Speed marks Ellsbury’s career No guarantee yet he’ll be starter

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The man wearing No. 46 – which seems like a blur at times – has sprinted up through the levels of the Boston Red Sox player development system as quickly as he steals second or runs down a sinking line drive.

Just over two years after being selected 23rd overall in the first round of the 2005 first-year player draft, Jacoby Ellsbury was promoted to the big leagues, gained extensive playoff experience and earned a World Series ring.

What can he do for an encore?

“I added some strength just to endure 162 games and physically be ready for the schedule,” the 24-year-old speedster said. “I feel good in spring training and the biggest thing for me is to get quality at-bats, even if they’re outs.”

So far this spring, Ellsbury has had more outs than hits, but doubled down the line Friday to raise his average to .206 with a home run, three doubles, four RBIs and two stolen bases in 10 games. He has also made several play-of-the-day catches in the field.

“He’s certainly more locked in right now than he was last year in spring training,” said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. “He’s added some strength by adding about 14 pounds of muscle mass to his upper body without sacrificing quickness.”

The man Baseball America ranks as Boston’s top prospect and No. 2 in all of baseball now packs 185 pounds onto his 6-foot-1 frame.

Still, that’s not enough to guarantee him a starting job with the defending world champions this spring. Heck, Ellsbury hit .438 in the World Series and already knew even that wasn’t enough.

“I’m a committed person who’s always had to work for my position,” said the man from Madras, Ore. “No matter where I was, a position was never given to me, whether it was high school, college or the minors, and that’s the way it should be.

“You have to earn everything and the competition’s only going to make me a better person.”

Rivalry, rumors and role models

The competition between two-year starter Coco Crisp and Ellsbury for the starting position in center field figured to be the showcase duel of Boston’s spring training, but with Crisp having missed the last 12 games with tightness in both groin muscles, it hasn’t been much of a battle.

Still, whether it’s to further motivate Ellsbury, increase Crisp’s potential trade value or both, Red Sox brass haven’t awarded Ellsbury the job.

“Coco’s the incumbent, he’s a starter,” Epstein said of their status earlier this week. “He’s a huge part of our run prevention and can be more there offensively than he’s shown the last two years, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt.”

That may be, but with only 10 “primary” days to go before the Sox open the regular season in Japan against the Oakland A’s, time is running out on the incumbent.

Crisp’s injury situation has quieted the spring speculation, but after an offseason full of trade rumors involving Ellsbury’s name, the former Portland Sea Dog has impressed club coaches and officials with his approach and demeanor.

“This kind of a spring, with this kind of attention and everybody talking about him and Coco, he’s been the same,” said manager Terry Francona. “He’s a pretty mature young guy.”

Spring training likely seems more like a relief to Ellsbury after seeing his name linked to a possible trade for ace starting pitcher Johan Santana almost every day of the offseason.

“It was flattering, but at the same time I didn’t read too much into it because I had no say in where I was going to end up, so I just told myself wherever that was, I’d give 100 percent,” said Ellsbury. “This is where I was hoping I’d stay. I came up through the system and got to know all the players and coaches and I know what they expect of me and they know what I can do.”

Ironically, all the stress and uncertainty actually helped Ellsbury with his winter training regimen.

“I used my workouts this offseason to kind of get away and not think about it,” he explained. “I still had to answer a lot of questions about it from family and friends, but I tried not to worry or stress over it.”

Not that there was a shortage of things to distract or stress him the last few months.

“It can be challenging because you have a lot of obligations with public appearances and speaking engagements, but you just have to stay focused and manage your time,” Ellsbury said. “Definitely, it’s tough, but you have to manage your time and make the most of it.”

If you’re Ellsbury, who occupies a unique place in Major League Baseball and Native American history, you also have to balance that need to manage time with your status as a role model and pioneer.

“I think for young, Native American kids, they can look at me as a role model, but not just in baseball,” said the man believed to be the first Navajo Indian to play in the major leagues. “As someone who lived on a reservation when he was younger and had a dream and had it happen. Being a role model is a cool thing. I just want to encourage kids to be happy, productive citizens wherever they are, and I want them to know it is possible and can be done.”

Trapping a Beaver

Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury was on Boston’s rookie radar well before the Sox drafted him in the first round.

In fact, Ellsbury was personally and extensively scouted by Jason McLeod, Boston’s director of amateur scouting during Ellsbury’s junior year at Oregon State University.

Ellsbury would be named 2005 Pac-10 Player of the Year after setting school records for hits in a season (86). In three seasons with the Beavers, he batted .368 with 36 doubles, 16 homers, 99 RBIs and 162 runs scored.

About the only thing wrong with Ellsbury’s impressive junior season was a slight slump and some timing. It was almost enough to curb Boston’s interest.

“It was funny because Jason had been sitting on him and Jacoby had an almost .500 on-base percentage,” recalled Epstein. “He was going nuts that year and Jason was in the midst of seeing him go through an 0-for-17 streak.”

Epstein hadn’t seen Ellsbury in person yet, so he flew out to Corvallis to watch him in a four-game series.

“He hadn’t done anything for Jason, so we were calling him Jason the Mush. I finally made him turn his back after Jacoby went 0-for-2,” Epstein said while chuckling. “That’s a no-no when you’re scouting, but he got on base on a walk or error or something. Then Jacoby scored from first on a hit to the gap in right-center.”

Epstein was impressed.

“He was more like a slashing, slap-and-go type guy in college, but he stood out on that field with his athleticism and had a certain star quality,” Epstein said.

Quickly becoming a star

Ellsbury has made it almost impossible to slow his professional ascent, going from Single-A Lowell (Mass.) to Double-A Portland to Triple-A Pawtucket (R.I.) and then Boston in less than three seasons.

After first being called up by the Sox on June 30, Ellsbury went 6-for-19 in two stints with Boston totaling seven games. His third call-up on Sept. 1 was for good, and he wound up hitting .353 in 116 at-bats for Boston in the regular season. He had had three homers, 18 RBIs and was 9-for-9 stealing bases.

“For me, I’d rather just get thrown in instead of slowly getting into it. That’s pretty much all I know, so the less time I have to think about it, the better,” Ellsbury said. “They told me like four or five hours before game time and that was perfect, rather than telling me the night before and me not being able to sleep.”

He had some time to think about things before the postseason started, but they only got better for the lefthander.

“Playing in those games, especially at the end in the playoffs, you grow up a lot quicker as a player,” Ellsbury said. “That helps prepare you as a player and let you know what to expect.”

It has also spurred him to keep working hard and improve himself.

“I just knew I wanted to build on last year, as good as it was for me,” he said. “I’m not satisfied and I want to get better.”

So do his coaches and the front office personnel.

“Now he drives the ball more because he’s stronger, but he’s so early in the process as far as maturing as a hitter,” Epstein said. “His swing should get to the point where he can actually put the ball in the gaps regularly.”

Ellsbury has quickly become a fan favorite.

“I think he’s getting more attention right now, maybe more than he should,” Epstein said. “I think if you ask him, he’d rather go earn it.”

He’d also like to be known as more than a one-dimensional player.

“People who haven’t seen me play a lot, that’s the first thing that comes out is my speed,” Ellsbury said. “For now, that’s fine with me, but I’ll definitely be working to show there’s more to it with me than just speed.”

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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ELLSBURY’S 2007 SOX STATS

Regular season

33 games, 20 runs, 41 hits, 3 home runs, 16 RBIs, 8 walks, 15 strikeouts, 9 stolen bases, .353 average

Postseason

11 games, 8 runs, 9 hits, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 2 stolen bases, .360 average