A semblance of a minor league tracking thread

[PhilipNelsonFan]

An interesting review of Mariners' prospects from the blog Minor League Ball, which took a preseason prospect list and ran with it:

1) Adam Jones, OF, Grade B+
Traded to Baltimore, hitting .281/.325/.407 for the Orioles. Plate discipline has held him back somewhat.
2) Jeff Clement, C, Grade B+
Hit .337/.457/.680 in Triple-A, but just .171/.258/.342 with the Mariners so far. I think he'll be fine in the long run.
3) Carlos Triunfel, SS, Grade B+
Hitting .270/.320/.373 for Class A High Desert. That's not very good, but remember he is just 18 years old.
4) Chris Tillman, RHP, Grade B+
Traded to Baltimore. 3.11 ERA with 94/48 K/BB in 93 innings for Double-A Bowie. Doing quite well, looks like an excellent prospect given his age at this level.
5) Wladimir Balentien, OF, Grade B+
.259/.360/.578 for Triple-A Tacoma, .196/.265/.346 in 32 games for the Mariners. Capable of much better. Perhaps he needs a change of scenery.
6) Tony Butler, LHP, Grade B-
Traded to Baltimore. 4.42 ERA with 44/11 K/BB in 55 innings for Delmarva in the Sally League. Went on the DL in June. A good prospect if healthy, but that's a big if.
7) Phillippe Aumont, RHP, Grade B-
2.62 ERA with 43/13 K/BB in 45 innings for Class A Wisconsin. Good stats, great stuff, but on the DL since early June.
8) Juan Ramirez, RHP, Grade C+
4.66 ERA with 75/28 K/BB in 85 innings for Wisconsin, 78 hits allowed. HIs components are better than the ERA.
9) Greg Halman, OF, Grade C+
.268/.320/.572 with 23 steals for High Desert led to promotion to Double-A, where he is at .283/.321/.512 in 30 games. Strike zone judgment is horrible but his tools are so good that he's performing well despite that handicap.
10) Nick Hill, LHP, Grade C+
4.79 ERA with 57/26 K/BB in 73 innings for High Desert, 85 hits allowed. Not particularly impressive.
11) Adam Moore, C, Grade C+
.313/.384/.488 with 10 homers for Double-A West Tennessee, some solid performance here.
12) Kuo Hui Lo, OF, Grade C+
.261/.322/.430 with 17 steals for High Desert. Not great numbers for this context. A sleeper call that may not pan out.
13) Matt Mangini, 3B, Grade C+
.265/.376/.431 at High Desert, .226/.264/.248 at West Tennessee. Not good at all, plate discipline has collapsed in Double-A.
14) Carlos Peguero, OF, Grade C+
.299/.317/.480 with 10 walks and 96 strikeouts for High Desert. Strong power potential but another bad strike zone judgment guy.
15) Michael Saunders, OF, Grade C+
.290/.375/.484 for Double-A West Tennessee, .205/.271/.346 at Triple-A Tacoma. Good tools, but once again marginal strike zone judgment is an issue.
16) Robert Rohrbaugh, LHP, Grade C+
5.51 ERA witih 68/27 K/BB in 85 innings, 98 hits allowed for Tacoma. Not very good. May not pan out as more than a Quadruple-A guy.
17) Yung Chi Chen, 2B, Grade C+
.248/.309/.329 for Tacoma. Quite disappointing, doesn't look like he's going to hit enough.
18) Austin Bibens Dirkx, RHP, Grade C
Total collapse at High Desert, 8.36 ERA With 27/14 K/BB and 51 hits allowed in 37 innings.
19) Ryan Rowland-Smith, LHP, Grade C
3.44 ERA with 42/25 K/BB in 55 innings for the Mariners. Doing quite well and should have a nice career as a bullpen arm/spot starter.
20) Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B, Grade C
.259/.349/.399 for Tacoma. Not much to get excited about, lacks the power for third base.

This is a farm system with some issues. Poor strike zone judgment seems a common thread among the position players. Halman could end up being a spectacular player....or he could be a mediocre hitter who never puts his tools to full use. It's too early to tell for certain.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Oh, and small sample sizes FTW:

Rob Johnson in July: .426/.500/.706
Adam Moore in July: .414/.462/.686

I'd say catcher is the furthest thing from a position of need in the farm system at this point. Why again did we extend Johjima?

[Basketball Jesus]

Small sample size my ass; Moore's been kicking all kinds of ass units this entire season.

There are also rumors that, thanks to Moore’s more-than-competent defense, that he may be in line to take the position over (at least part-time) from Clement at the major league level.

Also:

Nobody f*cks with De Jesus.

Shortstop in name only (he’s been seeing time at 3B for the AZL Mariners) Still…hot dayum. Yes, I know, sample size.

[jumanji]

Small sample size my ass; Moore's been kicking all kinds of ass units this entire season.

There are also rumors that, thanks to Moore’s more-than-competent defense, that he may be in line to take the position over (at least part-time) from Clement at the major league level.

Also:

Nobody f*cks with De Jesus.

Shortstop in name only (he’s been seeing time at 3B for the AZL Mariners) Still…hot dayum. Yes, I know, sample size.

I have the feeling i'm not alone in having their doubts about Clement at the major league level. Ryan Braun would have looked awful good in a Ms uniform.

[Ex-hippie]

Jharmidy will be the best first name the team has had since the short time when Yorvit, Yorman and Yuniesky were all teammates.

A year ago, I would have thought that third base was perhaps the strongest position in the system. Since then, Triunfel has done so-so, Mangini has been a bust, Alex Liddi (strangely not mentioned in the article but considered by most to be one of the team's top 20 prospects) has been a bust, and Tuiasosopo has remained nothing to get excited about. I'll have to pay more attention to Jharmidy "Basketball" DeJesus to see if he is truly the savior.

I had also noticed that, after a promising start after the promotion to AAA, Saunders had completely tanked. Much like Jeremy Reed is doing at the major league level. This dampens my optimism about the outfield situation significantly.

Some of the listed prospects have dimmed significantly, but there are also a few who seem to be ascending. Ryan Feierabend has re-established himself in AAA and once again looks like a legit prospect, and Justin Thomas is making the leap at AA. I would say for now that both of them have moved ahead of Rohrbaugh among lefty prospects. Tug Hulett also has to be added to the mix, and of course there are the recent draftees Fields and Raben (whatever you think about the folly of drafting Fields, you have to acknowledge that he is at least a good relief pitching prospect). Raben in particular helps to offset the lack of plate discipline in the system; he looks like a future Three True Outcome (tm) player in the mold of Adam Dunn.

Oh, and who the hell is Nick Hill, #10 on the list?

[jumanji]

^
I'm stilll high on Saunders, he's had to adapt to a higher level, fight off an injury and now will compete with the Canadian team at the olympics. I like his athletecism and i think when he bulks up a bit he can be a good one. Just my take.I'm actually higher on him than Balentin.

About 24 hours till we get rid of Betancourt, please.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Jharmidy De Jesus is a good name, but my favorite name in the Mariners' system has to be Venezuelan prospect Jetsy Extrano, who incidentally appears to be hitting at a good clip (.283/.364/.439) for the Mariners' VSL team. (This month alone, Jetsy is hitting .333/.411/.560. He's a bit old at 19-almost-20, but maybe he has the upside to come stateside next year.)

Somehow Greg Halman's slugging percentage has gone down despite his batting average going up as he went from High-A to AA. Does that make any sense?

[PhilipNelsonFan]

More batting lines for your enjoyment:

Dennis Raben: .324/.471/.632 (Can a brother get a call-up to High Desert?)
Carlos Triunfel: .282/.330/.407 (Went 3-4 with a home run on July 31)
Wlad Balentien: .258/.350/.562

[jumanji]

Michael Saunders has homered in both olympic games, last one against Cuba. Not sure if he comes back to the Rainiers for the end of their season or gets a callup by the Ms in september.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Saunders may not play the rest of the year, once the Olympics end.

Incidentally, everyone should read this. Very interesting words about some of the team's fringe guys. A sampling:

Scout No. 3 (Los Angeles Angels) on catcher Rob Johnson:

“He should be in the big leagues right now so they (The M’s) can see if he’s a backup or not. His recent offensive surge suggests he’s at least that in the long run. I’d have him catching 3 or 4 days a week in the majors and getting some at-bats. He blocks the ball, throws well, and in time he could spell you in left field in an emergency because he runs well and has such great natural baseball instincts.

“I don’t think he’s anything more than an average bat, but that’s enough when you are a defensive catcher.”

Kansas City Royals scout on Greg Halman:

“He swings and misses a load, but he has great power to right-center field, and that’s encouraging. He’s still very young, what is he 20-21? Super athlete and if he’s a center fielder, he’s a borderline premium prospect. Still a good looking player if he has to move to right, he has the arm, and the only questions are about making contact.

“He stays inside the ball really well and is still able to punch balls out of the park to the opposite field and to center. He can do that with his bat speed. His strikeout totals are about his lack of zone judgment and general discipline. He’s not going to get overpowered.”

[Ex-hippie]

That's a good link, thanks. Although I did find this statement about Tuiasosopo to be odd:

If he’s the bat you think he can be, he’s a big leaguer. Otherwise, he’s a minor leaguer. There isn’t an in-between for him.

Translation: if he's good enough for the big leagues, he's a big leaguer, and if he's not, he's not. Plus, although people sometimes talk about "quadruple-A," it's really just a figure of speech. I'm glad we have people to tell us this stuff.

Then there's this one, on Morrow:

I like that kid, he’s a pitcher.

Hm, perhaps I did not think my cunning plan to make him the starting shortstop all the way through.

[Basketball Jesus]

From the Salt in the Wounds Dept.:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/pr ... 66701.html

No. 1 CHRIS TILLMAN, RHP
ORIOLES
Team: Double-A Bowie (Eastern)
Age: 20
Why He's Here: 1-1, 2.25, 12 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 17 SO
The Scoop: If the Orioles end their 10-year spiral of consecutive losing seasons (not counting this year), the Erik Bedard trade haul will go a long way toward reviving the franchise. Adam Jones and George Sherrill have helped this year's O's be better than expected, and relief righty Kam Mickolio (already in Triple-A) has shown considerable promise. But Tillman may prove to be the biggest piece.
He struck out seven in six shutout innings against Trenton in his latest start, has 28 K's (and just three walks) in 18 August innings, and is climbing the leaderboards for the entire minors despite his age and inexperience. His 9.94 strikeouts per nine innings ranks eighth among full-season pitchers; his 3.49 ERA ranks third in the Eastern League, and his 131 K's ranks third. His improved walk numbers might be the most important piece, as with 57 he's tied for third in the EL but showing clear progress.
"He's really improved, especially his curveball," said one Eastern League manager. "He's 93-94 mph with his fastball and he'll pitch at 92, and he's deceptive. Guys started looking curve against him, and he was smart and really attacked with the fastball."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/pr ... 66648.html

Q: jed from md asks: what do you see tillman's ceiling to be? and we should we expect to see him in baltimore? thanks, you guys do great work.
A: Ben Badler: Ceiling is a No. 1 starter, but I wouldn't expect him to be a No. 1 starter. I do think he's one of the best pitching prospects in baseball... there is NO justification for the Mariners including him AND Adam Jones AND other serviceable players in that deal in the off-season. Judging from the questions we get every week, it seems like there's a lot of Orioles fans who want to see Tillman called up ASAP, but I don't think that will (or at least should) happen. His command still needs some work, so another year and maybe part of 2010 in the farm working on command would do him some good.

Ben Badler later qualifies the “I won’t expect him to be a No. 1 starter” comment by saying that very few pitchers ever achieve that status, so the odds are against any prospect achieving it, not a necessary knock on Tillman.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I was fine with trading away Sherrill and Jones, but Tillman is the reason I never wanted that trade to happen. He's the guy I never wanted included in any deal, unless we were getting a proven (young) bat back.

Christ.

[Basketball Jesus]

With the minor league season all but over, I'll do some kind of recap. Soon.

[BlackMamba]

where can you see minor league stats and such?

[Ex-hippie]

www.thebaseballcube.com is a very good source for that.

[Basketball Jesus]

I made this comment elsewhere but Michael Wilson had himself a nice little season and it’s interesting to compare his career to another Mariner late bloomer. Wilson’s a bit more athletic than Ibanez was, so even if his bat doesn’t live up to Raul’s precedent, he could still make a rather good bench bat/4th outfielder type.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

What's the word on Jeff Clement's possible knee surgery? Does this basically make him our full-time first baseman and Adam Moore our true catcher of the future?

[BlackMamba]

why is having knee surgery?

[Basketball Jesus]

He tore a meniscus in his knee, Mamba. It wasn't an impact tear, which is good.

This should pretty much end his career behind the plate full-time.