The 21-year-old Sea Dogs pitching prospect dominated Double-A batters in his third full season as a professional.

But Boston did not promote him to Triple-A. Rather, they reduced his innings and gave him time to develop.

You know his name.

Jon Lester.

Lester’s story in 2005 sounds similar to that of the latest Sea Dogs ace, Michael Bowden.

There is talk of Bowden going to Triple-A Pawtucket soon. It’s possible, but it’s not what the Red Sox did with their young pitching sensation in 2005.

A comparison of Lester and Bowden is easy to make.Unlike Jonathan Papelbon, Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson, Lester and Bowden were drafted out of high school: Lester a second-rounder in 2002, Bowden a sandwich pick in ’02.

In 2005, Lester pitched in the shadows of another ace in Portland, Papelbon, who was called up to Boston that season. Still, Lester had a 6-2 record and 2.40 ERA after his July 5 start, totaling 901⁄3 innings.

The Red Sox eventually reduced Lester’s workload. He made only four starts in July and finished with 148 innings, going 11-6 with a 2.61 ERA. He was named to the Eastern League All-Star game, but did not pitch in it.In 2008, Bowden began the year in the shadow of Masterson, who made another start for the Red Sox on Saturday. After Bowden’s July 4 start, he is 8-4 with a 2.36 ERA in 991⁄3 innings.

Boston is already slowing Bowden, who threw 68 pitches in five innings Friday, and he likely will skip a start this month. He was picked for next week’s All-Star game, but we’ll see if he pitches.

With Lester, there is precedent of keeping a young pitcher in Double-A, no matter how well he is doing.But there are differences between Lester and Bowden. Lester did not reach Double-A until his third full season. He sometimes had control problems. For example, walked four batters six times and had a terrible outing on June 30: two innings, three hits, four walks and three runs.

Bowden was declared ahead of schedule by Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and arrived in Portland in mid-May last year, only his second full season. And he appears to be getting stronger.

Since going 0-2 in his first four starts, Bowden is 8-2 with a 1.78 ERA in his last 14 starts, with 75 strikeouts and 11 walks.

Bowden is doing well because batters do not often get solid contact against him. He locates an over-the-top fastball, curveball and change-up well, and hitters say his jerky delivery is deceiving.

What Bowden may need is competition against more experienced hitters, the kind you see in Triple-A.It would be nice to have an ace to help the Sea Dogs into the playoffs. But face it, it is time for Bowden to move on.

THE ALL-STAR game July 15 in Manchester, N.H., will feature three Sea Dogs, the smallest representation on the Northern Division team. Besides Bowden, outfielders Bubba Bell (.296, 13 home runs, 46 RBI) and Jeff Corsaletti (.296, 9, 41) were named.

Two others were worthy of consideration: outfielder Zach Daeges (.302, 1, 25) and first baseman Aaron Bates (.281, 5, 44).

But it was unlikely three Portland outfielders would be chosen, and Daeges had played only 57 games because of injuries. The other outfielders had lower averages, but more production: Trenton’s Austin Jackson (.273, 8, 49) and New Hampshire’s Travis Snider (.271, 11, 45).Bates was beaten out by two Binghamton players: first baseman Nick Evans (.307, 13, 51) and designated hitter Mike Carp (.323, 10, 48).

KRIS JOHNSON will start for Portland today, trying to extend his franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings, currently at 231⁄3.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:kthomas@pressherald.com