Sunday May 27th, 2012

Sam Evans: Oakland Athletics prospect Michael Choice was drafted by the A’s 10^th overall in the 2010 MLB Amateur draft. Looking back at the pick, most of the players drafted before Choice have risen quicker through their respective systems, but Choice still looks like a nice selection by Billy Beane and his scouting department. Michael Choice has 70 grade power, so even though his tools are raw, it’s hard not to like a future All-Star.

Michael Choice was born in 1989 in Forth Worth, Texas. Being a young Texan outfielder with power projection, it must be pretty difficult to go unnoticed out high school. Nonetheless, Choice was under the radar coming out of high school and he eventually ended up at the University of Texas-Arlington. At Texas-Arlington, Choice began to turn some heads. In three college seasons, or 175 games, Choice hit thirty-four homers and had a batting average over .375 in all three years.  His junior year at Texas-Arlington, in 2010, Choice drew seventy-six walks and he only struck out fifty-four times.

Coming into the draft, Choice was considered by most as a top fifteen prospect, so the A’s selecting him at #10 didn’t surprise many. The player that went before Choice, Karsten Whitson did not sign. The player that went after Choice, Deck McGuire, is a little overrated in my opinion, but he has reached Double-A already in the Toronto organization.

Michael Choice is about 6’0’’ 210 pounds. He hits from the right side of the plate, and he’s considered a great athlete, by all measures. The 70 power grade (on the 20-80 scale) has been casually given to Choice by the majority of scouts. His defense is considered decent but most see him playing right field in the end.

Michael Choice may be a fairly speedy outfielder right now, but I think his speed will disappear in a couple of years. My reasoning behind this is that he has a large frame, and as he naturally gets stronger and adds weight over the next couple of years, he is going to lose speed. However, many big-bodied corner outfielders have proven that a large corner outfielder can cover just as much ground as one with a smaller frame. Jay Bruce is a big corner outfielder that plays good outfield defense that comes to mind.

In 2011, Choice’s first full season in the minors, he proved that other aspects of his game are farther along than we thought. Not only did Choice hit for power, but he also drew walks at a good rate, and hit for a solid average. In 118 games at High-A, Choice hit thirty homers, had an 11.3 BB%, and batted .285. All of a sudden, Choice rose to the top of most Oakland prospect rankings.

In 2012, I think the Athletics are making a somewhat aggressive move by starting Choice at Double-A. He still has a lot of areas he can improve in his game, and I would have liked to see him get half of a season at High-A to continue to work on those areas of development. Not to mention, the Athletics currently have a logjam in their outfield in the upper minors and majors. With Oakland not planning on contending anytime soon, there is no reason to rush Choice.

The other side of this argument is that Choice is twenty-two years old. He wasn’t drafted out of high school, and he put up great numbers in the lower minors, so why shouldn’t he deserve a promotion? I tend to side with the first argument just because I think Choice is still pretty raw, and he probably could have improved his strikeout rate, and plate approach, if he spent another year at High-A.

Speaking of plate approach, Choice is very interesting when it comes to strikeouts and walks. Despite his tremendous walk rates (he has never posted a BB% under 11 in the minors), Choice has problems with containing his number of strikeouts. He can get out in front of pitches, and he has a lot of swing and miss in his swing.

I’m not actually that worried about Choice and his strikeout issues in the future. Almost every prospect that has 70 power is going to have some swing and miss in their swing. While it would be nice to see Choice cut down on the strikeouts, it is not critical for his success at the major league level. However, if Choice turns into the next Delmon Young, and his projected power never really comes into play at the major league level, he’ll be in a lot of trouble.

In 2012, Choice is hitting .250/.338/.328 in just forty-six games. Even though that makes his season look disappointing, he really has not been as bad as the numbers suggest. His walk and strikeout rates are in-line with his career totals, and it’s just too early in the season to make a judgment on his success. Apparently, the Oakland minor league coaches are working with Choice on making some adjustments to his swing that they see necessary. While it’s not a good idea to mess with his swing too much, if they can get Choice on track for major league success by making minor adjustments, that is big news.

Overall, I think Choice is going to hit about .270 with thirty homers per year in the majors. With the right coaches and staff around him, the A’s should be able to turn this twenty-two year old into a superstar. The tools are there, now Choice just has to continue to display them. Looking back at the 2010 draft, it is still too early to form a conclusion, but Choice looks like a solid pick for an Oakland organization deprived of enough talented young position players.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Sam Evans.  We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers.  You can also follow Sam on Twitter***

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