Can a ballplayer batting .239 be valuable? That's a question of perception that an old dog has had to learn in a brave new world. It turns out a ballplayer batting .239 can be surprisingly valuable if his name is Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers. The batting average turns out to be misleading because of all the other things that Ian Kinsler does very well.
For one, he's a very good fielder. Kinsler's fielding is currently ranked third for second basemen in all of the majors behind Dustin Pedroia and Howie Kendrick. Aided by a strong first step, Kinsler has excellent range and has made only seven errors while making 32 plays outside of his range this season. He's also improved making double plays, an area that was weaker for him in past seasons. His play combined with Elvis Andrus at short gives the Rangers terrific fielding up the middle, just where you want your fielding to be strong.
Kinsler is also one of those rare players that walks more than he strikes out. H...
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