David

Murphy

Murphy’s improved a great deal the last two months, especially in the power department. The 2003 first-round pick is currently batting .289/.346/.455 with 12 steals in 18 attempts.

Murphy, a first-round pick in this year’s draft, bypasses Augusta to go right to the Florida State League. The Baylor product hit .346 with 0 HR, 13 RBI, 9/16 K/BB and 4 SB in 78 AB while with Lowell. He’s one of the top fantasy prospects to come out of this year’s draft.

Murphy is at .339/.429/.661 in 16 games for Pawtucket. As little as the Red Sox are getting from their bench right now, maybe they should consider promoting him, if only until Gabe Kapler or Wily Mo Pena is ready to come back.

Murphy, a 2003 first-round pick, was hitting .273/.315/.436 with four steals in 172 at-bats for Portland.

A trade involving Taveras looked like a real possibility a month ago, but he’s back playing regularly now and seems unlikely to go. The Red Sox would probably part with Murphy for relief help, but it’d be tough to get him to Florida on waivers. According to MLB.com, the two clubs have discussed Taylor Tankersley. However, he’s another player who would never clear waivers and the Marlins aren’t going to want to give him up anyway. An offseason deal is a more likely possibility.

He drove in five. Murphy and Brandon Moss both got off to lousy starts as Double-A repeaters, but Murphy has picked it up now and is at .288/.331/.462 in 156 at-bats. The 2003 first-round pick isn’t the prospect the Red Sox hoped he’d become, but he should develop into a reserve.

Murphy would have been interesting had he been called up a couple of weeks ago. Now the Red Sox are about to get both Wily Mo Pena and Trot Nixon back, which could mean that Murphy won’t see much time. The 24-year-old was hitting .267/.355/.447 in 318 at-bats for Triple-A Pawtucket. He projects as a long-term fourth outfielder.

If the move does happen, Endy Chavez’s playing time would be most affected. Murphy is fresh off a 4-for-4, two-homer game Tuesday, and he’s tallied three four-hit games over the last 10 contests. He’s worth a looked in mixed leagues right now while he’s riding a hot bat.

For those of you that like days-of-the-week stats -- and we know you’re out there -- Murphy has gone 4-for-4 on consecutive Tuesdays. Murphy has been red-hot for awhile now. He’s hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games -- raising his average from .240 to .274 -- and has driven in at least one run in 12 of his last 16 contests (22 total).

That means Josh Hamilton will move over to center field. Endy Chavez had been handling center since being called up in mid-May, but the Rangers simply can’t keep Murphy’s hot bat out of the lineup, as he’s batting .346/.365/.593 this month and .302/.339/.485 during the second half.