Shin-Soo Choo: Texas Rangers On Base Machine

Apr 6, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) is congratulated by left fielder Shin-Soo Choo (17) after he hit a 2-run home run during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Texas Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

During last nights game I was extremely impressed with the Texas Rangers lead-off man, Shin-Soo Choo. Since becoming a Texas Ranger, Choo has been everything advertised. We heard that he was an average to above average left fielder. He has a career .986 fielding percentage, and in his career he has 18 throwing errors and 8 fielding errors. That is in a 10 year career. But that is not the main reason that Shin-Soo Choo was brought in, it was for his lead-off ability.

Shin-Soo Choo has a carer OBP of .389, and in 2014 so far it is .444. The man can get on base. In last nights game alone Choo was on base 4 times in 5 at bats. In eight games so far in the 2014 campaign, Shin-Soo Choo has worked 5 walks. To compare (because, at least for this season, we will continually compare Choo to Ian Kinsler) Kinsler has an OBP of .296. Choo seems to find a way to get on base no matter what the situation. He will go through a slump at some point in the season, because all players do, but for right now he is delivering on his lead-off promises.

The one downfall of the Shin-Soo Choo game as we understand it is that he has trouble hitting left handed pitching. He has put that to bed so far in 2014. So Choo is getting on base more at a rate that is near .500, he is hitting righties and lefties, and he is playing above average defense so far. I think he was a great pickup, and I look forward to seeing what he can do in the near future for this team as they go forward. The Texas Rangers play the Red Sox again today, and the game is at 3:05 Texas time.