Blockbuster trades at the major league level often tend to shake things up at the minor league level, and the Boston Red Sox trade for Adrian Gonzalez last November was no exception. The Red Sox were forced to ship three of their top prospects off to San Diego to seal the deal: RHP Casey Kelly, 1B Anthony Rizzo and OF Reymond Fuentes. That trio were ranked, respectively, as the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 prospects in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America just prior to their being traded.
Unlike the Milwaukee Brewers, however, who decimated their shallow farm system to obtain Zack Greinke from Kansas City, the Red Sox system is deep, and the Adrian Gonzalez trade did not significantly deplete the talent that Boston has across their organization.
The top 10 prospects remaining in the Red Sox farm system generally fall into one of two categories. They tend to be either (1) Young players still a few years away from the majors with tremendous upside, or (2) Accomplished minor leaguers who would crack the starting nine on many other Major League club.