Luis Exposito

Exposito sparked some interest as a hitting catcher when he drove in 94 runs at Double-A Portland in 2010, but the offense stalled moving up to Triple-A Pawtucket in 2011. He shared the catching job with Ryan Lavarnway for much of the season and received fewer plate appearances as a result. He found out quickly that pitchers at this level have much more command of their offspeed stuff. He's still on the 40-man roster and in an organization that isn't teeming with catching prospects, but Exposito needs to hone his approach at the plate and work on his plate discipline, in addition to further developing his defense.

The departure of Victor Martinez through free agency has led to scrutiny of Boston's catching depth in the organization. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in position to be the No. 1, but he's by no means settled. Exposito, who was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, may be the organization's most complete catching prospect, but hasn't caught above Double-A. He continues to improve his game-calling and has good production as a hitter (94 RBI and 39 doubles in 2010), though like a lot of prospects, swings at questionable pitches. After 500 at-bats in Double-A, look for Boston to promote him to Triple-A to begin the 2011 season. Further refinement of his catching skills are in order for 2011 and we'll be watching to see if those doubles turn into homers.

Exposito earned a promotion to Double-A during the second half of 2009 after 500 at-bats at the High-A level in 2008 and 2009. The Red Sox are looking at him as an everyday catcher for the future, but he's not going to be ready for that until 2011 at the earliest. Behind the plate, he's got good catcher tools -- blocking skills, a strong arm and instincts -- but still needs to work on his game-calling ability and improve his throwing accuracy. At the plate, his present power is decent and projectable to the 20-25 homer range. Getting him to shorten his swing may prove to be beneficial for success at higher levels. Exposito needs to improve his plate discipline, which improved somewhat in 2009 when he took more walks in fewer plate appearances. Now that the major league club has acquired Victor Martinez, there's no urgency for the organization to rush him.