Mike Wilson?

[TheUrbanZealot]

can someone fill me in on this guy? why is it that every other time I read aa box score, this guy has a dinger? 8 home runs in like 20 games? leading the majors??? do you rrally want a guy w/ that nuch consistent power coming off the bench?

I think we realize gutierrez and ichiro are set. but we have chavez (hitting the ball great), griffey (shown flashes of power), balentien (shown power) , and now wilson, who are all vying for a spot.

so we are in a bit of a favorable quagmire. I think the competition is really elevating everyone's games. I know its preseason, but since we aren't projected to do anything this year and have nothing to lose, why not take a flier on wilson as a starter, dh at least?. I really think sweeney could have a great year, but I think hed be an even better vet bat off the bench, esp in pressure situations.

I like the power potential of wilson and griffey, something we haven't had in awhile. with chavez and sweeney coming off the bench, I think we'd have one of the best benches in baseball...

[Sweezo]

Hitting 8 home runs in spring training isn't 'leading the majors' in anything or indicative of consistent power. Who's he hitting the home runs off of? Does hitting home runs off fastballs thrown by fringe talent suddenly mean your name should be discussed as a roster addition? Is he showing power against all pitchers or still limiting to hitting well off lefties only?

Wilson's been in the M's minor league system for about 7-8 years now, laboring through the lower minor leagues. If he can go to Tacoma and do something, then perhaps he's worth talking about. But looking at his history...it's very tough to make the argument that this small sample of meaningless games means he's turned the corner on his career. He needs to go to Tacoma and show he can hit more than one pitch.

For me, showing 'flashes of power' in spring training is not a very useful method of determining who belongs on a major league roster.

For that matter, neither his Chavez' hitting streak. Sure, he's looked good, but he's had a long enough career that it seems pretty well set that you're hoping for .270 w/ zero power, decent speed, and a .310 OBP. I don't think he's suddenly going to contend for a batting title.

[Ex-hippie]

Well, to be fair, in recent seasons in the minors, he's shown more than just flashes of power. It's hard to get a grip on what the organization thinks about him. They cut him from the 40-man (I think it was to make room for Griffey), then re-signed him to a minor league deal before camp. I would venture to say that they've very glad they were able to retain him. He's too old to be considered a high-end prospect, but there's a chance he turns into a decent righty bat with some pop. Balentien is first in line for that job, but Wilson is in there as well.

Definitely agree on Chavez's hitting streak, though. He has a large enough body of work that we know what he can do with the bat: not much.

[Sweezo]

That I can't really disagree with. Although, if we're looking at OF talent, I'm more interested in the futures of Saunders, Halman, and Raben. At best, I see Wilson as what you mention...a decent righty bat with some pop. Decent potential, someone who may or may not have a future with the organization. Still, I don't think this thread was designed to discuss the future.

Keep in mind the initial post, with the statements "I like the power potential of wilson and griffey, something we haven't had in awhile. with chavez and sweeney coming off the bench, I think we'd have one of the best benches in baseball" and "do you rrally want a guy w/ that nuch consistent power coming off the bench," seems to be advocating putting Mike Wilson in the starting lineup.

This advocation appears based solely on a display of power during spring training, as there is no mention of Wilson's minor league numbers to indicate growth and an appeal to other readers to fill the initial poster in on who, exactly, Mike Wilson is...

This seems to pre-suppose that spring training stats mean something. I disagree: Putting up good power numbers against pitchers wearing major league uniforms, regardless of the name on the back or the pitchers ability, does not mean a player is of a starting caliber. I'm looking at you, Mike Morse from 2008...

Maybe there are the occasional exceptions, such as when a highly regarded prospect who is thought to be en route to the majors sooner rather than later absolutely rakes and convinces everyone that he might be ready now [I'm thinking Albert Pujols back in the day]. But those exceptions are few and far between.

If you look at Mike Wilson's career, I don't see anything at this point that merits giving him a serious look at a major league roster spot, let alone a starting OF spot. He needs to prove he can consistently hit good pitching, which he'll have a shot at doing this year in Tacoma. And he'll have to hit the hell out of the ball for a good long time before he deserves to be thought of ahead of the other OF prospects I mentioned in the beginning of this post.

[Ex-hippie]

We're on the same page. He is not a candidate to break camp with the big league club, regardless of what his spring stats are. He might get a call-up sometime during the season, though. His upside is as a real good fourth or fifth outfielder, or a mid-level platoon player.

[blackery3000]

He's no Nelson Cruz, that's for sure.