Ryan Westmoreland

Last summer, Westmoreland was intriguing as a thin, rangy, fast-twitch athlete who moonlighted as an all-state soccer player and standout basketball player. He added 15 pounds of muscle over the winter and increased his strength at the plate, his foot speed and even his velocity off the mound, where he used an 86-90 mph fastball and decent curveball to strike out 19 of the 21 batters he faced in a seven-inning perfect game this spring. That arm strength translates well to center field, where his well-above-average speed allows him to cover a lot of ground. As an athletic high school outfielder from Rhode Island, Westmoreland draws inevitable comparisons to fellow Ocean Stater Rocco Baldelli, and he has that kind of upside. He has quick hands and good hand-eye coordination, allowing him to put the barrel on the ball consistently, but he's still learning to incorporate his lower half into his swing and hit the ball with more authority. The scuttlebutt in the Northeast was that it would take at least a seven-figure signing bonus to buy him out of a commitment to Vanderbilt, but the Red Sox have expressed interest in the local boy, sending several prominent front-office executives in to see him.