Baseball America has released their top 100 propspects in all of the minor leagues.  They released a small little tidbit about each player with the ranking.  The Red Sox check in with seven players on the list at numbers 4, 13, 40, 64, 73, 94, and 96, a testament to how strong their system has become since Theo and co. took over.  Let's take a look at the young players who have performed well enough to make the cut.

#4 Clay Buchholz, SP - The man we all watched throw a no-no in his second start last year.  There is little question about his off speed stuff, the only question is whether he can command his fastball on a consistent basis, which he demonstrated during the no-hitter.  He reportedly put on 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason, meaning that fastball may have even a little more life this year.

#13 Jacoby Ellsbury, OF - What more is there to say about this young man?  A prototypical leadoff hitter, he works the count and has excellent contact skills.  That, combined with his speed, makes him a dangerous top of the order hitter, which he demonstrated in the World Series last year, hitting a team high .438 in the sweep.

#40 Lars Anderson, 1B - When you have exaclty 35 AB's at class A+ and you are ranked in the top half, your scouting report must speak volumes about your talent.  This is the case with Anderson, a big, powerful first baseman who has plus power.  The twenty year old is poised to take off in the hitters' paradise that is Lancaster and should end up in the top 15 of this list next year.

#64 Justin Masterson, SP - A big sinkerball pitcher, Masterson stands at 6' 6" and 250 pounds. Armed with his sinker and slider, plus a developing change up, Masterson should start the year in AA and be knocking on the door or possibly even make a few spot starts for the big league club.  He also has a funky delivery with his large wingspan, coming from a 3/4 arm slot, that makes it seem like he is actually slinging the ball towards home plate.

#73 Jed Lowrie, SS - Lowrie, the minor league leader in OPS at .896 among all shortstops.  While no one questions his hitting abilities, his defense has been called into question since he was drafted and moved to SS.  However, recent reports are claiming that his range, arm strength, and fielding have all improved enough to the point where he could play a decent SS in the majors.  He brings a solid contact rate and a keen eye to the batters' box, as well.

#94 Michael Bowden, SP - After a scorching start at Lancaster where he posted a 1.37 ERA, Bowden was promoted to Portland where he was the youngest pitcher in the Eastern League.  He struggled a bit in Portland, as evidenced by his 4.28 ERA, but it was confirmed that he has come into camp in fantastic shape after being on a 4,500 calorie per day diet.  So expect a big jump in the rankings from Bowden; with his fastball and curve both being out pitches, it could happen very quickly. 

#96 Ryan Kalish, OF - A speedy outfielder who has never played above short season A ball in Lowell and with only 87 total ABs there, his scouting report speaks volumes about him.  Many scouts think he has the talent to shoot through the organization quickly. Some of the reasons for that: he hit .368 with a .471 OBP and swiped 18 bags in only 23 games.  His upside is huge and he could make a run towards the top of this list by next year.

That's it for the Red Sox in the top 100.  A couple guys to look our for who could make the jump onto this list next year are SS Oscar Tejeda, SS Will Middlebrooks, and SP Nick Hagadone, the club's top pick in the draft this year.

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering (and why wouldn't you be?), the Yankees had only four players on the list.