BOSTON — The equipment truck is being readied for its annual February pilgrimage from Fenway Park to Ft. Myers, Fla.

So, too is the blueprint for the 2010 Red Sox minor league development effort, one in which the Portland Sea Dogs play an integral part. And while the Sox hopefuls are all about to end their off-season routines and head South for Spring Training, the man charged with plotting out their eventual destinations, Boston Farm Director Mike Hazen, is already for the task ahead.

“You brace yourself,” Hazen told the Journal Tribune, Monday. “As the cycle sort of dictates throughout the year, you have various job responsibilities that take place. As you get to the new year, it’s all eyes on Spring Training.”

While Hazen heads to Ft. Myers with a rough idea of where the prospects will fall into place ”“ Josh Reddick to Triple-A Pawtucket, Casey Kelly to Low-A Greenville ”“ those sunny sessions in the shadow of the palm trees tend to put the sorting process into high gear.

“There are some that we have a better feel for,” said Hazen. “From prior performance, and discussions we’ve had in the off season. (Then) there are some guys we very much want to see that we utilize Spring Training a little more for.”

As for the 2010 Portland Sea Dogs, Hazen said they’ll look a lot like last year’s model, which as a group, missed the Eastern League playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

However, as a prospect hot house, Dogs manager Arnie Beyeler (who returns for his fourth season) successfully moved the likes of RHP Junichi Tazawa, OF Reddick, 1B Aaron Bates, and C Mark Wagner up the

developmental ladder.“I think the majority of the club on the field,” said Hazen, “is going to be similar to what the team ended with. There was a lot of mid-season promotion. Traditionally, they start the next season and head back there. But we’ll see.”

All of the above moved from Portland to Pawtucket to Fenway, although each will likely start the year back with the PawSox.

Pushing that crew from behind in Portland will likely be LHP Felix Doubront, 1B Lars Anderson, OF Jason Place, C Luis Exposito, and CF Ryan Kalish, although with a strong Spring, Kalish could wind up in Pawtucket.

“We liked everything about the way he (Kalish) finished up last year,” said Hazen. “The start he got off to was pretty bad. For him to dig himself out and to finish up the way he did, was really encouraging.”

As for comparisons with center fielders who preceded Kalish in Portland ”“ namely Reddick and Jacoby Ellsbury ”“ Hazen was reluctant to make them.

“Ryan Kalish is his own guy,” he said. “He does a lot of things, really, really well. But he still needs to gain a lot of experience at the upper levels. We’ll see where that takes him.”

Exposito was elevated to Portland in July from High-A Salem, and hit the ground swinging.

His .337 batting average got Dogs fans excited, while his calm nature behind the plate made him a pitcher’s favorite.

“He’s very smart,” said Hazen of the Miami, Fla., product. “He’s a good communicator. The pitchers really like throwing to him.”As for his hitting, Hazen said that the gaudy numbers aside, Exposito has room to grow in his plate approach.

“Learning to manage his at bats from an effort standpoint,” he said. “That’s the (biggest) thing.”

Throwing to Exposito every fifth day will be Doubront, who could be the Dogs’ starter when the season opens, Apr. 8, in Reading. Doubront, still young at 21, was 8-6  in 2009 with a 3.35 ERA, and led

the Dogs in innings pitched (120.0).“Anytime you see a pitcher with that kind of stuff,” said Hazen, “and body and age, it’s an exciting package. Hopefully Felix comes into the season ready to build on the experiences he gained last year. We still need to see the aggression within his pitch selection. But we feel with time and repetition, the secondary stuff will continue to impress.”

The most enigmatic among the Dogs is Anderson, who dragged the weighty expectations of Sox Nation into the 2009 season with him. And as his lukewarm numbers (.233, 9, 51) indicate, those expectations had a millstone effect on him. Hazen is hopeful that year’s adversity will work to Anderson’s good.

“I’d hope, more than anything else,” said Hazen, “that he would learn from past experiences, good and bad. I think there were some definite learning experiences for Lars, and based on expectations, you have to take that with a grain of salt. We don’t think it was all that bad. He did show some good things. Hopefully, much like (Kalish) did, (he) turn

it into a positive.”

As to whether Anderson will spend a third year in Portland, Hazen said that Anderson will make that decision for him.

“It’s a tough call,” he said. “There will be an opporunity for him to compete for a spot in Triple-A. But that’s one of those decisions that will fall on the Spring Training side of things.”

It sounds like a plan.

A well thought out plan, at that.

— Contact Staff Writer Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.