Ryan Westmoreland
| AB | 223 |
|---|---|
| AVG | .296 |
| OBP | .401 |
| SLG | .484 |
| HR | 7 |
- Full name Ryan Michael Westmoreland
- Born 04/27/1990 in Newport, RI
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: L / Throws: R
- School Portsmouth
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Drafted in the 5th round (172nd overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2008 (signed for $2,000,000).
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Last summer, Westmoreland was intriguing as a thin, rangy, fast-twitch athlete who moonlighted as an all-state soccer player and standout basketball player. He added 15 pounds of muscle over the winter and increased his strength at the plate, his foot speed and even his velocity off the mound, where he used an 86-90 mph fastball and decent curveball to strike out 19 of the 21 batters he faced in a seven-inning perfect game this spring. That arm strength translates well to center field, where his well-above-average speed allows him to cover a lot of ground. As an athletic high school outfielder from Rhode Island, Westmoreland draws inevitable comparisons to fellow Ocean Stater Rocco Baldelli, and he has that kind of upside. He has quick hands and good hand-eye coordination, allowing him to put the barrel on the ball consistently, but he's still learning to incorporate his lower half into his swing and hit the ball with more authority. The scuttlebutt in the Northeast was that it would take at least a seven-figure signing bonus to buy him out of a commitment to Vanderbilt, but the Red Sox have expressed interest in the local boy, sending several prominent front-office executives in to see him.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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The No. 1 prospect on this list a year ago, Westmoreland appeared poised to join the ranks of the game's elite prospects in 2010. That changed last March, when headaches and numbness led him to take a medical leave from minor league camp. Doctors detected a cavernous malformation (an abrnormal cluster of blood vessels) in his brain, and he underwent five hours of surgery to repair it. It typically takes 12-18 months for full recovery from the procedure, and Westmoreland made encouraging progress in the first six months afterward. He was running, throwing and hitting off a tee by mid-August, and he took some light batting practice during instructional league. The Red Sox aren't putting any timetable on his return to the diamond. Before the shocking diagnosis, Westmoreland wowed scouts with his tools and skills. Signed away from a Vanderbilt commitment for $2 million as a fifth-round pick in 2008, he ranked as the New York-Penn Leauge's top prospect during his 2009 pro debut. He displayed plus-plus speed, above-average power potential and center-field range and an average arm. He also had advanced hitting instincts, with a short stroke, an all-fields approach and good control of the strike zone. -
Westmoreland drew relatively little interest as a high school senior in 2008. He showed interesting athleticism at the Area Code Games the summer before, but didn't stand out. His commitment to Vanderbilt, $2 million asking price and the weather-related difficulties of scouting a Rhode Island prep player meant that few teams focused on him in the spring. One of just four clubs to talk to him directly, Boston selected him in the fifth round. Westmoreland joined the Bayside Yankees, one of the nation's top amateur teams, for the summer, giving the Red Sox more time to evaluate him. After watching him hit .557/.658/.918 for Bayside, they considered him the equivalent of a top-five-overall pick and gladly paid him $2 million at the Aug. 15 signing deadline. A pre-existing injury to his throwing shoulder turned out to be a torn labrum and required surgery in November, so Boston had him mostly DH during his pro debut at short-season Lowell in 2009. Westmoreland rated as the New York-Penn League's top prospect after exuding five-tool potential. The only negative came on Aug. 28, when he broke his collarbone crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch. Westmoreland didn't do any further damage to his shoulder and should be healthy for spring training. Former Red Sox scouting director Jason McLeod says Westmoreland has more upside than any player the club selected in his five years running its drafts. His skills are just as impressive as his considerable tools. Westmoreland has an advanced approach for a teenager, with a short stroke, control of the strike zone and a willingness to use the entire field. His hand-eye coordination allows him to barrel balls consistency, and he has above-average power potential. He has plus-plus speed and knows how to use it, swiping 19 bases without getting caught at Lowell. Westmoreland has above-average range and should be a quality defender in center field. He also starred as a pitcher in high school, and his arm should grade as at least average once it's back to 100 percent. He's an intelligent player with the makeup to succeed. Westmoreland basically just needs to get healthy and soak up pro experience. An all-state soccer player and basketball star, he never concentrated on baseball year-round before turning pro. Boston has had him take it easy on his shoulder, so his arm isn't back to full strength yet. He used a low-three-quarters delivery when he pitched in high school and needs to raise his arm angle as an outfielder. While he has the tools for center field, he has yet to play there in pro ball. After watching the hype get to their last two No. 1 prospects, Clay Buchholz and Lars Anderson, the Red Sox are trying to temper expectations for Westmoreland. That's hard to do with such a polished athlete, especially one with New England roots. He'll probably open 2010 at low Class A Greenville but is talented enough to force a promotion to high Class A Salem by season's end. He's a potential 30-30 player who one day could bat third in the Boston lineup. -
The best position player to come out of Rhode Island since Rocco Baldelli, most teams assumed that Westmoreland was strongly committed to Vanderbilt. The Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round and courted all him summer before signing him for $2 million. A shoulder injury prevented him from playing in the minors or instructional league. Also an all-state soccer player and basketball star, Westmoreland is the top athlete in the system. With his strength and easy plus-plus speed, he could be a 30-30 player in time. Thanks to his quick bat and good hand-eye coordination, he should be able to hit for average as well. He has the range to play center field and solid arm strength. Scouts who saw Westmoreland play in high school thought he needed to do a better job of incorporating his lower half into his swing. He's as much a baseball player as he is a pure athlete, so missing time this summer and fall shouldn't be a huge setback. Westmoreland had minor surgery to clean up his shoulder in November, which will knock him out of spring training and probably means that he'll make his pro debut at Lowell in June. He's not the center-field defender that Jacoby Ellsbury is, but Westmoreland has the potential for a more dynamic bat.
Minor League Top Prospects
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The Red Sox signed Westmoreland away from a Vanderbilt commitment for $2 million in 2008, but he didn't make his pro debut until this summer in Lowell because he had a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Offseason surgery limited him to DH duty until mid-August, and he played eight games in left field before running into a wall and breaking his collarbone on Aug. 28. The injury didn't affect his shoulder, and he was scheduled to resume workouts by the end of the yearr. Even before he moved to the outfield, Westmoreland dazzled league managers and scouts with his multitool potential and polish. "Hands down, he stands far and away ahead of the rest of the league," a National League scout said. "He's a big-time raw tools guy but he's got a good approach, a good path to the ball, good bat speed and everything's pretty clean. He puts on a show in batting practice, but he isn't just a dead-pull guy: They pitched him away, he'd drive it away." Westmoreland is a plus-plus runner with average to plus raw power and a chance to be an above-average lefthanded hitter. He's a gifted athlete who profiles as a good center fielder once he regains the average to plus arm strength he showed in high school, and his recovery went well enough this summer that the Red Sox were planning to put him in center before he broke his clavicle. His size, instincts and maturity all stood out.
Top 100 Rankings
Best Tools List
- Rated Best Athlete in the Boston Red Sox in 2010
- Rated Best Hitter for Average in the Boston Red Sox in 2010
- Rated Best Athlete in the Boston Red Sox in 2009
Scouting Reports
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Westmoreland drew relatively little interest as a high school senior in 2008. He showed interesting athleticism at the Area Code Games the summer before, but didn't stand out. His commitment to Vanderbilt, $2 million asking price and the weather-related difficulties of scouting a Rhode Island prep player meant that few teams focused on him in the spring. One of just four clubs to talk to him directly, Boston selected him in the fifth round. Westmoreland joined the Bayside Yankees, one of the nation's top amateur teams, for the summer, giving the Red Sox more time to evaluate him. After watching him hit .557/.658/.918 for Bayside, they considered him the equivalent of a top-five-overall pick and gladly paid him $2 million at the Aug. 15 signing deadline. A pre-existing injury to his throwing shoulder turned out to be a torn labrum and required surgery in November, so Boston had him mostly DH during his pro debut at short-season Lowell in 2009. Westmoreland rated as the New York-Penn League's top prospect after exuding five-tool potential. The only negative came on Aug. 28, when he broke his collarbone crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch. Westmoreland didn't do any further damage to his shoulder and should be healthy for spring training. Former Red Sox scouting director Jason McLeod says Westmoreland has more upside than any player the club selected in his five years running its drafts. His skills are just as impressive as his considerable tools. Westmoreland has an advanced approach for a teenager, with a short stroke, control of the strike zone and a willingness to use the entire field. His hand-eye coordination allows him to barrel balls consistency, and he has above-average power potential. He has plus-plus speed and knows how to use it, swiping 19 bases without getting caught at Lowell. Westmoreland has above-average range and should be a quality defender in center field. He also starred as a pitcher in high school, and his arm should grade as at least average once it's back to 100 percent. He's an intelligent player with the makeup to succeed. Westmoreland basically just needs to get healthy and soak up pro experience. An all-state soccer player and basketball star, he never concentrated on baseball year-round before turning pro. Boston has had him take it easy on his shoulder, so his arm isn't back to full strength yet. He used a low-three-quarters delivery when he pitched in high school and needs to raise his arm angle as an outfielder. While he has the tools for center field, he has yet to play there in pro ball. After watching the hype get to their last two No. 1 prospects, Clay Buchholz and Lars Anderson, the Red Sox are trying to temper expectations for Westmoreland. That's hard to do with such a polished athlete, especially one with New England roots. He'll probably open 2010 at low Class A Greenville but is talented enough to force a promotion to high Class A Salem by season's end. He's a potential 30-30 player who one day could bat third in the Boston lineup.
