There’s no denying the Seattle Mariners have a number of infield options on the farm primed to push incumbents at the major-league level in the next year or two. In 2012, Brad Miller, Nick Franklin and Stefen Romero left strong impressions in Double-A. And while I don’t question the three as future big leaguers, are they true upgrades over what’s already in Seattle? Read the rest of this entry »
Wendy and Matt have already covered the NL West and AL Central, so let’s continue to show that we here at FanGraphs are not subject to East Coast bias and look at the other set of second baseman on the left coast: the AL West. Due to the presence of the A’s and Mariners, the AL West does not generally project as a strong offensive division, but second base is the exception with two All-Stars, a potential star, and the younger brother of an All-Star second baseman. Let us know how you think these players will perform next year.
Texas has the most well established player in the division in Ian Kinsler, a player with a strong walk rate and excellent power for his position. Last season, he posted the 4th highest WAR total in the American League on the strength of a .370 wOBA. Pretty impressive considering his .243 BABIP was 39 points below his career average. The big factor was that he eclipsed 650 plate appearances for the first time in his career. No one has ever doubted Kinsler’s talent level – for his career he has posted 4.64 WAR per 650 plate appearances – just his durability. This is the big question going into 2012, along with whether he can maintain his power while simultaneously raising his BABIP. It may be a coincidence, but the two seasons in which he has posted an ISO above .220, he has had BABIP’s of .241 and .243. All of his other seasons have resulted in ISO’s below .200, and BABIP’s ranging from .279 to .334. Read the rest of this entry »
The Mariners offense last year was more of the deep-sea variety than the ancient, although this fated passage from the Coleridge poem may yet apply:
“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Fiends indeed, or a particular fiend named offensive ineptitude. The team scored 507 runs last year, worst in the American League by a whopping 99 runs. The depths that this offense plumbed were Mariana-Trench-like in both the short- and long-term.
Consider this: The Mariners were last in the league, by wRC+, at the following positions: catcher, first base, left field, and designated hitter. And it’s not like the rest of the team was racing cigarette boats, as they were third-to-last at shortstop, second-to-last at third, and fourth-to-last in center. Guess which position was the only one that was above average last year? That’s how you finish almost a century short of your nearest DH-using competitor.
The Arizona Fall League rosters were announced by Major League Baseball last week. The league allows up-and-coming prospects (usually from high-A and double-A levels, as well as recent high draft picks) to continue honing their skills away from the fall instructional leagues held by each organization. Play will begin in early October and run until late November with the six teams – each one made up of five organizations’ players – continually facing each other.
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a look at some of the more interesting names on each team. The rosters that were recently released are preliminary rosters and some players will be added, while others could be removed. Last Monday, we took a look at the Phoenix Desert Dogs. Tuesday, we had a gander at the Scottsdale Scorpions roster and on Wednesday we viewed the Mesa Solar Sox roster. Today, let’s look at the Peoria Javelinas roster.
The Peoria Javelinas (Click HERE for the entire roster)
Milwaukee, Seattle, Chicago (AL), Los Angeles (NL), Detroit
Phillippe Aumont | RHP | Seattle
Seattle, as per its M.O. (Modus operandi), rushed a number of its prospects through the system in 2009 with less-than-positive results. Aumont pitched very well in high-A despite playing in a very good hitter’s park and league. Moved up to double-A after 33.1 innings, the right-handed reliever saw his strikeout rate jump from 9.45 to 12.23 K/9. However, his walk rate also went up from 3.24 to 5.60 BB/9. He was hurt by a .436 BABIP.
Zach Braddock | LHP | Milwaukee
The 22-year-old Braddock had some problems early in his career while a member of the starting rotation. Injuries took a bite out of his 2009 season, but he was lights-out when he came out of the bullpen. In 39.2 innings split between high-A and double-A, Braddock allowed 24 hits, seven walks and 60 strikeouts.
Joshua Fields | RHP | Seattle
Because of a lengthy holdout before signing his first draft contract (He was also a college senior), Fields has appeared in just 31 pro games despite being 24 years old. The organization rushed him to double-A in 2009 but he imploded with a walk rate of 5.94 BB/9. His strikeout rate of 9.72 K/9 was encouraging and he allowed just 33 hits. His 6.48 ERA is not nearly as bad as it looks, with a FIP of 3.89.
Cody Satterwhite and Robbie Weinhardt | RHPs | Detroit
Detroit nabbed a number of hard-throwing college relievers in the 2008 draft, including both Satterwhite and Weinhardt. Satterwhite was the bigger name and he spent all of 2009 in double-A where he allowed 46 hits in 49.1 innings of work. He gets more than his fair share of strikeouts, but walks are a concern (4.93 BB/9). Weinhardt wasn’t taken until the 10th round, but he’s been as impressive as any other college reliever taken in the draft outside of Ryan Perry who is already pitching in the Majors. Weinhardt split 2009 between high-A and double-A. He allowed 52 hits in 63 cumulative innings, while showing average command and good strikeout numbers.
Jonathan Lucroy | C | Milwaukee
With incumbent MLB catcher Jason Kendall on his last legs, there will be an opening on the big league club before too long. As the club’s third-round pick from the 2007 draft, Lucroy is one of the favorites to fill that position in the next two years. Known for his good bat, the right-handed hitter slipped a bit in 2009 at double-A with a line of .268/.380/.419 in 418 at-bats.
Dustin Ackley | CF/1B | Seattle
Ackley has yet to make his pro debut but that will come in the Arizona Fall League. The 2009 second-overall draft pick is an advanced offensive prospect but he needs work on his defense in center field before settling in on the big-league roster. Ackley spent much of the 2008-09 college season playing first base, but his power is below average for that position.
Carlos Triunfel | SS/3B | Seattle
Triunfel was to spend the 2009 season in double-A as a 19 year old. However, he suffered an injury that wiped out almost all of his regular season. Luckily, he is back and healthy enough to participate in the fall league. Last season, he hit .287/.336/.406 with eight homers and 30 steals in 436 at-bats. A shortstop early in his career, Triunfel is expected to be a long-term third baseman, although he currently has below-average power for the position.
Jordan Danks | OF | Chicago (AL)
Danks was a little bit more advanced as a hitter than people expected and he hit .322/.409/.525 in 118 high-A at-bats. Moved up to double-A, he struggled in August and September, which brought his line down to .243/.337/.356 in 284 at-bats. His power has also diminished with each move in his pro career, with his ISO dropping from .300 to .203 to .113. Defensively, he could play in the Majors right now.
Andrew Lambo | OF/1B | Los Angeles (NL)
After a breakout 2008 season, Lambo took a step back in 2009, but he was just 20 years old for much of the season while playing in double-A. He held his own but did not dominate with a line of .254/.309/.406. He also had 39 doubles and 11 homers in 488 at-bats. Lambo was hurt by a .296 BABIP.
The moment we have all been waiting for is almost here. The 2009 MLB Amateur Draft will begin on Tuesday, June 9 at 6 pm Eastern time with the first round airing live on the MLB Network. MLB.com will be streaming the first three rounds of the draft (plus the supplemental rounds), all of which will occur on June 9. The remainder of the draft (the other 47 rounds) will be spread out over the following two days (June 10 and 11).
In 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays selected Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham with the first overall pick. Pittsburgh took Vanderbilt University third baseman Pedro Alvarez with the second selection, followed by Kansas City, which nabbed Florida prep first baseman Eric Hosmer.
The Washington Nationals organization has the first overall pick and is expected to take San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the consensus best player available. University of North Carolina outfielder Dustin Ackley is expected to go second overall to Seattle. After that, things get murky. The Philadelphia Phillies will be the last organization to pick in the draft when it makes the 75th selection. The club gave its first-round pick (27th overall) to Seattle when it signed free agent outfielder Raul Ibanez, which has turned out pretty good for Philadelphia, so far.
For more than a month now, Fangraphs.com has been reviewing each teams past three drafts, as well as offering some insight into how each club might approach the 2009 draft. Links to each of those reviews is listed below in 2009 draft order (Just click on the team’s name). Be sure to check back with Fangraphs after the draft for post-draft analysis.
First Round
1. Washington Nationals
2. Seattle Mariners
3. San Diego Padres
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Baltimore Orioles
6. San Francisco Giants
7. Atlanta Braves
8. Cincinnati Reds
9. Detroit Tigers
10. Washington Nationals (Compensation)
11. Colorado Rockies
12. Kansas City Royals
13. Oakland Athletics
14. Texas Rangers
15. Cleveland Indians
16. Arizona Diamondbacks
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (Compensation)
18. Florida Marlins
19. St. Louis Cardinals
20. Toronto Blue Jays
21. Houston Astros
22. Minnesota Twins
23. Chicago White Sox
24. Los Angeles Angels (Compensation)
25. Los Angeles Angels (Compensation)
26. Milwaukee Brewers
27. Seattle Mariners (Compensation)
28. Boston Red Sox
29. New York Yankees (Compensation)
30. Tampa Bay Rays
31. Chicago Cubs
32. Colorado Rockies (Compensation)
Supplemental First Round
36. Los Angeles Dodgers
Second Round
72. New York Mets
75. Philadelphia Phillies
