Happy New Year! Chris and Ian kick off 2019 with a very special guest. They welcome the Boston Globe's Alex Speier (@alexspeier) back to the podcast for his unofficial annual appearance. Alex writes up the Sox top 10 prospects for Baseball America and holds court on the state of the system and all things Red Sox. Chris and Ian ask about Alex's recent articles (check out the links below). He shares what makes this year's rankings so unusual. Chris goes over both the depth at the corners in both the upper and lower minors and what the future of front office looks like. The guys wrap things up with a lightning round that highlights the most intriguing players in the system today. Listen in! 0:00 – Intros, housekeeping, email us and remember to check us out on Patreon. 3:30 – Overhauling the Red Sox pitching infrastructure 16:30 – Alex's Top 5 22:00 – System depth at the corners 29:00 – Looking at the future of the front office 34:00 – The rest of the off-season 41:00 – Lightning round Make sure you check out Alex's recent articles at the Globe: How the Red Sox Rebuilt their Pitching Infrastructure How the Red Sox Turned Fenway Park into a Biomechanics Lab for Prospects Players mentioned in the show Ryan Brasier Stephen Nogosek Gerson Bautista Craig Hansen Bryce Cox Daniel Bard Jalen Beeks Bobby Dalbec Michael Chavis Jay Groome Triston Casas Antoni Flores Nick Northcut Brandon Howlett Rafael Devers Josh Ockimey Sam Travis Danny Diaz Christian Vazquez Blake Swihart Tzu-Wei Lin Marco Hernandez Darwinzon Hernandez Pedro Castellanos Gilberto Jimenez Jarren Duran Zach Schellenger Got something to say? We love talking about what you want to hear about. Make sure to email us. Love the show? Want to help us out while also getting exclusive goodies? Support the podcast by contributing to us on Patreon! Go to Sox Prospects on Patreon for the details. Podcast Twitter Links: • @SPChrisHatfield • @IanCundall • @SoxProspects Subscribe on iTunes (please rate and review!) Subscribe on Stitcher (please rate and review!) Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube Listen on Google Play Music Podcast Archive