Mariner Minors
Thursday, December 30, 2004
  News Around the Minors (12/30/04)

Not much to go on this time, but there are a few interesting notes from this week's Ask BA column. First off, we have a question regarding the nature of the minor league rule 5 draft, which has been the subject of confusion in a few message boards and e-mails of late...
I was wondering if teams ever return Double-A and Triple-A Rule 5 picks? How many Double-A and Triple-A Rule 5 picks have actually turned into major leaguers?

Brian Pelowski
New York


Unlike with major league Rule 5 picks, there are no restrictions with Double-A and Triple-A Rule 5 choices. Their new teams are free to assign those players anywhere they want without having to offer them back to their former clubs.

The pickings are very slim, as might be expected considering that anyone protected on a major league or Triple-A roster—that's a total of 78 players—isn't eligible for the Triple-A phase. The pool for the Double-A phase is even shallower.

I did a quick scan of the minor league Rule 5 drafts from this decade and came up with five players who reached the majors: Nate Bland (Astros from Mets, 2002), Graham Koonce (Athletics from Padres, 2001), Aaron Miles (White Sox from Astros, 2000), Jorge Sosa (Mariners from Rockies, 2000) and Eric Valent (Mets from Reds, 2003). Bland was the only Double-A pick in that group, while Valent had played briefly in parts of three major league seasons before he was drafted. The most interesting selection was Sosa, an outfielder in the Colorado system who successfully converted to pitching in the Seattle organization—only to be lost in the major league Rule 5 draft the following year.

To cite the examples I've used before, last year the M's picked Darwin Soto and Omar Falcon in the triple-A portion of the rule 5, but Soto spent the year with Inland Empire and Falcon caught some games for Everett, and neither saw any time in triple-A, or even double-A for that matter.

Next up we have a topic that is actually Mariners related...
I've been following Greg Jacobs' career since he played independent ball in Long Beach. How do you rate his chances of ever playing in the majors, either as a corner outfielder or a DH?

Mark Rubin
Cypress, Calif.


Jacobs has one of the most interesting résumés in the minors. The Angels drafted him in the 13th round in 1998 as a lefthander out of Cal State Fullerton, and he pitched his way to high Class A before getting traded to the Diamondbacks for future considerations (read: nothing) in 2001, then getting released by Arizona and Houston in a span of three months. With no other options for 2002, he hooked up with the Long Beach Breakers of the independent Western League—as an outfielder.

Jacobs showed he could hit, winning the batting title at .380 while adding 18 homers and 91 RBIs in 85 games for good measure. Charley Kerfeld, who managed the Chico Heat club that beat Long Beach in the final round of the playoffs, also doubled as a Mariners scout and signed Jacobs for Seattle. Jacobs has continued to put up gaudy numbers as a hitter in Organized Ball, batting .332/.398/.521 with 24 homers and 139 RBIs in 234 games.

At 28 Jacobs is too old to project as having a long big league career, though he should get at least a cup of coffee. He's one-dimensional, as his speed and outfield defense are lacking, but he has proven himself at every level and could help the Mariners off the bench. Maybe he can be Seattle's 2005 version of Bucky Jacobsen.

Kerfeld's tenure as manager with Chico is probably part of the reason the M's picked up Rick Guttormson, who pitched with them back in 2003.

Finally, we have another story about an M's farmhand giving back to his community via a baseball clinic. This time it's Inland Empire 1B Matt Hagen setting up a camp on January 8th for 12 to 18-year-olds in Colorado. Joining him will be nine other players, including fellow M's farmhands Phil Cullen, Tanner Watson, Mike Steele, Hunter Brown, and Hyung Cho.
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Sunday, December 26, 2004
  Ugueto to the Royals

As noted by David J. Corcoran in the comments section of the post below this one, UT Luis Ugueto has signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals (scroll down to last sentence).

In Tacoma this year, Ugueto played mostly in the outfield, but saw time at every infield position as well. Some (myself included, to an extent) believed his bat was starting to come around, after hitting .271/.341/.440 in Tacoma and .302/.341/.453 in Venezuela. Regardless, he'll get a chance to prove himself with the Royals in spring training and has a shot to get a spot on the roster. But most of us will just remember him as Rule 5 Kid.

Thus ends the era of Uggy Mojo in Seattle.
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A closer look at the minor league system of the Seattle Mariners baseball club.

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