Good Choice, A’s.
Haha, yeah, pun intended…
I’m certainly not the first to use wordplay after the Oakland Athletics’ selection of UT-Arlington outfielder Michael Choice with the tenth pick of the first round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Just 20 years old, the college star will, if signed, bring one of the most potent college bats around to the A’s system.
A true slugger with arguably the best power in the entire draft, Choice batted .413/.494/.644 in 2009, with 11 homers. He followed that up by hitting .383/.568/.704 as a junior, bashing 16 homers and walking an unbelievable 76 times in just 60 games.
If you’re having flashes of Moneyball with that walks and power skillset, you have a fair point—Choice certainly profiles well with Billy Beane’s approach to drafting. However, he is also an athletic player who played center field in college and will at the very least be a solid corner outfielder defensively. Choice stole 12 bases in 16 attempts as well.
The A’s have plenty of young pitching, and they always seem to find more, so getting a guy who profiles a bit like Matt Holliday is huge. With Kurt Suzuki, Grant Green, Jemile Weeks, Adrian Cardenas, Josh Donaldson, Max Stassi, and many other young talents in the A’s system being middle-of-the-diamond players, it made sense to get an outfielder or third baseman who projected as more of a run producer.
That’s exactly who the A’s got. It’s a day to rejoice for Oakland fans.
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