Mariner Minors
Something's come up and as a result I'm not going to be able to finish up the batter analysis today. That should come late Sunday at the very earliest.
Unfortunately, I can't provide any substitute content either. FOXSports.com is all the way up to 61 in their top 100 prospects and there hasn't been a single Mariners prospect yet. They can't all be ranked that high... or can they?
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SECA
Just when you thought it was safe, I have more numbers to throw at you. Then again, I was fairly certain it was safe as well. The batters get the treament again this time. I've got my CD player on, let's rock and/or roll (though this will be posted in pieces, as usual).
SECA is another Bill James formula, short for secondary average, it looks similar to a batting average, but measures the power, speed, and patience of a batter. Higher numbers are better, hall of famers tend to have career SECAs that run above .400. Mantle was .479, Gehrig .481 (credit to Brad at No Pepper for those examples).
The commonly used formula for SECA runs like this: (Total Bases - Hits + Walks + Stolen Bases - Caught Stealing) / (At Bats). As you can see, it's considerably less complicated compared to the RC formula, so if you're less than sabermetrically inclined, you should still be able to appreciate some of this.
Again, the formulas are not flawless. If you thought RC hurt catchers, this eats them alive, because they have developing power and little speed. Take their rankings with a grain of salt.
The league average SECA are as follows:
AAA Pacific Coast League .257
AA Texas League .243
A+ California League .259
A Midwest League .230
A- Northwest League .253
R Arizona League .189
The dividing line between above and below average for any league will be denoted by the traditional dashed line.
Tacoma Rainiers
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Borders, Pat 41 C 293 .287
Strong, Jamal 25 OF 210 .257
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#Lopez, Mickey 30 2B 455 .235
Castillo, Ruben 25 SS 337 .128
San Antonio Missions
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Leone, Justin 27 3B 455 .486
*Zapp, A.J. 25 1B 528 .305
Lindsey, John 27 DH 307 .254
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Lopez, Jose 20 SS 538 .214
*Bubela, Jaime 25 OF 473 .214
#Ugueto, Luis 25 IF 350 .174
Horner, Jim 30 C 254 .169
*Guzman, Elpidi 27 OF 475 .168
*Snelling, Chri 22 OF 186 .145
*Gandolfo, Rob 26 2B 157 .140
Maynard, Scott 27 C 237 .131
Inland Empire 66ers
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Brown, Hunter 24 3B 452 .341
*Jacobs, Greg 27 OF 347 .337
*Choo, Shin Soo 21 OF 412 .299
*Delucchi, Dust 26 OF 312 .279
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Guerrero, Crist 23 OF 311 .244
Bastida-Martine 25 2B 288 .194
Collins, Chris 22 C 199 .171
Oliveros, Luis 20 C 322 .158
#Castro, Ismael 20 2B 327 .141
Menchaca, Eribe 23 SS 331 .091
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Hagen, Matt 24 3B 450 .331
Bohn, T.J. 24 OF 471 .323
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Harrington, Cor 23 UT 353 .221
Nelson, Jon 24 1B 537 .216
*Harris, Gary 24 OF 526 .211
Rivera, Rene 20 C 407 .206
Merritt, Tim 24 2B 339 .195
*Arroyo, Carlos 23 OF 359 .189
Garciaparra, Mi 21 SS 440 .155
Everett Aquasox
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
#Bradford Jr. 22 OF 184 .321
*Womack, Josh 20 OF 155 .310
Colton, Chris 21 OF 250 .296
Blakely, Eric 24 IF 195 .267
Cox, Michael 23 3B 175 .257
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Ellison, Josh 20 OF 182 .242
*Dutton, Jeremy 23 3B 245 .220
Orlandos, Nick 23 2B 265 .174
Lentz, Brian 24 C 106 .170
*Lahair, Bryan 21 1B 201 .159
#Navarro, Oswal 19 SS 233 .159
Split-time
Name Age Pos. Levels AB SECA
*Metheny, Brent 23 IF R, A 181 .293
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*Rogelstad, Mat 21 SS R, A-, A+, AAA 161 .112
Peoria Mariners
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Balentien, Wlad 19 OF 187 .503
*Craig, Casey 19 OF 142 .275
*Sandel, George 23 2B 205 .273
Schweiger, Bria 21 C 125 .256
#Wilson, Michae 20 OF 177 .249
Hymon, James 23 UT 115 .237
Soto, Luis 20 1B 118 .203
Cruz, Elvis 20 OF 156 .199
Ozoria, Pedro 20 3B 141 .191
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Quintero, Caesa 21 C 96 .188
*Wu, Chao 19 C 86 .186
Jones, Adam 18 SS 109 .147
Dominican
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
Cruz, Reynaldo 21 1B 153 .307
Castillo, Arami ? OF 115 .261
Pimentel, Manel ? 1B 163 .258
Bonilla, Leury ? 3B 90 .233
Thomas, Fernan ? 1B 94 .213
Lugo, Henry ? SS 202 .203
Rustan, Gerdal ? 2B 191 .183
Tejada, Pedro ? 2B 139 .137
Ruiz, Donato ? OF 119 .134
Fernandez, Har ? 1B 100 .130
Guaremato, Edg ? OF 172 .128
Mejia, Jose ? 1B 115 .113
Hernandez, Eddy ? OF 158 .089
Venezuela
Name Age Pos. AB SECA
#Guzman, Jesus 19 3B 206 .306
Quesada, Jorge 21 OF 125 .272
Mudarain, Carlo 19 1B 88 .261
*Valbuena, Luis 18 2B 167 .251
Graterol, Jose 19 OF 203 .227
Garth, Ronald 19 IF 177 .226
Pacheo, Livio 20 OF 174 .213
*Avila, Gerardo 17 1B 149 .188
#Cabrera, Asdr 18 SS 198 .182
Marun, Fajith 20 C 106 .142
Pinto, Manuel 18 OF 97 .103
Quick Notes:
* (blank stare, slack jaw) ...call up Leone. A stronger case I cannot make. That's just sick.
*Lopez, considering he'll be 20 to start the 2004 season, had a pretty impressive SECA in AA.
*This SECA formula indicates that Hunter Brown is a far better hitter than one would think at first glance. Perhaps the best is yet to come from him. Same theory applying to Matt Hagen.
*Again, T.J. Bohn, I must stress, will be a player to watch next year.
*By contrast, I have concerns about Jon Nelson. He has no plate discipline, at all. Lots of power, no plate discipline.
*Womack's looking like he'll live up to the standard of being a second round pick. Excellent all around player.
*Contrast: Cox and Dutton split duties at 3B last year for Everett, and while at first glance it would appear that Cox was horrible (below Mendoza is not good), he was barely above average in SECA. And he can play defense, which Dutton apparently can't. Therefore, the overall nod goes to Cox, hopefully he'll do better next season.
*Balentien. In addition to this, which really speaks for itself, I'm going to add some things I've found out recently. The old AZL HR record was around 11 or 12, Balentien had 16. Secondly, I've talked with Jason at ITP about this, and he says that the Mariners front office is certain that the year on Balentien's visa is correct. His age is going to be within 11 months of what is listed now. I think Balentien easily could become one of the top prospects in the minor leagues in a short amount of time. His power is off the charts. He still needs to strike out less and adjust to offspeed pitches, but at his age, who doesn't?
*If you didn't believe me when I told you the Seattle Dominican team was a mess before, you ought to now. That said, I'd venture to say Jose Mejia was one of the catchers, Harry Fernandez may have been another.
*The VSL tends to do a number on power hitters. As I've stated before, the most HR allowed by any pitcher in the entire VSL was 4. For that reason, I'd say Guzman's numbers are more impressive than they would seem and he has the potential to become the top 3B in the system with a good showing in the US this year.
*After this round of calculations, I was considering wrapping it up on a lighter note by making a Family Guy / Peter Griffin reference and claiming that math was nothing more than the... sister of biology. But I figured that that would offend someone somewhere and I don't care to explain that it was a joke. Hardcore Family Guy fans will tell you exactly what sister math is to biology.
For my next trick, I will go through the long process that is calculating league average SECA for the AZL. Then I will take these numbers, compare them to the RC numbers, and form a comprehensive guide to the batters with the highest potential in the Mariners farm system.
As for the pitchers, well, sadly, I can't find the data to calculate their league average WHIP or K/BB, and I really don't want to do the work to run those manually. If someone could find me the league data for pitchers in all the leagues, I'd be happy to figure out the rest.
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K/BB charts, part two: the revenge
You know the drill, so I'll cut right to it.
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
Soto, Darwin 22 A 64.2 2.77 10.02 4
*Key, Chris 26 AA, A+ 75 2.60 4.68 1
*Nunez, Jose. A 25 AA, A+ 20.2 2.33 6.10 1
Buglovsky, Chr 24 AA 158.1 1.25 4.26 10
Quick Notes:
*I'm liking the Darwin Soto pick more and more. Good control, strikes out batters, keeps men off base, room for improved velocity; the Padres really weren't getting the most out of him.
*Remember what I said about Nunez needing to dominate in the majors as well as in the minors? Major league K/BB? 2.31. Minor league K/BB? 4.00. His major league WHIP is .28 higher as well. He's not getting any younger; this year, this ST even, may eventually determine whether Nunez is a major league or a AAAA pitcher.
*Bug's career K/BB is around 2.03; 2.42 if you discount last year. He got hammered in AA, which skews things a bit. He seems to be capable of being an effective pitcher, given the right circumstances.
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WHIP Charts, part two: the revenge
These are the WHIP calculations for the few newly acquired pitchers.
Name Age Levels IP H BB WHIP
*Nunez, Jose A. 25 AA, A+ 20.2 18 6 1.16
Soto, Darwin 22 A 64.2 53 26 1.22
*Key, Chris 26 AA, A+ 75 81 15 1.28
Buglovsky, Chr 24 AA 158.1 204 60 1.67
Quick Notes:
*Nunez is one of those players that can't seem to translate minor league success into the majors. He was a good signing, still fairly young, and is one of many candidates for second lefty.
*Soto has been floating around in the lower levels of the Padres minor league system for the past five years. He got a cup of coffee in AAA, but otherwise has not pitched higher than A-ball. Why he ended up doing repeat time in the AZL, the NWL, and MWL is a mystery to me. He apparently has a live arm, with the potential to add more velocity, and is a fastball, sinker, slider-type pitcher.
*Key was considered a "sleeper pick" from the rule V draft, he was an uncharacteristic acquisition by the Mariners because instead of having any interesting pitches to speak of, he doesn't have a lot of velocity, and merely gets guys out. Key has a 1.97 ERA over four seasons and has only walked 38 batters in 313 innings pitched.
*Buglovsky has the distinction of being the guy the M's received in exchange for Allan Simpson and an open roster spot. Simpson had velocity and the ability to close from time to time. Bug doesn't seem to have much of anything (career WHIP: 1.42) and was mostly a punching bag in the Texas League this year. But he is younger. They're planning on utilizing him in relief roles this year to see if he can be more effective there. Couldn't hurt.
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Ian Levin, a fellow new writer at
ITP, has sent me this e-mail regarding the BA Top 10 Prospects, due to arrive soon (I thought they were ranking them in a random order, but as it turns out, no AL West team has been ranked yet). I'll let it speak for itself...
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...Baseball America hasn't come out with their M's top 10 yet obviously but I think I know who is going to be #1.
In the most recent Baseball America magazine there is a small blurb about the next issue. It says:
"Next issue: Our Top 10 Prospects lists wrap up with the American League West, which includes our youngest No. 1 prospect..."
Now, considering that BJ Upton is the DRay's #1 and he is 19, this mystery player must be younger than 19. The A's dont have anyone that young, neither do the Rangers. And the Angels top prospects are no younger than 20. That leaves just Felix Hernandez.
I find this surprising considering BA doesn't often list the very young players because so much could go wrong. However, this list must be compiled strictly on long-term potential. And if thats the case, their top 100 probably includes Felix in the top 10, maybe top 5...
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Of course, this is the same BA that listed Ryan Anderson as the top Mariners prospect from 1998 to 2002.
I'll admit, I wasn't too certain about CreativeSports putting Felix as their #1, but getting this kind of credibility from Baseball America is a far different thing, even if it is just based on potential. Even the Mariners scouting department have said before, based on potential, that if Felix had gone through the first-year player draft, he could have easily been the number one overall pick. He doesn't even turn 18 until April, and was already dominant over college level players. The kid is really going to be something, and for that reason, the M's are probably going to be very careful with his pitch counts and monitoring his arm. Still, don't be surprised if he ends up fast-tracked to the majors, where some would say he could pitch now and still be effective. Imagine the rotation a few years down the road: RHP Joel Pineiro, RHP Gil Meche, RHP Clint Nageotte, LHP Travis Blackley, RHP Felix Hernandez. That's definately going to strike some fear into the hearts of the rest of the league.
Thanks for the info, Ian.
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Following up with another prospect list, this time from
BaseballHQ. I don't have a subscription there, but M.O. hooked me up with the top 100 listed prospects anyway.
38. Clint Nageotte (RHP, SEA)
47. Chris Snelling (OF, SEA)
72. Jose Lopez (SS/2B, SEA)
93. Travis Blackley (LHP, SEA)
95. Shin-Soo Choo (OF, SEA)
Quick Notes:
*Lopez is described as having great instincts and being capable of playing second, third, or shortstop. Right now, I don't see Lopez as being a 3B, even though he's a little big for his position; 3B seems more likely to be filled by Leone or Dobbs for now with possibly Flaig or Guzman there in the future. Other than that the only other shortstops the would seem to challenge him for a spot would be Jones, who hasn't yet played a full season, or Garciaparra, who makes a ton of errors and has yet to live up to expectations. I think that SS is Lopez's position to keep for now, with one of the runner-ups or Ismael Castro taking second.
My next big stunt is going be to get the WHIP and K/BB up for the newly acquired pitchers. Of course (fortunately), there haven't been a lot of those this year. Total, I think I'll have Chris Buglovsky, Chris Key, Jose A. Nunez, and Darwin Soto to run calculations for. Since I don't do Indy League signings, RHP Ricky Guttormson (27), LHP Sam Goure (26), LHP Melvin Pizarro (26), and RHP Julien Tucker (31) aren't going to be on that list. But I can say that I seriously doubt the ability of Pizarro to make any sort of impact on anything, ever, unless the scouting department knows something I don't. I can't expect much from the guy who set the Atlantic League record for most consecutive losses at ten, I believe.
On an unrelated note, I'm writing a bit for
ITP now. I wrote a hot news piece on RHP Aaron Thorne and the other recent Australian signings. My next gig is to write a short article on this year's crop of NRI and possible minor league impact players (Leone!). I have no specific timetable for that though, because I'll be gone this weekend and have lost sleep talking prospects with Jason, a fellow writer for ITP, who seems to have seen every single prospect of interest and then some.
ITP is anticipating that their site's going to take off this coming year, and will probably be THE resource for Mariners minor league info fairly soon. I suggest you check it out. Also, check out the Tacoma Rainiers this year, because most of the top prospects will be there and there's goign to be a major league caliber pitching staff on a AAA team. Chances are, you might run into me, or some of the other ITP guys too, down there on a fairly regular basis.
I've also added some new links to the sidebar, one to InsideThePark and the other to Dead Reckoning, which is our new resource for blog updates and news stories. If I haven't added your blog yet, please don't take it personally, just e-mail me about it and I'll be sure to add you. I just find it hard to keep track of every Mariners blog (eighteen listed on baseballblogs.org alone), so again, props to Dead Reckoning.
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Now reviewing, the
On Deck Baseball Future 500
35. Clint Nageotte, RHP, Mariners
56. Felix Hernandez, RHP, Mariners
76. Chris Snelling, OF, Mariners
77. Jose Lopez, SS, Mariners
93. Travis Blackley, LHP, Mariners
165. Ryan Christianson, C, Mariners
168. Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Mariners
173. Rett Johnson, RHP, Mariners
174. Cha Seung Baek, RHP, Mariners
198. Wladimir Balentien, OF, Mariners
200. Ryan Anderson, LHP, Mariners
346. Jeff Flaig, 3B, Mariners
377. Miguel Martinez, LHP, Mariners
381. Ryan Feierabend, LHP, Mariners
383. Adam Jones, SS, Mariners
426. Jesus Guzman, 3B, Mariners
455. Ryan Ketchner, LHP, Mariners
457. Emiliano Fruto, RHP, Mariners
480. Bobby Madritsch, LHP, Mariners
498. Justin Leone, 3B, Mariners
As a team, the Mariners ranked 14th overall on the list. There were twenty Mariners overall, four percent of the list, which is above average. The order they came in was the same as it was on the top 40 list for the Mariners team, so half the top 40 made it to the top 500 overall, but enough numbers.
Quick Notes:
*As before, the listing overlooks the possibility of injuries hampering Ryan Anderson and Ryan Christianson's potential. Same theory could apply to Snelling and Baek, but reports list both of them as being healthy.
*Given a full year of pitching without injury, Felix Hernandez could make it to the top of just about every prospect list. Some would argue that he's ready now, hej ust has to prove it to everyone else.
*I'm not sure about putting Flaig on the list when he has not yet played a single game in the minors. This is a general flaw with a lot of prospect rankings; players are graded on potential, so a lot of higher draft picks get a free pass without having to prove anything. I don't want to shoot down Flaig right off, but he has had some injuries and I'd like to see what he can do now as opposed to what he's done.
*Guzman's name will start coming up more often in the next year or two. He has the potential to be the top prospect 3B the system is looking for.
*Fruto is another player who, arguably, makes it in on potential. He IS a 19 year old playing in high-A, and not a lot of players that young are capable of that. But last year, he didn't impress that much, and he's ended up second to last on both K/BB and WHIP. Plus, they still can't find out whether to make him a reliever because he can't start or make him start because he can't relieve. Potential isn't everything, Fruto needs to step up to the next level before I start taking him seriously.
*Leone barely cracks 500! Woohoo!
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K/BB Charts
As promised, I'm putting together the K/BB ratings today. This should take less time than the WHIP did because I can re-use some of the information, but I'll still be posting it piece by piece.
The purpose of K/BB is to take a look at the control of any given pitcher. Higher numbers mean less walks, and better overall control. To also figure out which of these pitchers are more prone to striking out a batter, I've added a K/9 column, or how many batters that pitcher would strike out, on average, if they pitched a full nine innings. The final thing I've added to this is the number of home runs allowed; it doesn't really fit with the other two, but better control should mean a pitcher is more difficult to get a solid hit off of.
Tacoma Rainiers
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
Taylor, Aaron 26 40.1 2.62 7.59 3
Looper, Aaron 27 75.1 2.58 8.00 10
Atchison, Scott 27 108.2 2.24 6.87 8
Heaverlo, Jeff 26 123.2 1.97 5.46 8
Putz, J.J. 27 86 1.76 6.28 4
*Anderson, Cra 23 177 1.46 3.41 27
Split-time
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Williams, Ran 28 AAA, AA 67.1 3.17 7.62 5
Johnson, Rett 24 AAA, AA 154 2.87 6.55 9
*Thornton, Matt 27 AAA, AA, A+ 43.1 2.31 7.68 4
San Antonio Missions
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Sherrill, Geor 27 27.1 2.58 10.21 1
Hoerman, Jared 27 58.2 2.43 8.59 4
Nageotte, Clin 23 154 2.34 9.18 6
*Blackley, Tra 21 162.1 2.32 7.98 11
*Madritsch, Bo 28 158.2 2.30 8.74 11
Martinez, Gust 28 92 1.48 7.24 8
Split-time
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
Baek, Cha Seung 23 AA, A+ 112.2 3.69 7.67 6
Strelitz, Brian 24 AA, A+ 73.1 2.22 4.91 10
Olore, Kevin 27 AA, A+ 79 2.17 8.66 6
Inland Empire 66ers
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Ketchner, Ryan 22 156.2 4.82 9.13 10
*Cate, Troy 23 160 4.14 8.61 10
*Bott, Glenn 22 142.1 3.76 9.04 8
Perez, Elvis 23 65.1 3.63 7.99 6
*Rall, Tim 25 37 3.33 7.30 5
Steele, Mike 26 38.2 3.25 6.05 3
*Blood, Justin 24 58.2 2.85 11.81 2
*Thomas, Jared 23 87.1 2.35 11.13 7
Fruto, Emiliano 19 78.2 2.18 9.50 5
Done, Juan 23 68.2 1.48 6.03 6
Split-time
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
Cortez, Renee 21 A+, A 68 3.05 8.87 3
*Rowland-Smith 21 A+, A 52 2.36 9.00 0
Dorman, Rich 25 A+, A 82.1 2.27 11.15 2
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Martinez, Migu 21 55.2 4.06 11.16 1
*Livingston, Bo 21 178 3.75 5.31 10
Fulmer, T.A. 24 167.2 3.51 6.98 5
*Dowdy, Justin 20 24.1 3.29 8.51 1
Viane, David 24 60.2 2.50 6.68 1
*Delgado, Oscar 23 58 1.68 7.29 3
*Jimenez, Caesa 19 125.2 1.65 5.44 7
Watson, Tanner 21 116 1.51 6.21 5
Wear, Greg 24 20 1.33 3.60 0
Sandoval, Juan 23 157.1 1.26 4.18 8
Heaston, Bryan 23 53.1 0.81 3.54 0
Split-time
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
Hernandez, Feli 18 A, A- 69 3.37 11.87 3
*Hintz, Beau 23 A, A- 106 2.02 7.05 7
Morrow, David 22 A, A-, R 44.2 0.97 7.46 2
Everett Aquasox
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
Moorhead, Mich 24 23 4.67 10.96 0
Ovalles, Juan 21 26.2 4.00 13.50 4
*Oldham, Thom 21 63 2.74 9.00 2
Chang, Kenly 21 36.1 2.31 9.17 4
*Ramirez, Victo 21 68 2.26 9.26 7
Stitt, Brian 21 26 1.90 6.58 3
Acosta, Nibaldo 21 15 1.67 6.00 1
Frye, Randall 20 62 1.61 7.69 4
Rose, Brad 20 44 1.41 4.91 5
Alcantara, Audy 22 36.1 1.31 8.42 7
Hays, Sam 22 42.1 0.83 6.59 1
Ockerman, Just 21 31.1 0.77 6.89 1
Split-time
Name Age Levels IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Perry, Brandon 19 A-, R 24.2 3.50 12.77 0
*O’Flaherty, Er 19 A-, R 38.1 2.70 6.34 2
Forbes, Terry 19 A-, R 47.2 1.29 4.15 2
Peoria Mariners
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
James, Craig 21 26 4.75 6.58 0
*Fagan, Robert 19 33 4.00 6.55 0
Hrynio, Mike 21 24.1 2.22 7.40 0
Flores, Ruben 19 31.1 2.17 7.47 1
*Nottingham, S 19 19.1 2.13 7.91 2
*Feierabend, Ry 19 20.2 2.00 5.23 0
Woerman, Josep 21 10.2 1.80 7.59 0
Leaist, Ryan 21 14 1.58 12.21 0
Tucker, Cardoza 19 18 1.57 5.50 1
*Hall, Vance 20 46 1.55 6.07 4
Bello, Cibney 21 35.2 1.42 6.81 8
Bernat, David 20 23.2 1.42 6.46 2
*Bergdall, Kend 21 30.2 1.35 7.92 1
Dorn, Timothy 21 11 1.33 6.55 0
Martinez, Roman 19 21 1.14 10.29 1
Falconer, Kenny 21 8.1 0.36 4.32 0
Dominican
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
*Vasquez, Rucky ? 26 2.36 9.00 0
Perez, Victor ? 20.1 2.23 12.83 0
Arias, Oliver ? 49 2.09 8.82 2
Suriel, Jose ? 32.1 2.08 7.52 1
Bonilla, Leury ? 37.2 2.06 7.88 1
Colon, Carlos 19 38.1 1.84 10.80 0
Soto, Sterling ? 38.2 1.65 7.68 2
Mercedes P., Mi ? 41.2 1.63 5.62 1
Luna, Jael ? 60.1 1.58 4.48 2
Mateo, Jesus ? 23.2 1.55 6.46 1
Sosa, Adolfo ? 32.1 1.54 5.57 1
Torres, Victor ? 12.1 1.43 7.30 2
Torres, Leonar ? 21.1 0.71 4.22 0
Venezuela
Name Age IP K/BB K/9 HR
Blanco, Ivan 19 74.1 6.87 12.47 0
Acosta, Jorge 19 55.1 3.44 8.95 2
Figueroa, Carl 19 51.2 3.23 7.32 4
*Santiago, Juli 18 48 2.68 9.56 1
Yerovi, Carlos 22 18 2.60 6.50 0
Correa, Felix 18 50 2.44 7.92 4
Rodriguez, Irwi 19 28 1.91 6.75 1
*Castro, Hugo 20 32 1.89 10.13 0
Gaetano, Dionny 19 24.1 1.56 5.18 0
Bolivar, Esteb 19 26.1 1.53 7.86 1
Alarcon, Kelvin 18 25 1.50 7.56 1
Gutierrez, Alej 19 31 1.15 4.35 1
Garcia, Dumas 20 40.1 1.04 6.02 1
Izaguirre, Luis 19 13.2 0.67 3.95 1
Quick Notes:
*Hoerman's case shows how statistics always be trusted. Hoerman saved thirty-six games last year, but he had a 3.84 ERA and his WHIP was the worst out of the regular pitchers. But look at his strikeouts compared to walks and it seems like he was above-average. It will be interesting to see if he is able to get the WHIP down and return to his normal levels of relief; he's an interesting prospect.
*It doesn't show it as much here as in the WHIP, but it's disappointing that 66ers closer Mike Steele had arm troubles later on (not our fault, we picked him up in the rule V from Detroit). He was shaping up to be an interesting prospect, but injuries seem to be a frequent problem with him.
*Beware the 66er lefties! Most of them should be in SA this coming year, and they all have excellent control and strikeout numbers. Miguel Martinez may be capable of joining this lefty powerhouse, with a good ST.
*Thomas, Blood, Dorman, Leaist... all examples of great power pitchers with lacking control.
*Dowdy represents one of the more intriguing prospects to me. I know nothing about him aside from he was signed from an Indy League, is fairly young, and was near the top in Wisconsin for both K/BB and WHIP.
*It could go without saying, but Felix Hernandez: wow.
*Ovalles isn't a name heard often, but he seems like he could develop into a solid relief prospect.
*Look out for Brandon Perry among the top LHRP as well.
*Ivan Blanco: control, power, workhorse. What more could you want?
*My current pick for the next pitcher to leave the DSL for the US is Victor Perez (though Rucky Vasquez, arguably, should be back in the US). In Venezuela, it's Jorge Acosta.
Also,
M.O. has sent me some more prospect list goodies, including On Deck's top 500. The highlights on those will appear sometime later tonight.
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Update on the Aussies:
Further information indicates that Aaron Thorne, who will join the M's minor league system next year, is a RHP. He also has a wicked slider. I heard something about how he has an older brother who pitches in the Expos system and can hit 96 mph, but I looked at the Expos' minor league rosters and tried to find some statistics, but came up empty-handed. I did, however, find out that Dean Zorn is an infielder of some sort. Add that to switch-hitting with some power for as much as we know about him.
Some of the information I've found on
this site, which seems to be run by a couple of baseball fanatics. They also put out a book which has a listing of statistics and that sort of thing, should you really get into the Australian baseball league.
There's also another article out on Aaron Thorne at
his agent's website. A good read overall (it looks like a pen exploded on his t-shirt). Apparently, there was a bidding match between the M's and the Padres, which the M's eventually won. Of course, it didn't hurt that the M's had also signed his friends/teammates, Tim Auty (OF) and Dean Zorn (IF). The article seems to indicate that all three may see some time in Peoria during 2004, but most other reports figure them to arrive in 2005 at the earliest.
You have to give it up for the M's Australian scouting. They seem to have a good handle on things down there, particularly because one of their major scouts is the pitching coach for the NWS Institute, which has brought the M's every Australian players they've signed save Travis Blackley, who pitched for Victoria, and possibly Chris Snelling, who I can't find information for. Including the three new signees, the Mariners have eight Australian players in their system:
LHP Craig Anderson
OF Tim Auty
LHP Travis Blackley
LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith
OF Chris Snelling
RHP Matthew Sundstrom
RHP Aaron Thorne
IF Dean Zorn
The M's have their detractors for their handling of the First-Year Player Draft, but they certainly know how to make up for it on the international level.
The K/BB charts will be my next major project, those should be up in a few days. BA's Mariners coverage won't be up at least until Friday of next week, there's no telling when Top Prospect Alert will get theirs up, and Fox Sports is still doing their list of top prospects (right now, all I can say is that we have no one from 70 to 100). Things should be slowing down a little bit, with updates on any new information I can pick up on features or signings. That's fine by me, for now; I have a new five-string bass guitar that I've been neglecting.
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There's an article on Mariners Minor League Player of the Year
Justin Leone in the Olympian today. The main flaw of that is, for a writer who thought Leone to be important enough to write an article on, you'd think he'd manage to get his name right (no, actually, he wrote Justine instead of Justin...)
Some would argue that Leone is too old to be considered a top prospect, but regardless of what you think regarding that, he is one of the best bats in our system and possibly the most likely to make a significant impact on the team next year. I'd like to see him getting the supersub role that reports have Willie Bloomquist getting. I would imagine Leone could play each one of the infield positions (he DID have some time at SS and 2B last year) and would be servicable in the outfield, since he has good speed and an above-average arm. It would give us a solid RHB off the bench, with potential for more. If Santiago or Ugueto make the team over Leone simply on the principle that they both have "major league experience", I'm going to hurt someone.
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Transaction Update:
The Mariners have signed another Aussie pitcher. This one's only 17, and doesn't seem like he'll begin play next year, necessarily.
There was also an outfielder from Australia that was signed a few months ago, but he hasn't been added to any roster that I've seen lately and I can't seem to remember where the article was.
update:
I found the outfielder.
Tim Auty, someone on the ITP Mariner message boards tracked down the agents site and he seems to represent a lot of Australian players. On the agent's
main site, there is also a blurb on a kid named Dean Zorn, a switch-hitter who the Mariners have also signed. I'll do my digging on that tomorrow.
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