me in the big leagues, but I also appreciate being in Triple-A. I came over here and they gave me a chance and I'm so happy right now.

Lasting Impression

Outfielder Brandon Moss' second big-league camp was a huge success. Though he came into Spring Training knowing he was headed for Triple-A Pawtucket, he certainly made a case for a call to the bigs should the opportunity arise.

"He was really impressive and the big-league staff had nothing but good things to say about him," Hazen said. "He went to big-league camp last year and then, since they really didn't get to see him during the season, when he walked in the door this year they got to see two snapshots."

A 2002 eighth-round draft pick out of high school in Georgia, Moss won the South Atlantic League MVP title and batting championship in 2004 when he hit .339 with 101 RBIs. But he dipped to .268-16-61 when he skipped past Class A Advanced to Double-A Portland in 2005. He returned to Portland in 2006 where he raised his average to .285 and finished second in the organization with 83 RBIs.

"This guy's put in a lot of hard work and it's paying off for him," Hazen said. "He's starting to really put it together and becoming a consistent player."

Moss certainly has a fan in Red Sox advance scout Todd Claus, who managed him at Portland last year, as he helped lead that club to the Eastern League championship.

"I am a very big believer in Brandon Moss," Claus said. "I love his bat and I believe he's going to hit in the big leagues."

Hazen was also very impressed with two young players who will not be breaking camp with one of the full-season clubs, outfielder Ryan Kalish and pitcher Caleb Clay.

Kalish, a ninth-round pick last spring, appeared in just a handful of Class A Short-Season games but showed good poise at the plate. Clay, a first-round supplemental pick, is a recently converted outfielder with a fastball that already touches the mid 90s.

"The things they're working on from a fundamental side have really improved through hard work and we've been really pleased with them," Hazen said.

Off the Beaten Path

Only the palm trees and 80-degree weather in March are hints that you're in Florida and not Boston, that's how prevalent the Red Sox insignia is here these days. Fans that flock south for Spring Training wear it on their sleeves, their chests, their caps, and their license plate frames.

And they wore it even more proudly on Thursday morning as their beloved BoSox won the coveted Mayor's Cup Wednesday night. Ace Curt Schilling outdueled Johan Santana to win, 5-4, and wrest the gold trophy out of the Hammond Stadium clubhouse for the first time since 2004. The cup goes to the Fort Myers-based team that wins the spring season series between the two clubs.

But those who went to cheer for Schilling on Wednesday may not have recognized the kid on the hill for their Sox on Thursday. They will soon. It was Clay Buchholz making his first big-league appearance of the spring as he faced the Devil Rays.

Buchholz has emerged as the top pitching prospect in the system, leading the organization with 140 strikeouts and a 2.42 ERA last summer with his preternatural command of his fastball and big curveball, to go with a fine slider and changeup.

Parting Shots

The vivid red that emanates from the dozens upon dozens of uniformed prospects in BoSox crimson at the Edison complex was dotted with dozens of squares of brown on Thursday as the four Minor League teams were being packed up into cartons to ship north for the beginning of the season.

Deliverymen streamed in and out of the offices carrying piles of boxes, as players did the same, finalizing their travel plans.

The exodus begins this weekend as some head way north to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Portland, Maine, either via air or in a caravan of their own cars. Some have only a few hundred miles to go to Greenville, S.C., while others have no driving options as the only way to get to Lancaster, California, is by plane.

The mood was distinctly "we're ready to get going" at camp. Rosters were being close to finalized with only a few bubble-sitters waiting to come back down with the ensuing trickle-down effect pending.

But with those final rosters being tweaked, there was some blue mixed in with the red as the inevitable releases came as well. Here and there, players now in their civvies shook hands or hugged their teammates while saying goodbye.