Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
September 20, 2004

Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Kinsler slugs his way to prospect status in Texas organization
September 21, 2004

Few minor league players had as big of a breakout season as the one just concluded by Texas Ranger shortstop Ian Kinsler.

The 22-year-old Arizona native barely registered as a blip on the prospect radar after his debut season in short season ball in 2003. But he ended the year as one of the most highly-regarded middle infield prospects, not just in the Rangers organization, but in all of minor league baseball.

Ian Kinsler

Coming on the heels of a modest .277/.352/.410 season in the Northwest League, Kinsler overwhelmed Midwest League pitching during the first half of 2004, batting .402/.465/.692 with 11 homeruns and 16 stolen bases for Texas’ Low A affiliate in Clinton.

Barely into June, Kinsler was already being heralded as a premiere prospect. Was the right-handed hitter surprised at his performance?

“Absolutely,” replied Kinsler. “I knew I could do it … it was just a matter of when. A lot of things came together this year and I’m happy where I’m at.”

An injury to former first round choice Drew Meyer opened a roster spot with AA Frisco, and the Rangers were not hesitant to challenge Kinsler with a leap to their Texas League team.

In one of his first games with Frisco, Kinsler went deep off Houston Astros left-hander Andy Pettitte, re-habbing an injury with Round Rock.

“I had a lot of confidence at the time,” said Kinsler, “and I think that’s what helped with that At Bat. I felt like I could hit anyone at that point. He got behind me 2-0 … he gave me a fastball to hit and I got good wood on it.”

Kinsler spent the rest of the year with the Frisco RoughRiders, maintaining the pace that he’d kept all season. He hit .300/.400/.480 with 15 homers in 277 At Bats.

To what does Kinsler attribute his astonishing success in his second pro season?

“A bunch of hard work,” he answered. “Wanting to succeed at what I do and wanting to be better … I haven’t changed anything physically, or my swing or the way I catch or throw. It’s been a lot of hard work and learning about the game.”

What makes Kinsler’s story even more compelling are the challenges that he’s had to overcome in his life.

“I’ve had asthma my whole life,” Kinsler discussed candidly. “That was tough when I was younger. I woke up a lot and couldn’t breathe and had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. It kind of held me back from athletics.”

Kinsler has gotten his condition relatively under control as he’s gotten older.

“I still have it but I control it,” he continued. “Now I use an atomizer or an inhaler. When I was younger I used this breathing machine … I hated that thing. I always wanted to run around and be active.”

Kinsler first began to take baseball seriously in high school, when he played for the powerful Canyon del Oro High School team in Tucson, Arizona. Among his teammates at “CDO” were Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Scott Hairston, Chicago White Sox #1 draft choice Brian Anderson, San Diego State closer Ryan Shroyer, and brothers Chris and Shelley Duncan, sons of St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan and now in the minor leagues with the Cardinals and Yankees, respectively.

Ian Kinsler

While it was a good environment in which to play baseball, it also had its disadvantages for Kinsler.

“That was tough for me just because I was always overlooked,” he said. “With all those powerful guys … I wasn’t one of those guys. But it turned out for the best … it’s helped me fight through some tough times.”

After leaving Canyon del Oro, Kinsler took a circuitous route to pro ball. He first played collegiately at Central Arizona College, before transferring for his sophomore year to Arizona State University. The ASU team had future All-American Dustin Pedroia at shortstop, keeping Kinsler on the bench for much of the season. He then transferred to the University of Missouri for his final college season before being selected by Texas in the 17th round of the 2003 draft.

Kinsler has impressed the Texas organization enough to earn an invitation to participate in the Arizona Fall League, considered to be organized baseball’s top development league, this off-season.

“One of my biggest goals is just to be able to keep what I’ve got going, offensively” said Kinsler about the upcoming AFL season. “Defensively, maybe learn a new position … I can maybe better myself and make myself more valuable to the Rangers.”

Despite his success this season, Kinsler confides that he still has plenty of room for improvement.

“I’ve been pretty consistent with the bat,” he remarked, “but I know I can get better. I’m pretty good defensively, but you can always get more consistent as far as making throws to first, slowing the game down a little bit, not trying to get the ball out of my glove too fast … things like that.”

“If I can just become more consistent,” concluded Kinsler, “it will help me get to the next level.”

--- Bill Mitchell