Since missing first two months of 2008 season while recovering from elbow surgery, the right fielder has been a productive hitter, superb base-runner and excellent fielder.
Left-handed hitting right fielder Shin-Soo Choo has become the Indians' most reliable player.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians are loaded with question marks as spring training approaches.
The player the Indians can most count on to deliver, based on recent seasons, is right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.
Choo has been named the Indians' Man of the Year the last two seasons.
Since missing the first two months of the 2008 season while recovering from elbow surgery, Choo has hit .302, finishing that campaign at .309 and batting .300 each of the last two seasons.
In 1,450 at bats, Choo has slugged 97 doubles, 11 triples and 56 home runs, while driving in 242 runs and scoring 236. He's stolen 47 bases in 59 attempts and established himself as one of baseball's best defensive right fielders.
FOXSports.com features a photo gallery of what it designates as the single best players on each team. For the Indians, that player is Choo.
With Choo's photo, FOXSports.com comments:
Until Grady Sizemore proves he can get and stay healthy and return to his 2008 levels of performance, this honor falls to Choo, who combines Gold Glove-caliber skills in right with speed, on-base chops and power. Choo has been uniformly excellent since becoming a regular at the highest level. The right fielder is the most underrated player in the game today.
Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Indians coverage includes Paul Hoynes' report that left-handed pitcher Jeremy Sowers will be sidelined for nine to 12 months after having surgery to repair a tear in his left rotator cuff.
Hoynes will arrive in Goodyear, Arizona on Monday to cover the Indians spring training. Pitchers and catchers will report to camp on Thursday, with the full squad scheduled to be in Goodyear on Sunday.
Could be good
Former National League executive Jim Bowden ranks baseball's top 50 prospects going into the 2011 season.
From the Cleveland organization, second baseman Jason Kipnis makes the list at No. 39; right-handed pitcher Alex White at No. 46; third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall at No. 50.
Bowden writes about Kipnis:
39. Jason Kipnis, 2B, Cleveland Indians — Another Arizona State hitter is expected to be the long-term solution for the Indians at 2B. He was the Pac-10 Player of the year in 2009 as an outfielder, but the Indians quickly moved him to 2B during instructional league. He made great progress defensively this past year and there is no doubt he should be a .300 15 HR 70 RBI type offensive 2B in the future.
Tribe talk
Five questions about the Indians heading into spring training, by Jim Ingraham for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal.
The 2011 season should provide an idea about the Indians' future, by Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.
Indians Prospect Insider continues its countdown of the Indians' top 50 prospects. Tony Lastoria writes about No. 32, right-handed pitcher Austin Adams, and about No. 33, left-handed pitcher Giovanni Soto.
Analysis of the Indians' designated hitter position and bench players, by Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.
The Indians have some fantasy league "sleepers," by Eric Mack for Sports Illustrated's SI.com.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/02/pm_cleveland_indians_links_48.html
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