PAWTUCKET - Before there was a Julio Lugo at shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, there was an Alex Gonzalez, an Edgar Renteria, an Orlando Cabrera.

Jed Lowrie understands that the road leading to Fenway Park is winding and littered.

"I'm not concerned about who's ahead of me, who's behind me," said the Pawtucket Red Sox shortstop of the present, perhaps the starting shortstop in the future - for Boston or some other MLB franchise.

"I'm just concerned about what I am, the player that I can become," said the 23-year-old Lowrie, ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Red Sox organization, a player whose name has been included in a number of trade proposals, most notably for Minnesota Twins' pitcher Johan Santana.

"I try not to pay attention to that other stuff, I can't control it," said Lowrie, at McCoy Stadium for the annual PawSox Hot Stove party the other day. He was also among the Red Sox prospects participating in a two week "rookie orientation" program to Major League Baseball held at Boston College. Lowrie was Boston's Minor League "Offensive Player of the Year" in 2007, hitting .297 in 93 games with AA-Portland, then hitting .300 in 40 games with the PawSox upon his promotion to AAA ball in late July. A first round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2005 out of Stanford University, Lowrie had a 10-game hitting streak during his first two weeks of AAA-ball last year.

He went on to have a .356 on-base percentage, a .506 slugging percentage, 48 hits in 40 games, while committing just seven errors.

"He showed what he's capable of in the brief window that he was here," said Mike Hazen, Boston's Director of Player Development of Lowrie.

"All I can do is play hard every day and play the game the right way," said Lowrie. "It's very flattering to mentioned (in trade talks), but I look at it as an opportunity to improve my game."

Lowrie is not among Boston's 40-man roster when the 2008 spring training camp begins next month in Ft. Myers, Fla., but he knows that he is definitely in the plans of the Red Sox.

"I remember last year, the first week that I came to Pawtucket, you want to make a good impression, but it's tough to find a comfort level," he said. "You want to understand how the clubhouse is run." It didn't take long for Lowrie to make a favorable impression.

"My feeling, my thoughts are that you can continue to improve as long as you're playing," said Lowrie. "There are so many different wants to approach that. The biggest thing for me in the offseason was to recoup mentally and physically, you get worn down. So you have to take a deep breath and clear everything and think about what you did well and what you can do better.

"I can continue to improve as a shortstop, that's my No. 1 priority. That means refining my footwork, getting better jumps on the ball, taking more reps, seeing the balls off the bat better, getting good breaks on balls. At the plate, my No. 1 goal is to drive the ball, to try not to chase pitches."

Lowrie is fundamentally sound in the field and at the plate, "there are really no major changes that need to be made, it's just refining, buffing things out. If I'm in Boston or if I'm in Pawtucket, I'm the same player."

FOUL BALLS - Baseball America has rated the Red Sox player development system as No. 2 in MLB, according to Boston Director of Development Mike Hazen ... And because the PawSox always have a mix of prospects and veterans, Hazen was quick to cite manager Ron Johnson, "it's a tricky environment to have the old and the young, but that's one of RJ's strengths." ... PawSox infielder Joe McEwing has retired and become the hitting instructor for Charlotte, the AAA-club of the White Sox ... Former Red Sox hitting coach Mark Budaska was inked by St. Louis and will become their AAA-Memphis hitting coach ... The PawSox have signed 28-year old LHP Jon Switzer, who has spent seven seasons in the Tampa Bay organization, having an 0.82 ERA in 23 games for AAA-Durham last year and made 21 appearances with the Devil Rays ... RHP Mike Burns has signed on with the Pirates (sent to Indianapolis), infielder Bobby Scales signed on with the Cubs (sent to Iowa) and infielder Ed Rogers signed on with Washington among the notables not to be back.