10 rival September callups to watch for

BEN BADLER

Teams can expand their rosters starting September 1, which usually means that top Triple A players will find themselves in the majors . Sometimes, these prospects can have quite an effect on a team down the stretch. Wilton Veras certainly helped the Red Sox last year in September when John Valentin was injured. Andruw Jones provided a boost for the Atlanta Braves in 1996, and Jaret Wright helped the Cleveland Indians in September and well into the World Series the following year.

With the Red Sox gearing up for the postseason stretch, here are 10 youngsters to watch who could significantly help their teams in their wild card and divisional races, and possibly hurt the Red Sox down the stretch.

10. Bo Porter, OF, Oakland A’s
Oakland’s outfield has Ben Grieve, Terrence Long and a couple of struggling guys in Matt Stairs and Jeremy Giambi. Stairs is hitting just .217 and Giambi a mere .233. They also have Ryan Christiansen, however he may leave the A’s via a waiver deal some time soon.

Porter has great speed. He is excellent defensively and has 31 stolen bases for the Triple A Sacramento River Cats. The A’s are last in baseball in stolen bases, and Porter could provide a boost for the overall slow-footed Athletics.

9. Chris Hatcher, OF, Anaheim Angels
Though he is 31 years-old, Hatcher is still a good hitter. He hit 46 home runs in 1998 for Triple A Omaha and drove in 106 runs that year. In ’99, he smashed 22 home runs while maintaining a .341 batting average for the Triple A Colorado Springs. This year has been no different for Hatcher, who is leading the Triple A Edmonton Trappers with 25 home runs, 77 RBIs and a .579 slugging percentage.

The Angels are still hanging on in the wild card race, despite having traded pitcher Kent Bottenfield to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Angels have one of the better outfields in baseball with Darin Erstad, Garrett Anderson and Tim Salmon with Ron Gant playing some outfield and some DH.

But the Angels have zero pop off their bench. If one of the Angels were to fall to injury, they would be stuck with a feather-hitting player in their lineup. But Hatcher could provide an extra punch off the bench for Anaheim, possibly pinch-hitting for someone like Benji Gil or Kevin Stocker, and filling in if one of the Angels regular outfielders gets injured.

8. John Ratliff, RHP, Oakland A’s
Oakland’s pitching has been abysmal of late. Jason Isringhausen has blown four saves in his last nine opportunities and has an ERA of 6.23 since the All-Star break. Jeff Tam has been the team’s only effective set-up man, as T.J. Matthews, Doug Jones and Mike Magnante have all been either mediocre or below average.

But Ratliff has been an excellent pitcher for the Triple A Sacramento River Cats, and will likely get a call-up to Oakland by September. Ratliff has been a starter in Sacramento, but could be moved to the bullpen if promoted to Oakland. However, he also could end up as a starter for the Athletics, who are still looking for a reliable fifth starter.

7. Ryan Thompson, CF, New York Yankees
The New York Yankees acquired Jose Canseco, David Justice, Glenallen Hill and Luis Polonia during the season. All are outfield/designated hitter-types, except for Canseco who can only act as a DH. None of these men can play center field, which means that if Bernie Williams -- who has struggled with sore hamstrings in the past -- ever goes down with an injury, the Yankees are in quite a predicament.

Enter Ryan Thompson, a center fielder for the Triple A Columbus Clippers. Thompson has had success this season for the Clippers. His 20 home runs are six shy of the International League lead, and his .298 batting average is impressive as well. He has yet to make an error this season for the Clippers and could provide a good player off the bench for the Yankees come September.

6. Ozzie Timmons, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
No, the Devil Rays aren’t in playoff contention. But the Red Sox do end their season with three games in Tropicana Field against the D-Rays. The Devil Rays have Greg Vaughn, Gerald Williams and Jose Guillen in their outfield, and Quinton McCracken lingering between the majors, the minors and the disabled list with his .107 batting average. The Devil Rays would like to be able to move Vaughn into the DH role, formerly suited by the newest member of the Yankees, Jose Canseco. That would allow Timmons to play left field and get a head start for next year in the majors.

Timmons is hitting .308 with a team-leading 25 home runs, 87 RBIs and .550 slugging percentage. He is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

5. Anthony Sanders, OF, Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners helped their cause by bringing in outfielder Al Martin from San Diego to solidify their left field position. However, their only outfielders off the bench right now are Ricky Henderson, who is hitting an anorexic .219 for Seattle, and Stan Javier, a light-hitting utility man.

Sanders would provide a right-handed batter to spell the left-handed Martin, who is hitting just .156 against lefties this season, but .342 against righties. Sanders is second on the Triple A Tacoma Raiders with 19 homers and 75 RBIs, however he is first on the club in at-bats per homer, at-bats per RBI and slugging percentage. Sanders, who has made just three errors this year in the outfield, could bestow the Mariners with a hard-hitting batter to spell the regulars and pinch-hit in certain situations.

4. Randy Keisler, LHP, New York Yankees
The Yankees starting rotation includes Roger Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, Denny Neagle and Andy Pettite, in no particular order. Hernandez has had some health problems recently, and hasn’t pitched well since coming off the disabled list, and Clemens is 39 years-old. The fifth slot in the Yankees rotation has been swiveled around by David Cone and Dwight Gooden. But Cone has just two wins all season and Gooden is barely hanging onto a career in professional baseball. With so much confusion and hysteria in the Yankees' rotation, Randy Keisler could provide a bit of relief in the rotation.

Keisler, a left-handed pitcher, is 9-5 with a 2.95 ERA this year for the Triple A Columbus Clippers. Keisler locates his pitches very well, and reminds many of Mariner pitcher Jamie Moyer. If Keisler can provide a solid number five starter for the Yanks, they will have a much easier time trying to win their division.

3. Russell Branyan, 3B, Cleveland Indians
Branyan has been the Indians top prospect for quite some time, and will need to step up if the Indians want to defend their AL Central title or even make the playoffs. Branyan has had stints in Cleveland this season, blasting 13 home runs in just 122 at-bats. Despite his home run totals and .590 slugging percentage in Cleveland, the Indians sent him back to Triple A Buffalo to improve his batting average and decrease his strike out totals.

Branyan, who between Buffalo and Cleveland has hit 31 home runs this year, is an all-or-nothing hitter. His batting average is improving, however he still strikes out way too much. Nonetheless, he is a scary hitter to pitch to because he can hit the ball out of the park at any time. The Red Sox will be seeing a lot of Branyan come September, when the Red Sox face the Indians eight times in a matter of 12 days.

2. Vernon Wells, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Wells was supposed to be with the Toronto club by now, and vying for Rookie of the Year honors. For whatever reason, Wells hasn’t quite taken off yet from Triple A Syracuse, yet. He is hitting just .251, which largely why the Blue Jays are keeping him in Triple A, for now.

But make no mistake: Wells can be an explosive player. Wells, a center fielder, is still producing power numbers (18 home runs) in the minors and has 88 at-bats of major-league experience from last year in early August, September and early October. With Toronto center fielder Jose Cruz batting just .236 with just two home runs since July 17, Wells may provide a ticket of relief for the struggling Blue Jays in September.

1. Alfonso Soriano, SS, New York Yankees
If you follow baseball, or even heard a trade rumor this season, you should be familiar with the name of Alfonso Soriano. Though slightly overrated, Soriano is still a fine player, with potential to be a little better than Miguel Tejada of Oakland, but not quite as good as Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez or fellow New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

The Yankees won’t put Soriano at shortstop when they call him up from Triple A Columbus because they have Jeter manning that position. However, with second baseman Chuck Knoblauch continuing to have defensive struggles at second base, and Scott Brosius batting just .248 at third base, Soriano may find playing time at two other key infield positions in New York.