Boston's Henry Owens, Jays' Aaron Sanchez in duel of top prospects

Gordon EdesMar 19, 2015, 12:42 PM ET

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Greetings from a dot on the map 130 miles from the Fort, where you make your way to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium by going west on Sunset Point and making a right turn at the guns and ammo shop at the intersection of Sunset and Douglas. Don’t have a parking pass? For 10 bucks, you can park at the VFW Post across the street, although you might want to turn down Neil Young’s “Born in Ontario” before you pull into the lot.

Not to disparage the spring home of the Toronto Blue Jays, especially in a year in which the Jays have made some significant additions that make them a team to be reckoned with in the AL East. And on Thursday afternoon, with many of the Red Sox regulars enjoying a mandated day off, the chosen few selected to make the long bus ride here will get to see the most prominent of those new additions, catcher Russell Martin and third baseman Josh Donaldson, in action.

The Sox will also get an eyeful of right-hander Aaron Sanchez, a prospect ranked No. 27 on Baseball America’s top 100 list. Sanchez made his big-league debut against the Sox last July 23, retiring all six batters he faced and striking out Daniel Nava and Stephen Drew. He faced the Sox a total of four times, all in relief, and finished the season with a 1.09 ERA in 24 relief appearances, his mid-90s fastball and plus-plus curveball making an immediate impression.

The Jays are moving Sanchez into the rotation this season, a move made necessary when another impressive young righty, Marcus Stroman, was lost for the season when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee while fielding a bunt.

Sanchez will be opposed by a top Sox pitching prospect, left-hander Henry Owens, who came in at No. 44 on the Baseball America list and will be making his second spring start. Owens has not allowed a hit or run in six of the seven innings he has pitched this spring, and is a key member of the young brace of starters the Sox have (Owens, Matt Barnes, and Eduardo Rodriguez) behind their veteran starting five -- a big reason GM Ben Cherington has held fast in any trade discussions involving Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels.

Owens could well become the most significant part of a package of prospects/players the Phillies eventually seek if they abandon their attempts to acquire Sox catching prospect Blake Swihart. A 22-year-old native of Orange, California, Owens compiled more strikeouts in the 2013 and 2014 seasons combined than any other pitcher in minor league baseball, 339.

Other tidbits:

Right-hander Joe Kelly's bullpen session went very well Thursday, manager John Farrell said, and at this point he remains on track to make his scheduled start Sunday against the Phillies in JetBlue Park.
It appears DH David Ortiz, who was kept out of the lineup the past two days in the Fort because of dehydration issues, will not be back before Monday.
Outfielder Rusney Castillo is expected to make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Pirates in Bradenton, Florida, Farrell said. Castillo was hitting in a minor-league game Thursday. There will be games in which Castillo and Mookie Betts will be in the outfield together.

Closer Koji Uehara (strained hamstring) did some long-tossing Thursday. Still too early, Farrell said, to speculate whether Uehara will be ready for the regular-season opener, though that is a possibility. "We’re not there yet," Farrell said.

Here are the lineups:

RED SOX

Brock Holt, LF

Nava, 1B

Allen Craig, DH

Garin Cecchini, 3B

Bryce Brentz, RF

Swihart, C

Jemile Weeks, 2B

Jackie Bradley Jr., CF

Deven Marrero, SS

Owens, LHP