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(AP) - Durham Bulls shortstop B.J. Upton, a former No. 2 overall pick and a top minor-league prospect, was charged Friday with drunken driving.

Upton, 21, was stopped by Chapel Hill police about 3:30 a.m. for traveling 51 mph in a 30 mph zone while driving a 2007 Mercedes Benz sedan, according to a police report. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.11%. The legal limit for drivers in North Carolina is .08.

Upton was released on a written promise to appear in court, the report said.

Upton batted .258 with four home runs in 159 at-bats while with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004, the same year he was rated the second-best prospect in the nation by Baseball America.

"The Devil Rays and B.J. Upton recognize the seriousness of this matter," the major league team said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor this situation as the judicial system runs its course."

After returning to Triple-A Durham in 2005, he led the team in nearly every offensive category and was named the Bulls' player of the year. He is batting .270 with five home runs in 66 games this season.

Upton, whose given name is Melvin Emanuel Upton Jr., lives in Chesapeake, Va.

His arrest is the latest turmoil this season for the Bulls. The International League suspended their manager John Tamargo in May for 10 games for bumping an umpire. Outfielder Delmon Young was suspended 50 games without pay earlier that month for throwing a bat that hit an umpire in the chest.

Upton, who played baseball for Greenbrier Christian Academy, was chose second choice overall in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. His younger brother Justin was the number one pick last year.

Upton was named the Bulls Player of the Year after leading it in nearly every offensive category.