Thursday, August 29, 2024

Ben Ellsworth showed great HS power: Baseball Profiles

Ben Ellsworth 1990 Johnson City Cardinals card

Ben Ellsworth's high school coach Terry Harward saw big things possible in Ellsworth's future, he told The Provo Daily Herald in April 1989.

"He's the best shortstop in the state, no question," Harward told The Daily Herald. "He hits for power from both sides of the plate, he has a great arm and he has great speed."

Harward saw Ellsworth as a definite major college player and then it was up to him, The Daily Herald wrote.

Ellsworth, however, ended up being good enough to skip college and go straight to the pros. His pro career lasted six seasons. He topped out at single-A.

Ellsworth's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Cardinals in the 16th round of the draft out of Orem High School in Utah.

At Orem, Ellsworth won local Athlete of the Week honors in April 1988, going 5 for 8 in two games. In  March 1989, he picked up six hits in a tournament, pacing his team.

Coming out of Orem, he'd been recruited by the University of Utah and Hawaii. But instead, he chose the Cardinals.

He started with the Cardinals in the rookie Arizona League. He saw 43 games and hit .206. 

Ellsworth then moved to rookie Johnson City in 1990, tripling and scoring in an early game. He then had a key double in a July game. He saw 41 games overall and hit .183.

He moved to short-season Hamilton for 1991, then to single-A for 1992, 1993 and 1994. He played in 62 games at single-A Savannah in 1992, the most he'd play in a season. He hit .193. He last played at Savannah in 1994, hitting .178 in 54 games to end his career.

Ben Ellsworth 1990 Johnson City Cardinals card


1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,415
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:2,998-67.9%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:577
10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

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