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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There are tools aplenty. Dustin Pedroia can control the strike zone with uncanny precision (his minor league walk-to-strikeout ratio is 1.54 to 1). Jacoby Ellsbury, the Johnny Damon look-alike center fielder, can run like no other in the Red Sox system. Jed Lowrie, a second baseman at Stanford University who is relearning his childhood position of shortstop, led the New York-Penn League in on-base percentage (.429) last year in his first professional season.

But there is no specimen, no can't-miss stud, no Andy Marte. There's also very little power; Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Lowrie project to be single-digit or low double-digit home run hitters.

''We're certainly not satisfied with where we are as far as position-player depth at the minor league level," said Ben Cherington, the Sox' vice president for player personnel. ''We do lack power, raw power as an organization.

''But we do feel depth has improved as far as players who will have a chance to have a major league career at some point. Sometimes guys with bat control who do control the zone hit with more power as they develop."

Perhaps no stat better encapsulates Pedroia's ability at the plate than this: In 159 minor league games he has 13 more extra-base hits than strikeouts (63-50). He's also walked 77 times. The 22-year-old second baseman/shortstop hit .400 at Single A Augusta and .336 at Single A Sarasota in 2004, then .324 at Double A Portland and .255 at Triple A Pawtucket last summer after being promoted in mid-June.

His Pawtucket average undeniably was affected by his health. He batted .263 through six games, was hit on the right hand with a two-seam fastball June 27, missed eight games, went 10 for his next 42 (.238), then opted for the disabled list. He lifted his average as high as .290 Aug. 15 before cooling, largely because of fatigue.

He began last year at 185 pounds, plummeted to 165 by season's end, and reported this spring at 190, though he's fallen to 182 since.

''I have trouble keeping on weight," he said. ''They told me to put on as much strength as possible, upper body and lower body."

The difficulty, at the moment, is putting on good weight and keeping it. The team prescribed specific conditioning expectations after last season and checked in with Pedroia during the offseason.

''We didn't see him between early-to-mid-January and reporting, and he had put on some weight during that time," Cherington said. ''He felt he'd naturally be able to lose it. As Dustin matures he'll find a way to manage body weight and body fat."

Weight management is crucial because, given his 5-foot-9-inch frame, Pedroia needs all the flexibility and maneuverability he can muster.

''Otherwise, he's hands-off for us," Cherington said. ''He has such an advanced approach to the game, at the plate, there's not a lot of day-to-day teaching, more talking to him about how to take care of himself properly."

In the Sox' first game this spring, Pedroia strained his left shoulder on an awkward swing. He has yet to play and isn't likely to debut for Pawtucket until mid-to-late April.

''I don't believe it's a huge setback," Cherington said. ''The objective was to get him exposed to the major league staff, major league pitching, for that experience to make it easier when he gets to the big leagues eventually. That's still happened, even though he hasn't gotten the competition."

Pedroia, a career shortstop who played second base last year, will play both positions this year.

''In so doing he's prepared for either role for '06 if there's an opportunity or a need," Cherington said. ''Could he be a backup infielder now and hold his own? Probably. But what's best for his development? There's that balancing."

Ellsbury also gained useful experience in camp this year, and his new teammates learned something, too. The scene: the Sox' minor league complex, March 15, Tim Wakefield on the mound, Ellsbury at bat. Ellsbury, still suffering from a lingering bone bruise in his left wrist from last season, wasn't allowed to swing, only bunt. Wakefield knew this. And yet . . .

''I thought I had him," Wakefield said, ''and peeked out of the corner of my eye and said, 'Uh-oh.' " He reminded me a lot speed-wise of [Carl] Crawford or [Rocco] Baldelli."

Ellsbury probably isn't that fast, but he is as quick as any player in the organization. The Sox rate speed on a 20-to-80 scale; 50 is average, 60 is plus, 70 is plus-plus, 80 is just about unheard of. Ellsbury and Coco Crisp rate as the Sox' only 70s. Adam Stern, who was clocked down the first base line at 4.09 seconds last spring (3.9 is considered unbeatable) is rated a 60 and the organization's third-fastest runner.

In that same game, Ellsbury, playing center field with Curt Schilling on the mound, ran down a David Murphy blast, extending himself to make a stunning catch.

''Schilling, after I made the catch, he yelled out to the outfield and gave me a couple fist pumps," Ellsbury said. ''It was good to feel that and make plays behind those guys. It elevates my game and pumps them up."

Ellsbury's game, in many ways, resembles Damon's, and, facially, the Oregon State product bears an unmistakable resemblance to the Yankees' center fielder. Ellsbury's mother is Navajo Indian, giving him a complexion similar to Damon's, whose mother is Thai.

''I'm pretty aware of it," Ellsbury said of the comparison.

Last September the Sox flew Ellsbury and his family to Boston, where he met the coaches and players and took batting practice.

''I got my picture taken with Damon," Ellsbury said. ''His teammates were giving him a lot of [grief]. They thought it was pretty funny. I thought it was pretty funny. It's great to be compared to such a great player as himself."

They are both high-average, high-on-base players. They both can run. Damon, according to most talent evaluators, has more power than Ellsbury projects to have. But the Sox' opinion of Ellsbury is quite high.

''Everything our scouts identified -- speed, athleticism, makeup -- we saw right away," Cherington said. ''He's a really good kid to be around, mature, has a good sense of who he is. He's not going to need much help."

Neither should Lowrie. As a sophomore in 2004 he won the Pacific-10 Conference Triple Crown, hitting .399 with 17 homers and 68 RBIs. In his pro debut, following his junior year at Stanford, he batted .328 for short-season Lowell, walking 34 times and striking out only 30 times.

''That was the concern of the scouts, me hitting with a wood bat," said the 6-foot, 180-pound Lowrie. ''It's their job to try to find something wrong with you. It didn't concern me at all."

''He's got a pretty advanced mental approach at the plate," Cherington said. ''He understands how to manage an at-bat, what he's looking for with the first pitch."

In big league camp this spring, Lowrie hit .429 (6 for 14) with two doubles, a homer (a straightaway shot vs. the Dodgers), and three RBIs.

''I felt like I left a good impression," said Lowrie, an Oregon native. ''I know I can play at their level, I just have to prove myself in the minor leagues before I get up there."

A shortstop in high school, Lowrie broke into the Stanford lineup as a second baseman and stayed there.

''We feel he has the skills to [play shortstop]," Cherington said. ''Down the road where he'll end up who knows. I think defensively he's still learning that position, how to position himself, how to be more efficient going after ground balls, getting his feet in the right position to throw."