(Cue the sound of one hand clapping....)

Truth be told, since ZiPS came out, I've become much more interested in Egbert.  I know this is old news, but I think the biggest thing is ZiPS saying his bump in K-rate from last season is for real -- 101 Ks in 164 innings would rate second among Sox starters, only behind Javier Vazquez.  And since he's about the only one of our real prospect pitchers (Poreda can't be traded, unless as a PTBNL) who hasn't been traded this winter, I'd imagine that says something about how much the Sox think of him (well, that, or he really is a 'scouts vs stats' player in that the projection systems like him but scouts think his stuff will only get him so far, although maybe those two aren't mutually exclusive).

Bleh -- that was a mouthful.

That sucks.

'That old ballplayer is worth production!' KW needs to start leaving these beat up old cars on the side of the road. As already noted, the Sox have an abundance of pitchers who can give the same production of Colon (if not better). They're cheaper too, and with a far less risk of injury.

That's an absolutely terrible list (in more ways than one). How can Rogers seriously justify putting Broadway over Egbert -- one major league start? It's not like Broadway is a 'good stuff' guy who is having control issues -- his stuff is mediocre as have been his results. And John Shelby at eight? Shelby is arguably the highest ceiling prospect (in the Sox system -- obviously) at or above single-A and just came off a .322/.351/.572 second half -- that should be good for much better than 8th in such a useless farm system.

Not that it really matters, but my top five (since 6-10 is basically a useless exercise) would be:

1. Jack Egbert -- Probably not a very high ceiling, but ZiPS says he can be an above average starter this season. He gets groundballs (lots of 'em), has good control and this year was amongst the league leaders in strikeouts (which ZiPS sees as being 'for real' -- he projects to have the second best K-rate among Sox starters, although that might not be saying a lot).
2. John Shelby -- Decent combination of ceiling and production, highlighted above.
3. Jose Martinez -- Mainly here because of 'projectability' (I think that's a fair word to use here) -- he's got a great frame but hasn't even seen low-A yet.
4. Aaron Poreda -- I have him here mainly due to draft position (and because the Sox system is crap). CBW absolutely hates his arm slot and apparently some scouts were fired over the decision to take Poreda. Hopefully he can stay healthy for another six months so Kenny can deal him for a reliever. If they do end up keeping him I'd hope they try to turn him into Matt Thorton version 2006 -- he's got a dynamite fastball but that's about it.
5. Lance Broadway -- I'll admit I'm kind of picking a name out of a hate here. Broadway isn't that great, but he did look pretty good in his one start at the major league level, and perhaps his below average production at AAA can be explained by his use of a new pitch (two-seamer) for a good part of the season. Another (relatively) low-ceiling pitcher.