Lester getting closer to bigs

[BoSox34]

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Through the early days of camp, lanky left-hander Jon Lester worked side sessions next to Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon and, quite simply, looked as if he belonged in that group.

The pop as his fastball landed in Jason Varitek's mitt was unmistakable, sounding like one that could come only from a gifted arm.

"It's been fun, I can't complain at all," said Lester, the top starting pitcher in Boston's farm system. "It's kind of surreal. You don't realize it until it's over that you threw to an All-Star catcher. It's weird at first, but I'm starting to settle in and get used to all that stuff."

A couple of days later, he threw batting practice to David Ortiz and Trot Nixon, and there weren't many comfortable looking swings or hard hits.
No, the 22-year-old Lester isn't ready for the Major Leagues yet. But he doesn't look too far off, either.

It has been a fast first few days of Spring Training for Lester, who is considered one of the most highly regarded pitching prospects in the game.

"You don't want to get into the whole thing -- 'Well, this is David Ortiz, this is Trot Nixon, this is whoever.' You just want to throw to the catcher, get your work done, and if they hit it, they hit it," said Lester. "They've got to get their work done, too. That first pitch I threw to [Ortiz] was a little nerve-wracking, because I didn't want to hit him and all that stuff, but it went fine. I got my work done."

After dominating for Double-A Portland last year (11-6, league-leading 2.61 ERA, .215 opponents batting average, 163 strikeouts in 148 1/3 innings), Lester will make the jump to Triple-A Pawtucket to start the 2006 season.

But that next jump in the progression can occur before you know it. For proof of that, just remember how quickly things developed for Papelbon a year ago.

"He's pretty much a mirror image of me last year," said Papelbon. "Coming into camp, he needs to open up some eyes and he needs to show these coaches and players that he's here to win, he's here to compete. Come into camp, show them what you've got, bust your butt, leave the decision up to them and make it a hard one. That's what I tried to do last year. I know Jon real well, he knows me real well. We played together for two years now, going on three. He knows what to expect from me, I know what to expect from him, and I don't expect [anything] but the best from him."

From his mid- to upper-90s fastball to his complementary pitches (cutter, curve and changeup), Lester has the arsenal to make it at the highest level. But as Schilling can point out from experience, there are some other things that must occur before his progression is complete.

"Obviously, he's beyond his years as far as polish goes. Numbers-wise, there are numbers that he's put up that are eye-openers," said Schilling. "But, like [Papelbon] and all the other guys, he needs to pitch. He needs innings. He needs experience. Unfortunately, you got to get your head kicked in a couple times and start making adjustments and changing things. He seems to me like a guy who is going to take getting beat the way he's supposed to. Instead of being just upset about it, he's going to learn from things like that. That's a big thing for young pitchers."
Unlike Papelbon, who pitched at the collegiate level (Mississippi State) before being drafted by the Red Sox in 2003, Lester was drafted straight out of high school in Tacoma, Wash., in 2002.


The next year, the Red Sox shifted their drafting philosophy to favor college picks, but Lester could wind up being a savored treat from the high school ranks.

"I don't really think about it," Lester said. "You have to do your job, whether you're a college guy or a high school guy. I just try to look at it that way."

However long he'll spend in Major League camp this spring, Lester will spend as much time observing as he does pitching.

"I think the biggest thing is just to see how they work," Lester said. "You get to see Schilling and Beckett and [Matt] Clement and [Bronson] Arroyo get their work done, you get to see how they do it. It's also a lot more relaxed area. In Minor League camp, you're doing more reps, it's more intense. Up here, they know how to get their work done quickly and professionally."

Of his repertoire of pitches, the curve is the one Lester knows he still needs to master.

"That's the most inconsistent," Lester said. "I can usually make it through the first couple of innings if I don't have the feel for the changeup. With the curveball, I just have to get more consistent with that feel and stay with it."

Varitek's early impression of Lester?

"Real poised, and he's got a great arm," said the captain of the Red Sox. "He's got some pitches to go with it."

Pitches that should one day get Lester to Boston and, if things go according to plan, keep him there for some time.
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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[realmofotalk]

Brian Rose, Paxton Crawford, Juan Pena and Casey Fossum still come in mind when you're talking about homegrown young hurlers for the Red Sox.

[Fishercat]

He could bust, it's quite possible. But this is under a different regime, and the last major pitching prospect to come up, Jonathan Papelbon, looked pretty sweet.

Only behind Liriano among LHP Prospects on many lists, I have high hopes for Jon. Maybe by 2007-2008, he'll be in the rotation

[Saber]

Per Dave Cameron of the USS Mariner:

"Lester and Papelbon … [are] solid, good pitching prospects. But these guys aren’t special. Almost every organization has a guy like Papelbon or Lester. There’s a lot of 90-94 MPH arms with developing secondary pitches and mediocre command running around out there."

Honestly, these guys wouldn't be recognizeable names if they weren't Red Sox.

[BoSox34]

I could see that point being made with Papelbon but unfortunately whoever wrote that couldn't be more wrong about Lester. Lester is the second best left handed pitching prospect in all of baseball next to Liriano of the Twins. You can check almost any scouting report and clubs go bonkers over this kid. We added extra players to the Marlins deal for Beckett in order to keep Lester. Any team in the bigs would love to have a prospect such as Lester in their farm, thats why so many teams ask for him in any deal that involves a high profiled player. The Sox know his value as well as the rest of the other MLB teams. Now, whether this kid develops to his hype and potential remains to be seen but the Sox haven't created the hype around him, Lester has shown scouts what makes him the talent that he is.