SoSH Chat: WEEI's Alex Speier

Alex Speier (WEEI) answered questions in a SoSH chat today. Excellent stuff. Here's a few bits:

I actually think the Sox' rotation depth could be pretty good - unproven, but impressive. Morales was filthy as a starter last year, and I like using any potential injuries/underperformances of the slated five to see what some of the prospects can do: Wright, Webster, De La Rosa all have upside that can impact the org for the long haul. I'd say that the Sox' depth of starters with major league-ready stuff might be better than anyone's but Tampa Bay's. ...

[I]t's hard to imagine that without a singularly dominant spring that Bard will be in position to open the year in the big leagues. I think, given the depth of his struggles last year and the wait for his return to high-90s velo, the team will proceed with caution and make him prove that he's ready to dominate. Think Buchholz in 2009. ...

I do think Farrell will encourage an aggressive baserunning style. With Ellsbury, Victorino, Pedroia, they have the components to do some things on the bases. ...

Napoli was an overpay initially who now could be a real bargain. Drew, I think, has the best chance to be a steal given his skill level relative to the class of average SSs. Dempster seemed like very fair value to me. Victorino and Gomes were certainly both top-of-the-market signings, though in the case of both, neither prevented the Sox from doing anything else ... [W]hile Gomes was an overpay, he was less of one than Cody Ross ended up being for the D-backs. In other words, I'd take Gomes at 2/$10M over Ross at 3/$26.5M - no-brainer to me.

I think that Bradley will follow a player development path similar to the one that Ellsbury followed. He's so advanced despite relative professional inexperience that I'd guess he starts contributing at the big league level by the middle of this year. ... Ceiling? That's a tough one. Gold Glove defense, and - again, emphasizing ceiling - a guy who can put up .380-.400 OBPs for a few years while being an above-average baserunner (thanks to amazing instincts - though he's not a burner) with perhaps 10-12 homers.