Ellsbury helped Portland win the Red Sox' first Double-A title since their 1983 New Britain team featured Roger Clemens. With his hustle and determination, he quickly became a fan favorite, and he also showed well above-average speed and center-field defense.

Ellsbury's makes consistent contact, controls the strike zone and gets on base well enough to become a big league leadoff hitter. He has a slight uppercut swing, and though he hit just seven homers between two minor league stops this year, Boston believes he can develop double-digit power. Though he runs well, he needs to improve his basestealing prowess after getting caught in eight of his 24 attempts in the EL.

As a center fielder, Ellsbury gets good jumps and runs down balls in the gaps. His arm is well below average, but he compensates with a quick release and good accuracy.

Interesting that they DH'd Jacoby Friday night to get him going and he responded by going 3-5. I guess the question is did he just need a night to step back and focus on his hitting, or is he playing banged up, or....?

Glad to see he's getting it back together though....

Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: Ellsbury and Crowe are cut from the same cloth, speedsters who belong at the top of the lineup who even hail from the same region -- the Pacific Northwest. Ellsbury, a center fielder, also made it to Double-A in his first full season. It was his Portland Sea Dogs who beat Crowe's Aeros for the Eastern League title. Ellsbury was a big reason the Sea Dogs were there in the first place as he hit .308 after his promotion to Portland. For the year, the Oregon State product hit .303 with a .382 OBP and 41 steals.

Is his lack of HR production normal? For a supposed 20 HR hitter as some project, he's not hitting any.

4. Jacoby Ellsbury, of, Peoria Javelinas (Red Sox)
Ellsbury was polished when he came out of Oregon State as a 2005 first-rounder, and his wide array of tools again impressed scouts in the AFL. A prototypical leadoff hitter, Ellsbury works counts, bunts well and has 70 speed on the 20-80 scouting scale that aids him both on the bases and in center field. He hits with a fluid, line-drive stroke that generates gap power, profiling as a .300 hitter who should hit 10-15 home runs a year in the majors. But for as good as he is from the left side of the plate, Ellsbury perhaps brings more to the table defensively. Scouts love his reads off the bat, his jumps and his pure speed.

He doesn't have to hit a lot of home runs to be very useful. If he does, he becomes tremendous.

And yeah, a 20 home run hitter can have a 17 game homerless period. In fact, a 50 home run hitter can. The AFL is a real small sample size for measuring power.

Q: Bertram from Taiwan asks:
Best leadoff prospect in the minors-Crowe, Ellsbury, McCutchen or other? Thanks!

A:
Chris Kline: Ellsbury.

I can't wait to work out MLB equivalents for these; if Ellsbury's true talent level is even half of his 2006 PAA/150, he could be one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball right now.

Between single A, double A and the AFL the kid had 600 at bats last year, and he showed no sign of wearing down at the end of the year. I think we see him sooner than later in Boston.

Granted, you're not getting much return on Manny's power, but I really like an outfield with J.D. Drew in right, Ellsbury in center and Coco Crisp where he should always have been, left. Plus, it relieves the pressure of having to bat Coco leadoff, which has, I think, shown itself to be a foolhardy notion. Perhaps the FO thinks Ellsbury is ready for the show this season, and feels it can deal Manny because of Ellsbury's development? Just a thought, although Wily Mo Pena is looking like a man without a position more and more if that happened.

Perhaps the FO thinks Ellsbury is ready for the show this season, and feels it can deal Manny because of Ellsbury's development?

The FO actually announced Ellsbury (and Moss, fwiw), will start the year in Pawtucket.

link

From everything I've read, it seems no doubt he could be a top-10 defensive CF in baseball, right now, conservatively. I like that they're giving his bat tme to catch up, though. I'm really getting excited about him.

The Marlins asked about outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury during their meeting with the Red Sox on Tuesday, but he doesn't appear to be available.

Typically, players are sent to Arizona with specific instructions for improving a particular aspect of their game. For Ellsbury, the goals in Arizona include working on his bunting and learning to take advantage of his speed – which is likely the best in the Sox’ system and which general manager Theo Epstein said last spring is just a couple of ticks behind that of Coco Crisp.

“[His bunting is] coming along great,” said Luis Alicea, manager of the Javelinas who also manages in the Sox system, including Single-A Greenville in 2006. “He’s able to show bunt, and not actually bunt at the ball. But it helps because it brings the infielders in and he’s able to hit the ball right by the first baseman for a triple. He’s giving quality, quality at-bats. Bunting is great. It’s a tool for him that, I think, is definitely going to help him. He can drive the ball, but he’s got so much speed, and they have to honor that. And, think it’s going to work both ways for him. He’s going to be able to hit the ball through the infield because they’re playing shallower.”

And, that’s where Ellsbury’s speed will come in.
...
Ellsbury is working on refining that speed, especially his base stealing. His 64 stolen bases in 84 attempts in his two pro seasons give him a 76 percent success rate. But, that rate fell to 67 percent (16 of 24) in Double A.

“Stealing bases at a 75-percent clip is going to be what’s needed in order for him to continue to get the green light and continue to run as he needs to and to continue to make an impact on the bases. Being a base stealer isn’t something somebody is born with. It’s definitely a skill. Some people have better instincts but there are things that need to be learned. Some intricacies of the art of base stealing that hopefully Jacoby is picking up and will continue to learn to make him an even more impact base stealer, with working on all the other things just with repetition, with defensive work and positioning, and offensively, those little aspects of the game that we’re focusing on here with the fall league.”

I would love to see Ellsbury in center field in the near future. It would be great, in my opinion, to have a person in center with a decent arm something the team has not had in recent years. That being said I would be opposed to having an outfield that had both Coco and Ellsbury both playing full time. I do like some home run power in the outfield. So if this comes to pass, ie Ellsbury taking over center, Coco must be traded.

Ellsbury also has a noodle arm, but plays great D to compensate. Possibly better than Crisp's though.

43. Jacoby Ellsbury, 23, CF, Boston Red Sox
2006 Stats (A+/AA): .303/.382/.425, 41 SB in 442 AB

In Beantown, the shadow of Johnny Damon loomed over Coco Crisp in 2006, and Crisp failed to meet the expectations left by the former Boston fan favorite. If Crisp is not the answer in the post-Damon era, then perhaps it is Ellsbury. Compared to Damon since his days at Oregon State, Ellsbury is the best leadoff prospect in the minor leagues. His best trait is one of the game's best offensive approaches, a combination of very good patience and excellent contact ability. Ellsbury constantly puts pressure on the defense, both by getting the ball into play and then running like heck after he's made contact. A different shadow will be looming over Crisp in 2007 as Ellsbury races his way to the majors.