Jeff

Natale

Natale, 23, was hitting .343/.487/.571 in 175 at-bats for low Single-A Greenville. He’s not taken very seriously as a prospect -- he was old for the South Atlantic League and he’s not a legitimate second baseman -- but it’s possible that he’ll have a future as a reserve.

The 32nd rounder in 2005 hit a combined .304 between Low-A and High-A. His 136 hits and .446 OBP were tops among all Red Sox minor leaguers. Natale is 24; let’s see what he can do at Double-A before we get too excited about that Youkilis-type OBP.