Ellsbury shines among Red Sox outfield farmhands Tony Ahern Madras Pioneer 6/7/2006 After missing about three weeks with a hamstring injury, Jacoby Ellsbury returned with a flurry. Ellsbury is the only Blue Rocks player who has played in more than seven games who is hitting over .270. He has hit three doubles, two triples and four home runs, driven in 19 runs, and has 14 steals though he's been caught six times. He owns a .404 on-base percentage. The former Oregon State All-American has the highest batting average of any outfielder in the Red Sox minor league organization, and is compiling the most impressive statistics in the team's farm system's outfield. Tyler Minges is hitting .337 for the Class AA Portland Sea Dogs, but he began the year at AAA Pawtucket, where he was hitting .247 before being sent down. Minges was acquired by the Red Sox this past off-season after an impressive season in AA, where he led the Texas League in hitting and extra base hits. Other outfielders on the Sea Dogs' roster, and their batting averages, include Brandon Moss (.222), Matt Van Der Bosch (.187), Chris Durbin (.253) and Minges. Durbin had hit at a .382 clip through April, and was named the Red Sox Minor League offensive player of the month. He cooled off substantially in May. Only one outfielder in Pawtucket is hitting over .300, and that's Ron Calloway, who has hit .313 over 46 games, but has yet to hit a home run. Other outfielders in Pawtucket, and their batting averages, are Adam Stern (.228), Luke Allen (.189), David Murphy (.294 in nine games). Dustan Mohr is listed as an outfielder for Pawtucket but his statistics were not available. No other Red Sox farmhand outfielder has compiled any base stealing statistics to rival the speedy Ellsbury's potential on the base paths. |