Mariners prospect Ji-Man Choi hit .298 in 66 games with the 2012 Clinton LumberKings.

Seattle Mariners prospect Ji-Man Choi was named the Australian Baseball League player of the week after hitting .350 (7-for-20) with 2 HR and 5 RBI during the last week of December.

Choi, a first baseman, is hitting .326 with 5 HR and 17 RBI through 24 games in the ABL. The Korea native hit .298 with 8 HR and 43 RBI in 66 games with the Clinton LumberKings in 2012.

Hernandez wins VWL batting title

Miami Marlins OF Gorkys Hernandez won the batting title in his native Venezuela this offseason. His .367 batting average was best among qualifiers when the Venezuelan Winter League’s regular season ended December 30.

Hernandez was the Midwest League’s MVP in 2007, when he hit .293 with 4 HR, 50 RBI and 54 SB in 124 games with the West Michigan Whitecaps. Great Lakes Loons pitcher Clayton Kershaw was the league’s prospect of the year that season.

(Fun fact: Only one other Whitecaps player has been named Midwest League MVP — Robert Fick in 1997, the same year his West Michigan teammate Francisco Cordero was named the league’s prospect of the year.)

Canzler returns to Indians

Two weeks ago, infielder Russ Canzler was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays after being designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians. The exact opposite happened today, as the Indians took him back from the Blue Jays via the waiver wire.

Canzler hit .270 with 7 HR, 54 RBI and 12 SB in 125 games with the 2007 Peoria Chiefs.

To clear a roster spot for Canzler’s return, the Indians designated RHP Jeanmar Gomez for assignment. Gomez pitched for the Lake County Captains in 2007 when the team was still part of the South Atlantic League. He went 11-7 with a 4.80 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 140.2 IP that year.

Happy birthday, Edgar Martinez!

Mariners great Edgar Martinez turned 50 today. He hit .303 with 15 HR and 66 RBI in 126 games with the 1984 Wausau Timbers.

In 2,055 major-league games, Martinez hit .312 with 2,247 hits, 309 HR and 1,261 RBI, mostly as a designated hitter. The two-time batting champ finished his career with a .418 on-base percentage; since World War II, that’s a better career OBP than all players except Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle and Frank Thomas.

Fox Cities Stadium renovation

Fox Cities Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, is being renovated this offseason. You can see photos and video of the project in progress on the Rattler Radio blog.

Fox Cities Stadium renovation photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers