Elvis Andrus
From BR Bullpen
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
- Debut April 6, 2009
- Born August 26, 1988 in Maracay, Aragua Venezuela
[edit] Biographical Information
Elvis Andrus is the Texas Rangers starting shortstop. He is the brother of Erold Andrus.
Andrus was signed by the Atlanta Braves at age 16. He debuted professionally in 2005, hitting .295/.377/.398 for the GCL Braves and going 5 for 18 with 4 walks and a double for the Danville Braves. He led Gulf Coast League shortstops with 63 putouts. Baseball America rated him as the #4 prospect in the GCL behind Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce and Chris Volstad and as the #2 Braves prospect.
In 2006, Elvis hit .265/.324/.362 with 23 steals in 38 tries for the Rome Braves as a teenager in a full-season league. He led South Atlantic League shortstops with 208 putouts. Baseball America again ranked him as his league's 4th-best prospect. He was named to the SAL All-Star team as a utility infielder.
Andrus only batted .244/.330/.335 for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 2007, though he stole 25 bases in 32 tries. He still was chosen for the 2007 Futures Game. Pinch-hitting for Chin-Lung Hu in the 5th, Andrus grounded out against Luke Hochevar. He stayed in to play shortstop. In the 7th inning, Andrus struck out versus Clay Buchholz. Later that year, he was dealt with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Beau Jones, Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay. Going to the Bakersfield Blaze, Andrus hit .300/.373/.369 and stole 15 bases in 23 attempts in 27 games.
Assigned to the Grand Canyon Rafters in the Arizona Fall League, Andrus batted .353/.411/.471.
Andrus played for the World team in the 2008 Futures Game. This time, he started at shortstop and hit second. In the first inning, he hit a potential double-play grounder but was able to reach thanks to an error by US shortstop Jason Donald. Elvis stole third and came home on a Pablo Sandoval grounder for the winning run in a 3-0 victory. He walked against Brett Anderson in the third but was picked off. Ramiro Pena replaced him at short.
During the 2008 campaign, Andrus hit .295/.350/.367 for the Frisco RoughRiders with 54 steals in 70 tries and 82 runs. He led Texas farmhands in steals and was five swipes behind Texas League leader Corey Wimberly. Andrus led the TL's shortstops in putouts (181), assists (361), errors (32) and double plays (79). Baseball America rated him as being the best defensive shortstop and having the best infield arm in the Texas League. He was named the league All-Star SS. The publication also rated him as the #5 prospect in the TL behind only Dexter Fowler, Chris Davis, Kyle Blanks and Vin Mazzaro.
In 2009, Elvis Andrus won the job as the Rangers' starting shortstop in spring training. There was some controversy attached to the decision by manager Ron Washington, as it meant moving Michael Young, who had won the 2008 Gold Glove Award to third base. He went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored on opening day against the Cleveland Indians. he had a decent first season in the majors, playing excellent defense at shortstop and hitting .267/.329/.373 in 145 games, with 33 stolen bases in 39 tries. He was the second-youngest player in the 2009 AL behind only Rick Porcello. He tied Alberto Callaspo, Willie Bloomquist, Curtis Granderson and Carl Crawford for 5th in the league with 8 triples and was 6th in steals. He finished second in voting for the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year Award, losing out to Andrew Bailey in a fairly close race.
In 2010 Andrus maintained his batting average and improved his on-base percentage from .329 to .342 over his rookie year, but his power went down significantly. In 588 at-bats, he hit only 18 extra-base hits (15 doubles and 3 triples), losing 5 triples and 6 homers over the previous year, in many more plate appearances. However, he continued to play excellent defense and scored 88 runs, and the Rangers not only won their first-ever postseason series, but made it all the way to the World Series. Andrus hit .333 in each of the first two rounds of the postseason, although his bat was stymied by the San Francisco Giants pitchers in the Series, like most of his teammates. He ended his 705 at-bat home run drought in the fourth game of the 2011 season, going deep against Erik Bedard of the Seattle Mariners on April 4.
Sources:
- 2006-2009 Baseball Almanacs
- 2007 Braves Media Guide
- MILB.com
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2009 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- AL All-Star (2010)
