CLEVELAND — Shin-Soo Choo is beginning to state his case.
One of a number of young Indians trying to play their way into starting spots next year, Choo has picked up steam at the plate, where he’s hitting .351 with five home runs and 17 RBIs over his last 21 games.
His recent surge continued Sunday via a 2-for-4 performance, which included his ninth homer of the season and second in two days — third in the last four games.
The 26-year-old South Korean, who is batting .276 with 42 RBIs in 72 games for the Indians, appears to be beyond the reconstructive surgery performed on his left elbow in September of last year.
“He looks a lot more comfortable,” said manager Eric Wedge, who has been playing Choo on close to a fulltime basis in either right or left field. “He’s been pretty consistent for us for some time now.”
It’s come at a good time for Choo. He is vying for playing time with two other young outfielders in Ben Francisco and Franklin Gutierrez, plus another in veteran David Dellucci, who is under contract through 2009.
Choo has outplayed all but Francisco, and he’s gaining on him as the regular season pulls into its final month.

Top-shelf efforts

The Indians had two starting pitchers among the American Leaders in ERA for the month of August.
Cliff Lee, who leads the league with a 2.43 ERA overall, was second to Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano (1.23) with a 1.86 ERA in August, while Anthony Reyes was fourth with a 2.01 ERA.

Next up

The Indians wrap up their six-game homestand with a three-game series against the White Sox that begins tonight at 7:05.
Lee (19-2, 2.43) opens the set for Cleveland, opposing LHP Clayton Richard (2-2, 6.33).
Fausto Carmona (7-5, 4.50) goes for the Indians on Tuesday (7:05) against LHP John Danks (10-7, 3.30), while Jeremy Sowers (2-7, 5.92) pitches the series finale Wednesday (12:05) against RHP Javier Vazquez (10-12, 4.38).
Cleveland is 3-9 against Chicago this season.

Minor details

Double-A Akron’s Wes Hodges, who was recently named Eastern League rookie of the year, added another achievement to the list Saturday in the Aeros’ 7-5 win at Erie, setting a new club record with his 97th RBI. Hodges, a second-round pick in the 2006 draft, entered Sunday with more RBIs than any other Cleveland minor leaguer.
• Hodges will have a new teammate in catcher Carlos Santana, who was promoted from Class A Kinston on Sunday. Santana was acquired in the Casey Blake trade with the Dodgers and has hit .330 with 20 homers and 115 RBIs in 128 games at the Single-A level, leading all minor league baseball with 122 runs.

Minor trade

The Indians dealt Triple-A Buffalo infielder Jorge Velandia to Tampa Bay on Sunday for cash considerations.
Velandia, a veteran of 16 professional seasons (eight in the majors), was claimed off waivers from Toronto in June, spending the majority of this year at the Triple-A level with the Jays and Indians. He appeared in seven games for Cleveland, going 3-for-8 with a double and a run.

Roundin’ third

The Indians entered Sunday with the fourth-best record in the majors (28-16) since July 10. They are 16-6 since Aug. 8.
• On Saturday, Grady Sizemore became the first AL player to record 30 home runs, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in a single season. He is the first player in Indians history to accomplish the feat.
• The Indians aren’t expected to begin calling up players from the minors until Tuesday, a day after Buffalo’s regular season ends.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

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