Use your (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Let's preface this by stating the obvious: It's really early. This isn't going to be a piece making outlandish declarations from a handful of spring training games. Instead, we'll simply look at which Boston Red Sox players are making notable impressions in the early stages of baseball's return.

USA TODAY Sports

With a down-to-earth attitude and eye-popping stuff, Matt Barnes has been the biggest winner in Fort Myers so far.

It's generally not a good sign when a player approaching his age-25 season remains stuck in prospect status for the fourth year in a row. Barnes, a 2011 first-round pick, just hasn't popped the way one-time peersJose Fernandez, Yasiel Puig or Anthony Rendonhave.

His advanced numbers have always been better than his traditional counting stats. That could indicate Barnes has been unlucky, but how accurate is that assumption if we're spanning three years and 354.1 professional innings?

Perhaps he's an outlier from the norms of what the advanced stats indicate should happen. In a sense, he would be the opposite version of someone like Matt Cain, who has outpitched his unimpressive Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and Expected Fielding Independent Pitching (xFIP) numbers in six of the past eight seasons.

To begin 2015, Barnes seems intent on shedding the bust label so many have been quick to slap on him. His first outing was a two-inning effort where he struck out three and allowed just one baserunner. He replicated that success almost to a tee Monday, again fanning three across two scoreless frames while notching a save.

John Farrell told Bill Ballou of Worcester'sTelegram and Gazette'sthat Barnes has been a "different guy" than who he saw in limited action last season. It was an improved fastball, one that touched 97 miles per hour, and a refined breaking ball that really caught the Red Sox manager's eye.

The rest is here:

Boston Red Sox Players Turning Heads Early at Spring Training