He's gaining in arms race

While pitcher Clay Buchholz, the top prospect in the organization, garners his fair share of attention, there's a new pitcher rocketing up the charts -- Justin Masterson.

The 22-year-old has dominated hitters at Double A since his promotion three weeks ago, becoming a sparkling prospect for an organization whose farm system has developed into one of the best in baseball. With more experience -- he went to college -- than No. 2 prospect Michael Bowden, 20, who has been struggling in Double A, Masterson has shoved himself into any discussion of the top arms in the organization.

And the numbers reinforce that. Masterson, a 6-foot-6-inch righthander, has struck out 32 in 26 innings with Portland, and a severe ground ball to fly ball ratio (4.22 to 1).

Though he didn't make it through the seventh inning Wednesday, Masterson gave up just a two-run home run (on a sinker up and in "that forgot it was supposed to sink," he wrote in an e-mail) over 6 2/3 innings of a three-hit, 10-strikeout performance for his fourth win with the Sea Dogs and 10th straight overall. His ERA at Portland is 1.04.

"I continue to learn more about myself while facing better hitters," Masterson said after Wednesday's game. "I've been really happy with the adjustments that I have made in pitch selections and setting up hitters. Like today, I was, for lack of a better word, forced to throw more changeups. There just haven't shown to be many opportunities in order to throw it."

While in Lancaster, Calif., Masterson shied from the changeup in favor of the sinker, given the conditions at Clear Channel Stadium.

"The wind doesn't howl and the infields are much slower than that of Clear Channel or the California League," he said.

After a torrid start, center fielder Ryan Kalish is done for the season with Single A Lowell because of a fractured hamate bone in his right hand. Kalish sustained the injury on a swing in the first game of a doubleheader July 16, after going 12 for 15 in four games prior to the injury with three doubles and two home runs. The leadoff hitter was batting .368 in 23 games.

"It was brutal," Kalish said yesterday. "It was just a big hit. I had three hits in four straight games, then my next swing, season's over."

Kalish has a cast on his right hand and doctors are monitoring it since the bone was not displaced. It's not certain he will have surgery to remove the bone -- as David Ortiz and Wily Mo Peña have had -- because it would be better for the bone to heal on its own.

If that's the case, Kalish would have to spend about six weeks in the cast and another six in rehab. Kalish said doctors will wait 4-5 weeks to make that determination. It's an injury that normally happens when a player grips the knob of the bat while swinging.

The organization and Kalish hope he will be ready for instructional league play.

"That would be great," he said. "That would be awesome."

Jon Still, a catching prospect in Single A Greenville (South Atlantic League), has been spending most of the month at designated hitter or relieving Lars Anderson at first base. He said yesterday he'd like to remain versatile to be able to move up when there is an opening. "The main thing is they just want to develop my bat," said Still, who is hitting .292 with 19 homers, 23 doubles, and 69 RBIs. "Defense is something where I can kind of go between different positions. The main thing is really concentrating on my bat right now, whatever can get me in the lineup every day. I'm happy with the numbers I'm putting up there. The main thing is plate awareness, just having a plan stepping up to the box, just being comfortable with two strikes." . . . Greenville outfielder Josh Reddick has hit five home runs (bringing his season total to 12) with 15 RBIs in his last 10 games. Reddick had six RBIs and two homers in Monday's game. He's leading the Drive with a .323 average . . . The Red Sox are "actively involved" in discussions with their second pick (No. 62) in the 2007 draft, Ryan Dent. The Sox remain confident a deal will be finalized . . . The team's first choice in 2007, lefthander Nick Hagadone, fared much better in his second professional outing. After allowing five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings July 18, Hagadone threw two hitless innings for Lowell Tuesday, walking one and striking out three . . . Felix Diaz (2-0) struck out eight, walked one, and allowed two earned runs over six innings as host Portland beat the Connecticut Defenders, 7-3, last night.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.