SPEED KILLS
The more speed you've got, the more money you're worth. After a minor tune up in the Arizona Fall League, will Boston Red Sox prospect Jacoby Ellsbury be big money in 2007?

Maureen MULLEN
MLNSportsZone.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Sitting in the visitors’ dugout at Scottsdale Stadium on Halloween night before a recent Arizona Fall League (AFL) game, Jacoby Ellsbury laughed as he told a visitor of one of his more memorable Halloween costumes.

“It was pretty funny,” said Ellsbury, twenty-three, the first pick of the Boston Red Sox (23rd overall) in the 2005 draft out of Oregon State University.  “It was two years ago, when the Red Sox won the World Series. My buddies thought it would be funny if I dressed up as Johnny Damon.”

That Halloween two years ago may not be the last time that Ellsbury is compared to the man who patrolled center field at Fenway for four seasons.  The Red Sox nation who watch the minors, and some Boston media wags make the comparisons.  Both are speedy left-handed center fielders with some power. They have similar frames and striking physical resemblances.

Is that a fair comparison to make, though?

“No, I don’t think it’s fair to ever compare a Double-A player to a guy that’s an All-Star, and a very accomplished major league player,” said Mike Hazen, Red Sox director of player development. “But, if Jacoby Ellsbury turns into Johnny Damon or like Johnny Damon as a big league player, then I think we’d be very happy with that.”

Ellsbury, an MLN Ones2Watch 2006 pick (No. 7 OA), was rated the best prospect in the Sox system by Baseball America as well as the best hitter for average, fastest base runner, best athlete, and the best defensive outfielder. 

He began the year with the Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, where he hit .299 with four home runs, five triples, and 25 stolen bases in 61 games, earning him a promotion to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, where he hit .308, with three home runs, three triples,  and 16 stolen bases in 50 games.

He spent the fall honing his craft with the Peoria Javelinas of the elite Arizona Fall League, hitting .276 with three triples, four doubles, and seven stolen bases in 10 attempts in 25 games.

Typically, players are sent to Arizona with specific instructions for ...

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