Ackley, 23, having strong season in PCL

As the temperature has heated up, so has the bat of Tacoma second baseman Dustin Ackley and, along with it, speculation that the Mariners' top prospect soon will be promoted to Seattle.

Ranked baseball's No. 5 prospect by MLB.com, Ackley hit a two-run triple in Tacoma's 11-4 loss to the 51s on Friday and was 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot in a 14-8 loss to Las Vegas on Saturday at Cashman Field.

"I've been asked about him every day for the last two weeks," Rainiers manager Daren Brown said of Ackley, the second overall draft pick in 2009, behind Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg.

"A high-profile prospect for us gets hot and people start doing their own assumptions," Brown said. "But he's here (in Triple A) and he's still got things to work on while he's here."

After batting .211 in April, the 23-year-old Ackley is hitting .357 in May and .290 overall with seven home runs, 26 RBIs, six stolen bases and a Pacific Coast League-leading 35 walks.

"He's a very disciplined hitter for his age. He doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches," Brown said. "He's a professional hitter, and he's only been with us a couple years right out of college."

Ackley is the leading hitter in North Carolina history with a .412 average and also had 198 RBIs and 227 runs in 207 games for the Tar Heels.

The North Carolina native was the 2007 National Freshman of the Year, was runner-up to Strasburg for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award given to the nation's top amateur player and set a College World Series record with 28 hits.

Ackley, who had Tommy John elbow ligament surgery after his sophomore year, mostly played first base at North Carolina before the Mariners moved him to second last season. He has five errors in 50 games this year and is making steady strides in the field.

"The biggest thing is taking a kid who didn't play second base in college and within a year trying to get him to learn everything about it," Brown said. "But he's coming along, and he's progressed probably more than what we thought he would. A lot of it is game experience."

Ackley reached Triple A last year in his first pro season, batting a combined .267 with 48 extra-base hits, 51 RBIs and 10 steals for Double-A West Tennessee and Tacoma. He also led the Arizona Fall League in hitting with a .424 average and was named its Most Valuable Player.

Despite learning a new position, many think Ackley already would have been called up by Seattle if not for a complex "Super Two" rule that could have cost the Mariners millions of dollars.

Each year, the rule gives the top 17 percent of players with more than two years, but fewer than three, of service time "Super Two" status, which allows them to qualify for four years of arbitration instead of three. The cutoff date for players such as Ackley and 51s third baseman Brett Lawrie to earn "Super Two" status is typically late May, which might be the reason neither has been promoted but could be soon.

"I feel like I can play up there," Ackley said. "I feel pretty confident where I'm at, and hopefully when I get up there, I'll be ready."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.