Ellsbury Sooner Than Expected?

The more Coco Crisp struggles at the plate, the more you have to wonder how long he’ll be able to stick around. Through his first 117 AB, Crisp is hitting .231 with an OPS of .600. And the more important the situation, the more he seems to shrivel in the Boston spotlight. He’s never been a good situational hitter. This year Crisp’s batting average has dropped from .241 to .220 once runners get on. With runners get into scoring position his OPS drops from .657 to .525. Last year, Crisp’s OPS dropped by over .130 with runners in scoring position. It’s not as if Crisp doesn’t bring anything to the table. He has great speed and slightly above average defensive ability.
The only problem is, Ellsbury can utilize those same skills, only better. Ellsbury was voted both last year’s Red Sox minor league baserunner of the year and defensive player of the year. Baseball America has made the claim that the Oregon native is the fastest player, best defensive outfielder and the best all around athlete in the entire Red Sox organization. Gordon Edes has said that Ellsbury’s athletic ability could make him the most exciting Red Sox prospect since Garciaparra. Not only is Ellsbury a better defensive player and baserunner, but his offensive skills are more in line with the principles of the organization. Last year in 198 AB at the AA level, Ellsbury managed an OBP of .387 to go with an AVG of .308. Over his professional career, Ellsbury has compiled an OBP of .391. He compiled an OBP of .518 over 73 AB at AA Portland this year before being promoted to Pawtucket.
Calling Ellsbury up to the big club before a full season at AAA clearly isn’t the ideal situation. But, if Crisp continues to struggle so much at the plate, Ellsbury would be an improvement in the field if not at the plate. The Red Sox could attempt to fix their hole at center field from outside the organization. Any imported solution however would have to be temporary. Given Ellsbury’s current stage of development, it wouldn’t make much sense to bring in a long term solution at center field.
The main concern with calling up Ellsbury this season to replace Crisp, would be that the Red Sox would be rushing him. And yes, the Red Sox would be rushing him. Ellsbury has less than 600 minor league at bats. He’s never had a full season at AA, let alone one at AAA. He’s also struggled a bit since being promoted to Pawtucket. Ellsbury has hit only .262 over 42 at bats at the AAA level. Still, in a testament to his ability to get on base, he has retained an OBP of .367. He probably wouldn’t light up the big leagues with his bat this season. However, if he was given a few more months at the AAA level, he could be an offensive upgrade over the kind of production the Red Sox are getting from Coco Crisp. He’d almost surely get on base at a higher rate so he can utilize his speed. That’s something that Crisp has done less than 30% of the time this season.
Not only is Ellsbury one of the most talented players in the Red Sox organization, but he’s also one of the hardest working. Here’s what Ellsbury’s high school coach, Packy Sevada, had to say about the young talent. “He had the raw fundamentals to hit a baseball and run like no other in the 18 years I coached Little League. When I’d speak to the team or to Jacoby, he’d be the one to look you in the eye. He had the desire to learn and excel.” Ellsbury, part Navajo, is one of the few Native Americans to take part in professional baseball. According to Baseball America, Ellsbury is major league baseball’s 33rd best prospect.
Pedroia Making Good: The Red Sox put a lot of faith in their young second baseman, sticking with him even after he got off to a slow start. Through May 1st, Pedroia was hitting just .172/.294/.224. Since then however, he’s hit .444 while getting on base at a rate of .483. In doing so, he’s raised his season numbers to .259/.351/.365. The offense is only half of what he’s contributed of late though. Pedroia’s been flashing some major leather. If it wasn’t for Daisuke Matsuzaka, I’d talk seriously about Pedroia making a run at Rookie of the Year.

FIRE BRAND ANNOUNCEMENT: Hey guys, Evan here. Just wanted to let everyone know we will have a new writer coming aboard. His name is Shawn Medeiros, and he will be doing game recaps for Fire Brand. Can’t wait to see his stuff here!