Hawaiian Winter Ball releases “Fab 15″ prospects list

Posted on February 12, 2008
Filed Under Prospects | Leave a Comment

The HWB (Hawaiian Winter Ball league) has released their list of “Fab 15″ prospects. The list ranks the top 15 players in the league based on their performance and how they look like they’ll pan out in the future. Two Red Sox prospects made the list.

10) Argenis Diaz, Honolulu Sharks

Shortstop, Boston Red Sox

The 20-year-old led HWB with a .421 on-base percentage, and wound up second in the league with a .358 batting average after hitting over .400 through the first half of the campaign. The Venezuela native’s ability to put the ball in play, and set the table for the meat of the order has Diaz high on Boston’s list of middle-infield prospects. Diaz has already been named to the big league club’s 40-man roster, and he expects to start the year in Double-A Portland. While he possesses average speed and range in the hole, Diaz routinely gunned down runners from the infield fringe, and finished his HWB stint with the third-best fielding percentage (.914) among everyday shortstops.

11) Daniel Bard, Honolulu Sharks

Right Handed Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Bard impressed fans behind the Hans L’Orange Park backstop, and intimidated opposing hitters with his blistering fastball as the former first-round draft pick honed his control in HWB. The 22-year-old was used as a one-inning reliever per Boston’s orders, and managed to strike out 15 while also walking 15 through 16 2/3 innings. While he needs to harness his fastball, Bard allowed only two earned runs and improved mightily upon the 78 walks and 7.08 ERA he posted in the regular season. The Red Sox need Bard to keep whittling down his walk total as the hurler bolsters his secondary pitches consisting of a strong curve and an adequate change up. Bard should see the majority of his 2008 innings in Double-A, and depending on his progress, might warrant a late-season call up.

The report on Diaz sounds promising but Bard’s looks horrifying. Granted last year was his first year of pro ball but a 1.0 K/BB ratio? He’ll definitely need to improve on that; and despite what HWB says, I don’t think there is much of a chance of him being called up this year.

Comments

Leave a Reply