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SAL1 Greenville Drive

Red Sox Prospects Ready To Launch 2008 Season In Greenville

March 31, 2008 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, S.C. - The Greenville Drive will kick-off the new season on Thursday, April 3rd with an abundance of exciting young talent. New manager Kevin Boles will have several of the organization's top young prospects at his disposal in a farm system that was recently ranked as the second best in baseball by Baseball America as the 2008 Drive roster has been announced. Highlighting the Drive roster will be 12 players who saw action in Greenville during the 2007 season, and 11 players who were selected in last season's First-Year Player Draft.

Drive General Manager, Mike deMaine noted, "The Red Sox are among the best in the game at scouting, drafting and developing fresh major league talent, like Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, and Kevin Youkilis." deMaine added, "The 2008 Drive roster will once again feature some of the organization's brightest prospects that our fans will enjoy cheering on."

Nick Hagadone, the Red Sox top draft selection in 2007 and ranked as the eighth best prospect in Boston's farm system according to Baseball America, will anchor the Drive's pitching staff after a stellar debut for the Lowell Spinners in 2006. The lefthander from the University of Washington set a Spinners record when he finished the season with 23 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.

Outfielder Josh Reddick, ranked as the tenth best prospect in the Red Sox system, returns to the Drive after putting up some impressive numbers in his first professional season last year. After beginning the season at extended Spring Training, Reddick joined the Drive in May and immediately made an impact. He finished the season with a .305 batting average, 18 home runs, and 72 RBI. In addition, Reddick led the league with 19 outfield assists.

Joining Hagadone on the Drive pitching staff will be Jose Alvarez, Austin Bailey, Daniel Bard, Ryan Colvin, Jordan Craft, Felix Doubront, Ryne Lawson, Eammon Portice, Chad Povich, Chris Province, and Felix Ventura. Bard, a first round selection by the Red Sox in 2006, spent the majority of last season with the Drive, combining with Ryan Phillips for the franchise's first no-hitter on June 11th. Craft, the Drive's home opener starter in 2007, as well as Doubront, Povich, Province, and Ventura all saw action with the Drive last year.

Assuming the catching duties will be Luis Exposito and Ty Weeden. Weeden, a 16th round selection in the 2007 draft, batted .251 with five homers and 24 RBI for the Spinners last season, en route to being named a New York-Penn League All-Star. Exposito appeared in nine games with the Drive before being placed on the temporarily inactive list for the remainder of the year.

The Drive infield will be comprised of Manny Arambarris, Mike Jones, Yamaico Navarro, Kristopher Negron, Aaron Reza, Anthony Rizzo, and Will Vazquez. Arambarris and Negron spent the majority of 2007 with the Drive, while Reza and Jones saw time in Greenville as well. Arambarris set career highs in 2007 with 47 runs, 100 hits, 11 doubles, four triples and 37 RBI. Negron finished second in the Red Sox system with 31 stolen bases.

Joining Reddick in the outfield will be Che-Hsuan Lin, David Mailman, and David Marks. A product of Taiwan, Lin ranked fifth in the Red Sox organization with 17 stolen bases and is rated by Baseball America as having the best outfield arm in the Boston farm system.

Drive President and Co-owner, Craig Brown, noted, "The 2007 World Series Championship for the Red Sox demonstrated the importance of the amateur draft and the overall quality of the Boston Red Sox minor league system which is recognized as one the strongest player development systems in all of baseball."

Opening Day at Fluor Field at the West End is Thursday, April 3rd, as the Drive host the Kannapolis Intimidators at 7:05 PM. Drive ticket plans, luxury accommodations, group outings, and single-game tickets can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4500 or by visiting www.GreenvilleDrive.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from March 31, 2008


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