By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer
Portland left-hander Jon Lester is making a steady climb towards the big leagues.

PORTLAND – Todd Claus saw the scouting report on Jon Lester first and visualized what it would be like to have the tall, hard-throwing left-hander on the mound before he ever saw him in person.

Now, when he watches the 6-foot-2, 21-year-old pitch, it’s like the scouting report has come to life.

“His arm strength, his size, his physicality, his athleticism, his God-given ability. That’s what I see,” Claus said. “And as much as you see how physically mature and strong he is, he’s along those same lines between his ears, too. He’s mentally a tough kid. That’s what good scouting is all about.”

Good scouting brought one of the best pitching prospects in the Eastern League to the Boston organization. The Red Sox drafted Lester out of Bellarmine Prep School in Puyallup, Wash., with their first pick (second round) in 2002. Offered a $1 million bonus to sign, Lester rejected a scholarship to Arizona State and reported to the Gulf Coast League.

He went 13-16 in Rookie and A ball, but that record was deceiving. Throwing a fastball clocked in the low 90s, he had almost as many strikeouts (170) as hits allowed (189) in 198 innings pitched. The only number that had his coaches concerned was his walks (84).

This year, Lester has improved his command, walking 43 in 116.2 innings, and has dramatically increased his strikeouts (131) by mixing in an improved cut fastball, curve and change-up. Opponents are hitting just .224 against him, and right-handers are having a tougher time than lefties.

Those totals are finally translating in the win column, too. Lester is 8-4, leads the Eastern League with a 2.47 ERA, and is only getting better. He allowed two earned runs or fewer in all four of his July starts, including back-to-back shutouts against Trenton and New Hampshire in which he gave up just six hits and one walk while fanning 25 in 14 innings.

“I don’t think he can throw the ball much better than he did then, at any level,” Claus said.

“Any time you pitch well, it’s a step forward,” Lester said. “Any time you pitch bad, when you look at it, it’s also a step forward, because you learn a lot. I’m just trying to go out there and perform every time I get the ball.”

Despite his impressive showing, which earned him a spot in the Eastern League All-Star Game in Portland last month, Lester hasn’t been put on the same fast track as some former teammates. Three who started the season with Lester in Portland, Cla Meredith Jon Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen, have already been called up to Triple A and the majors this year, but Lester doesn’t think he has to go out of his way to impress the Boston front office so he can follow in their footsteps.

“I know (the Boston brass is) watching and they’re keeping an eye on what’s going on down here, but we can’t control that down here,” he said. “We’ve just got to control what we do. If they feel that we’re ready to move up, or if they feel that we’re performing well, then that’s fine. If not, then that’s fine too. We’ve got to do our job.”

“There’s no added pressure on me,” he added. “I’m happy for those guys that got moved up. Seeing guys move out of here makes you realize there’s a chance you’ll move up. It does give you a feeling that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Claus thinks the light will be shining a lot brighter in Lester’s future.

“There’s a thing called projection, looking into the crystal ball a little bit, and not really saying What is this guy now?’ but What can he be?’ and What is he going to be?'” Claus said. “For me, Jon Lester is a starter in the big leagues, and I think he’s showing a lot of people right now that he’s on his way.”