By BRENDAN MCGAIR

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET – Don’t let Jed Lowrie’s measurements fool you. He might look like a wisp of a thing (6 feet, 180 pounds), but the stick he swings suggests otherwise.

Named Boston’s Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, Lowrie socked 69 extra base hits between his stops at Portland and Pawtucket last season. The impressive total has even more prestige attached considering Julio Lugo, the shortstop standing in Lowrie’s way, totaled 46.
Could Lowrie become the next homegrown piece Boston infuses at the highest level? That could hinge on if Lugo experiences another miserable season (he batted .237 last year).
Lugo is signed through 2010, but the Red Sox have shown in the past they aren’t afraid to swallow money if it means ditching a player for a better (and cheaper) solution. Boston was so eager to swallow Edgar Renteria’s whopper of a deal that it helped pay a portion of his salary after finding a taker in Atlanta.
If Lowrie is, indeed, pegged as Boston’s shortstop of the future (the baton has changed hands a few times after Nomar Garciaparra’s departure in the summer of 2004), you get the feeling he’s not about to get caught up in something he has little jurisdiction over. 
“It’s something out of my hands; all I can do is go out and play,” said Lowrie after Pawtucket split Saturday’s doubleheader with Indianapolis. “All I can do is control my performance and what I do when I show up to the park every day.’  
All discussions surrounding Lowrie and his future in Boston were temporarily tabled due to the Johan Santana Sweepstakes that dominated much of the off-season.
As the trade winds kept blowing, one name that kept surfacing, regardless of what package the Red Sox were trying to sell the Twins, was Lowrie. Had Boston actually pulled the trigger for Santana, it would have resulted in a homecoming of sorts for Lowrie, and here’s why.
“My mom is from Minnesota originally,” said Lowrie. “As a kid I went there every other year for Christmas.”
As the uncertainness intensified regarded what organization Lowrie would be playing in 2008, never once did he feel concerned where he would wind up. “It’s all part of the business,” he said.
It’s evident to see why Lowrie was somebody Minnesota coveted. Here is a middle infielder who can play second base and shortstop (Lowrie was drafted a second baseman out of Stanford and has since made the transition to the other side of the diamond). He’s a switch hitter with plenty of life in his bat and has displayed a selective eye (drew 77 walks last year).
PawSox manager Ron Johnson has written Lowrie in the three hole in all three of Pawtucket’s games to date, a spot in the batting order he’s no stranger to.
“I’ve hit three pretty much my whole life, all the way through high school and college, last year in Portland and this year,” said Lowrie. “I’m comfortable in the two hole, but the three hitter is looked on as the best hitter, not just the power guy.
“I know guys have more power, but I feel I have a good approach [to merit hitting third].”
 “It’s a good slot for him to hit in right now,” said Johnson. “Jed proved himself at this level last year (.300 average in 40 games with the PawSox) and he gives you versatility since he swings from both sides of the plate.”
A sandwich pick from Boston’s famed 2005 draft that also includes Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Craig Hansen and Michael Bowden, Lowrie is becoming more comfortable at shortstop with each opportunity shot his way. “This year during spring training I also played third and second,” he said. “[The Red Sox] want us to fill more than one position and have told everybody that defense gets you [to the bigs], but offense is what keeps you there.”
Boston has already encountered a great deal of success when dealing with players from the Pac-10. The Red Sox boast the reigning American League rookie of the year in Dustin Pedroia (Arizona State) and have the potential favorite to cop the honor in Ellsbury (Oregon State).
Lowrie could very well be joining his former college rivals on the same field and become the latest installment of Boston’s youthful makeover.
“There’s good baseball in the Pac-10 and I think the Red Sox have done a good job drafting some good ones over the last few years,” said Lowrie, who reached base three times in Thursday’s season opener without the benefit of a hit. “It’s flattering to be mentioned in the same grouping as [Pedroia and Ellsbury].”  
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EXTRA BASES: As much fun as Pawtucket had in the opener, winning 6-2 behind five strong innings from starter David Pauley, Indianapolis turned the tide by winning in the nightcap by an 8-0 count. … First game highlights besides Pauley (no earned runs, zero walks, three strikeouts) where home runs from Jonathan Van Every (second in as many contests) and an estimated 380-foot three-run shot from George Kottaras that landed with a thud on the snack shop behind the right field bullpen. … Knuckleballer Charlie Zink last just three innings in the second game and was tagged for six runs (five earned) on four hits. … Both World Series trophies will be on hand today as the gates will open at 11 a.m. The first 4,000 youngsters 14 & under will receive a pennant commemorating Boston’s latest world championship. … The plan is for Mike Timlin to get some work with Pawtucket on Monday and Wednesday.