Choi Sticks With What Works — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

TEMPE, Ariz.—An intriguing candidate for a bench job caught the eye of manager Mike Scioscia early in camp, and it had nothing to do with his catchy name: Ji-Man Choi.

The South Korean first baseman, whom the Angels selected in the Rule 5 draft, has shown good mobility and soft hands around the bag, a solid approach at the plate and the instincts and adaptability to play left field.

Choi, who batted lefthanded for the first five seasons of his pro career, also impressed the Angels early in camp with his ability to hit from the right side after taking up switch-hitting in the middle of 2015.

“I was talking with my batting coach and said, ‘Why don’t I try (to switch-hit) to increase my value in the big leagues,’ ” said Choi, 24, speaking through a translator, referring to Howard Johnson, his Triple-A Tacoma hitting coach in 2015. “I did, and it worked so well, I kept doing it.”

But the more the Angels saw of Choi’s short, lefthanded stroke, the less they liked his righthanded swing, which tends to get a little long and loopy. Therefore, the Angels asked him to bat exclusively from the left side.

“We feel he’s much more confident, and his swing is much more advanced, from the left side,” Scioscia said.

The Mariners signed Choi in July 2009 and he remained with the organization until he reached minor league free agency last November. The Orioles signed him on Nov. 24, but lost him to Los Angeles a few weeks later at the Winter Meetings.

A career .302 hitter in the minors, Choi has logged 400 plate appearances at Tacoma the past three seasons, batting .280/.379/.401. He declared his health to be “100 percent” this spring after being limited to 97 games in 2014 and 2015 because of a broken fibula in his right leg and a 50-game drug suspension.

If Choi doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, the Rule 5 pick must be waived and, if he clears, offered back to the Orioles.

ANGEL FOOD

• Lefthander Nate Smith, the top pitching prospect in the system, endured a rough start to big league camp, allowing eight runs on 11 hits in 41/3 innings.

• Outfielder Andrew Brown, who spent last season in Korea, retired to spend more time with his family. He appeared in 144 big league games across four seasons with the Cardinals (2011), Rockies (2012) and Mets (2013-14).