Minor Leagues Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
From the moment he stepped on the field for the Grand Junction Gold Sox in April, 2044 was destined to be a magic season for OF David McElroy.
David McElroy
McElroy, who came over to the Sox from the Vancouver organization in a trade for IF Jose Silva, led the team in batting average, OBP and WAR wire-to-wire. He finished the season slashing .339/.428/.520 with 5.8 WAR, 11 homers and 78 RBIs as he helped lead the Gold Sox to a division crown.
“There was no question who our team MVP was from the start of the season to the end – David did everything we asked and more,” said Gold Sox Manager Roberto Solis.
Scouts say McElroy should have a BBA career, but feel he’ll be more of a role player than a star.
Solis isn’t so sure.
“He’s done very well in the professional ranks once he got over his Rookie League jitters with Vancouver,” Solis said. “He was a star in Short Season A and, well, he was a star for us. I wouldn’t count David out of anything.”
McElroy said he’s looking forward to moving up to AA Beloit next season and showing what he can do there.
“I like the challenge of seeing how I stack up against better competition,” he said. “I can hardly wait.”
Black Sox scouts are eager to see how he does, too.
“This will be an interesting test for McElroy,” said Frank H. Pabodie, Chicago’s director of scouting. “If he does well in Beloit, we may need to revise our expectations.”
