Shin-Soo Choo - No. 38 of Baseball's Best Minor League Players - MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 - Outfield (OF) - Tacoma Rainiers - Seattle Mariners - MLN Sports Zone

You remember those crazy days when the prevailing common wisdom was that black men couldn't play baseball? After they were finally given their due, the Asian players who could have been great, like Sadaharu Oh of Japan, were hit with the uncommon wisdom of the time that they, too, were inferior ballplayers.

There may be a day when Choo, and Mariners star Ichiro rule the outfield, proving how absolutely wrong decades of common wisdom were.

Before he takes the field in Seattle, though, Mr. Choo is on the local through the farm system.

The Mariners, Mets and Dodgers are really good at scouting the Pacific Rim and Asia. The Mariners saw Choo in the 2000 World Junior Championship, an international showcase. Choo won MVP honors, as a pitcher.

They liked the way that he handles a bat better, and signed him to a contract with compensation worth US$1.335 million.

Player: Shin-Soo Choo

Position: Outfield (OF)

Height: 5-11
Weight: 178

Birthdate: 07.30.82
Birthplace: Pusan, Korea

High School: Pusan High School

Bats: L
Throws: L

Organization: Seattle Mariners

Acquired: As an Amateur Free Agent in 2000 by the Mariners

Signed By: Jae Lee & Jim Colborn

Last Ballclub: Tacoma Rainiers

2004 FAB50 Ranking: NR

That kind of cash immediately moves him up on the priority list for any club, playing ability aside. Once you factor though, that he's been putting up great numbers throughout his minor league run, you can see that the Mariners may have made a good deal.

Choo entered the Rookie leagues in 2001with the Arizona League Mariners. He batted .302/.513 (AVG/SLG) in 199 at-bats, 51 games.

Later that year he was promoted to Class A Wisconsin in the Midwest League. He only had 13 at-bats, but he made good use of them, turning in a .462 batting average and a .462 slugging percentage.

Shin-Soo returned to Wisconsin in 2002 and picked up where he left off. He batted .302/.440 with 6 home runs and 48 RBIs. His strikeout numbers climbed dangerously towards the century mark, though.

He was promoted to the High Class-A Inland Empire 66ers in the California League. There he delivered .308/.564 numbers on the remainder of the season.

Returning to the 66ers, Choo had his first below .300 season, batting .286/.459, although he had a career-high year of production: 18 doubles, 13 triples, 9 home runs, and 55 RBIs.

In 2004 he was advanced to San Antonio in the Class-AA Texas League. His numbers all came back up, including a .315/.462 year with a pro high of 15 home runs and 84 RBIs.

This year he broke through the Triple-A, playing for the Tacoma Rainiers. At .264/.395, he appears to be adjusting to near-major league pitching. He's taken 3 at-bats with the Mariners, good for 1 hit, 1 RBI, and a .333 average.

The touts and scouts note that Choo's defensive work still needs work. He's getting better at reading fly balls, but they think he's better suited to the corners. He has a strong arm that has been improving in accuracy as he advances. He probably would stay in his position were it not for Ichiro being at the top of his depth chart list. The buzz is that he could be heading to left field.

We see him making the Mariners some time in 2006, given his ongoing development march. If he has a good Spring it could be early. Otherwise he'll be tuning up in Tacoma for another season. We rank him at 38 in the Yin and Yang of baseball's FAB50 because there is a realistic possibility that he'll be spending one more year with us, moving him down the priority line from other more immediate career launches.

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