Ryan Lavarnway's bat has improved each year he's been in the Red Sox minor league system, and his skills have been anything but minors-level in 2011.
The catcher is batting .313 with a .386 on-base percentage between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, leading PawSox radio broadcaster Dan Hoard to ask manager Arnie Beyeler what he would say if Boston manager Terry Francona asked him if Lavarnway is ready to hit in the majors.
"I would have a tough time saying no," Beyeler said on Hoard's blog. "The thing this kid does really well is that he has an idea at the plate. He has a plan up there and he knows the strike zone.
"He's a big, strong kid so he can drive the baseball. He's had a few balls fall in, but he's driven the baseball. He uses the whole field well and he takes what the pitchers give him. He watches how guys are working people and he goes up there with a plan."
The 23-year-old Burbank, Calif., native and Yale alum showed off the power behind his .573 slugging percentage by hitting a towering two-run home run Friday against Durham. He has increased his home run total the last three years, achieving a career-high 23 already this season.
His hitting has garnered him cult hero status in Pawtucket, where Hoard says a fan has dubbed Lavarnway's growing fan following as the "Lavarnwagon."
"I have no idea about that," Lavarnway told Hoard. "I'm going to take care of my business on the field and anything else is superfluous. That can really become a distraction and I'm going to try not to let it be."
