Acquired: Selected by Rangers in 2003 draft (17thround)
Current Team: Frisco RoughRiders - Texas League - AA
Shortstop Ian Kinsler was flying below most teams' radar screens in 2003. He was a 17th round draft pickout of the University of Missouri.
The Texas Rangers picked up Kinsler largely for his talents on defense.
It looks like Texas got the steal of the draft.
Kinsler is the best hitting shortstop in minor league baseball thus far in 2004, easily dominating the Midwest League.
As of June 15, Kinsler led the ML in practically every offensive category, including a .402 batting average, 11 HR, and 52 RBI for the Clinton Lumber Kings.
He was slugging a huge .692 with a .465 on base percentage and 155 total bases. Ian also showed some speed on the base paths by stealing 16 of those bags.
A promotion to Double-A Frisco has done nothing to quiet Kinsler’s bat. He homered in his second Texas League game and is hitting .429 (9-21) for the Rough Riders.
If he keeps hitting at this pace, and can continue showing defensive prowess in the AA, he may well be on his way to the AAA before long. He glides in quietly on to MLN's FAB50 at no. 14.
