Choi swinging freely, trying to earn job
PHOENIX - Early aggressiveness has been paying off so far for Ji-Man Choi.
Facing long odds to make the Milwaukee Brewers' opening-day roster, the first baseman-outfielder nevertheless opened Cactus League play swinging a hot bat, collecting hits in each of the team's first three games.
"This spring camp is a little bit earlier than past seasons, and I actually thought I wasn’t ready enough," Choi said on Monday through interpreter Daniel Cho. "But I saw the first game that a lot of players were behind on balls. "So I thought, ‘Be early on them.’ "Manager Craig Counsell has liked his approach.
"He’s impressed early," he said."The quality of his at-bats has been impressive."
Choi, 26, is a non-roster invitee playing in his third different major-league camp in three springs. He made his major-league debut with the Angels in 2016 and then played briefly for the New York Yankees last season before signing as a free agent with the Brewers on Jan. 15.
A .181 hitter with seven home runs and 17 runs batted in over 60 total majorleague games, Choi attracted Milwaukee's interest with a strong 2017 for the Yankees' Class AAA affiliate at Scranton-Wilkes Barre that included a .288 average, 15 homers and 69 RBI over 87 games.
Choi hit his first homer of the spring on Sunday, a two-run shot that helped the Brewers down the Arizona Diamondbacks, and his left-handed power should play well at what will likely be his initial stop this year at Class AAA Colorado Springs.
"When I first started playing, I was always told that I was a contact hitter and that’s where my specialty was," said Choi, who went 0 for 2 against the Cleveland Indians on Monday. "I always felt like I needed to get stronger and more powerful, and I’ve been able to increase my strength over time."
While Choi has played exclusively at first base so far this spring, he remains fourth in the pecking order there behind Eric Thames, Ryan Braun and Jesús Aguilar. He'll see some action in left field as well, but the Brewers are even more well-stocked there.
Taking his time: Braun played for the first time this spring Monday but it was in left field, not first base, the position he is trying to learn.
“They wanted me in the infield,” Braun said. “I said, ‘I need a couple more days. I don’t quite know what I’m doing yet. I don’t know the footwork; I don’t know any of the bunt plays or first-and-third plays.’
“I’ll figure all these plays out and get comfortable. The footwork is not that easy. Fielding ground balls is not an issue. There are times in the shift you are so far from first base, that it’s awkward literally trying to find the bag. I’ve never done it before. There’s a lot of stuff I’m trying to figure out. I’m trying to get a crash course in it as quickly as I can.”
Braun is enjoying the challenge of a new position. At the same time, he is trying to be careful with is his lower back. Two years ago, he had surgery to repair a herniated disc.
“The biggest challenge is making sure I can take 50-100 ground balls a day and it doesn’t hurt my back,” Braun said. “My back is something I’m always concerned about and trying to do maintenance work on. It’s just a different challenge physically, bending over and taking 100 ground balls a day, vs. running in the outfield.
“In the long run, it’s a lot easier at first base physically than I think it is in the outfield. But, near-term, it’s a new challenge because it’s an extra hundred times a day that you’re bending over, doing squats, all that stuff, which does take a toll on the body.”
Different program: Candidates for the starting rotation are working on a different schedule from the traditional every-five-days of the season. Instead, pitchers are going in shorter bursts with fewer days in between.
“It’s just something D.J. (pitching coach Derek Johnson) likes to do to get them started,” Counsell said. “It’s really about putting a base under them, and how we start their throwing program.
“Instead of giving them four days off right away, we start smaller with less days off. Just because they’re a starter, you don’t have to sit out four days after you pitch an inning. We’re shattering that (tradition) a little bit.”
In the end, it will all work out to have the rotation ready to pitch for the season, Counsell assured.
“We’re going to get to the same place, I promise,” Counsell said.
One thing evident from the pitchers on hand is the depth the Brewers are building, both at the top level and in the minors. Beyond rookie candidates such as Brandon Woodruff and Aaron Wilkerson, prospects such as Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, Luis Ortiz and Marcos Diplan are showing what they’ve got in their first big-league camp.
“I do think we’re in a pretty good position with our depth right now, if you’re looking at what our depth might be,” Counsell said. “I think we’re in a pretty good spot. I do feel like we’re going to have some good choices (if a starter needs to be summoned)."