Barnes is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and .177 opponents' batting average through three May starts. He also has 21 strikeouts to six walks in 17 innings. This coming after he was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and .387 opponents' batting average in four April starts. Barnes entered the season as the Red Sox's third-best prospect, according to MLB.com.

"They have four guys in the [Double-A] Portland rotation who all throw 96 [mph] or better," one scout said. "And two more guys out of the bullpen who throw 96."

One such prospect who a scout said is "close to ready" for the big leagues is Double-A Portland's Anthony Ranaudo. A first-round pick in 2010 who was injured most of last year, the 23-year-old is 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 30 strikeouts over five starts and 27 innings. 

Portland also boasts Matt Barnes, a 2011 first-round pick, Brandon Workman and Drake Britton. Barnes is 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA with 27 Ks over 20 innings. Workman is 4-0 with a 2.80 ERA and 42 Ks over 35 1/3 innings. Britton is 2-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 30 Ks over 30 1/3 innings. 

"All four of those guys are going to be good pieces for the Red Sox," a scout said.

"I was able to command my fastball really well, especially early, and they're very aggressive," Barnes said, per MLB.com. "I wanted to throw strikes and try to force them to get themselves out early."

Barnes had an up-and-down April, going 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and .387 opponents' batting average. But the 2011 first-round pick said he was able to bounce back Wednesday because teammate Brandon Workman helped him find a new grip for his curveball.

"Workman taught me how he threw it, so I toyed around with it, threw it in my bullpen, and it was really good," Barnes said. "I could throw it for strikes and as an out pitch, and that was a big difference, being able to command all three pitches in the zone."

"I liked what I saw," pitching coach Bob Kipper told the Portland Press Herald. "That's electric stuff."

Barnes, considered the team's top pitching prospect by MLB.com, was on the hook for two runs and two hits while showcasing solid velocity on his fastball and improved off-speed pitches. Of his 33 pitches, 21 went for strikes.

"That's not how you draw up your first one, but overall I can't be too upset," said Barnes, who posted a tantalizing 133-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio across two Class A levels last season in his first professional campaign. "If I have stuff like that all year, I think it'll be pretty good."