FanHouse DanielBard

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down each of the playoff teams from a scouting perspective.

There are enough intangibles that this Red Sox team has, aside from the obvious talent their roster possesses, to give any opponent fits, which is why it's going to be all the more important to exploit any holes they may have. With the style and fire they take the field with, it is more crucial to jump on them early than any other club in the postseason.

Power pitchers like Josh Beckett and Jon Lester need to be touched up early, in most cases, if you are going to get to them at all. And, in a playoff atmosphere, an over-amped power pitcher can be prone to command issues in the early going.

Another highly regarded prospect will make his major league debut for the Red Sox in the very near future. Boston has called up flame-throwing relief pitcher Daniel Bard from Triple-A Pawtucket, designating left-handed specialist Javier Lopez for assignment to make room for him.

Bard, a first-round draft pick in 2006 out of the University of North Carolina, is best known for his ability to light up the radar gun. His fastball normally sits in the upper 90s (mph), and he's capable of hitting triple digits.

The right-hander has performed well in the minors so far this season, striking out 29 in 16 innings and posting a 1.12 ERA.

Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the vibrant Boston system.

Michael Bowden, SP: More pitching? The Red Sox hardly need it, but that's just what they've got. Just 22, Bowden made his big league debut last year, spot starting once down the stretch. He has excelled at every level in the minors, posting a career 3.15 ERA over four minor league seasons and striking out almost four times as many hitters as he has walked. Bowden probably won't be a top-of-the-rotation hurler because of an average fastball, but he mixes it well with a changeup and a curveball. He won't break camp with a major league job, but even with Boston's absurdly deep rotation, he'll be in the mix should injuries arise.

The Red Sox have been among the most active teams in free agency since the calendar turned to 2009, inking the likes of Takashi Saito, John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Rocco Baldelli and Mark Kotsay to deals in the new year. Those are good signings for an organization as deep as the Red Sox, but a major hole at catcher remains on the big league roster.

Boston has already signed Josh Bard to a non-guaranteed deal this winter, but unless it is willing to hand a significant portion of the catching duties to an untested backstop like Dusty Brown or George Kottaras, it is going to need another catcher.

Longtime backstop and team captain Jason Varitek is still a free agent, but, at least for now, the Red Sox seemed resolved to pursue other options in an effort to get younger behind the dish.

Word on the street is that the Boston Red Sox are quite interested in Braves middle reliever/could be setup guy/ Harry Carey impersonator Will Ohman. Well, either that or Daniel Bard slept with Theo Epstein's ladyfriend.

Bard, a former first round pick and teammate of Andrew Miller's at Carolina (boo), is almost certainly headed out of Boston today. One scenario has him rolling to the ATL, or Mississippi as it were.

Besides the Red Sox, five other teams are discussing Ohman with the Braves, who are looking for a pitching prospect in return. A logical name that might surface in trade talks with Atlanta from the Red Sox farm system is Double-A pitcher Daniel Bard, who is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 37 2/3 innings pitched for the Sea Dogs this season.

Of course, the other scenario is the increasingly likely Manny Ramirez Three Way (ew) deal between Pittsburgh, Boston and Florida. That freaky deal between such unlikely suitors would end up sending Bard to Pittsburgh in a package that would swap out Jason Bay and ManRam.

The Ohman deal sounds pretty freaking good for the Braves -- the middle reliever is a free agent after this year anyway, and it's unlikely the Braves would actually retain him. So picking up a pitcher of Bard's potential would be a nice follow up to the Teixeira debacle trade by Frank Wren (I'm sorry, I just feel like they could have gotten more).

Wren might be putting the press on Beane, and he should, but the problem that moving Manny is the first priority will likely remain until later in the afternoon.