Justin Upton

[bennith13]

What do people think about the talk about possibly trading for him? I am of the opinion that I really do not want to trade Smoak, Ackley, or Pineda.

Outside of those guys and Felix I would be open to trading anyone.

[TTown]

If that no-trade thing can be lifted and he wanted to come here, it would be an interesting situation dive into. I'm often guilty of falling in love with our young prospects until suddenly I realize it's four years after their initial call-up and they've yet to hit over .230; I've got the same honeymoon effect going on with Ackley, Smoak, and Pineda. Could they be great? Sure. Do I fear I'm overrating their potential? Kind of, yeah. Upton isn't a superstar, but he's young, he's productive, and he's got a reasonable contract that keeps him under team control for years. To get that kind of player we'd have to give up talent, I'm just not sure how much. I'd like to keep Pineda, but I think I could part with either Smoak or Ackley, plus Saunders (I imagine he'd need to go, too) and whatever filler is needed to make the deal.

I'd also have to take into consideration Upton's projected numbers at Safeco.

[bennith13]

Trade Saunders, no problem. Trade whoever, just not those three guys.

[TTown]

Hey, lead story on Wiretap: Seattle Not on Upton's No-Trade List (as was previously reported). Maybe Z can surprise us.

[bennith13]

If Jack ends up trading for him I am sure we will end up giving up way too much. I would rather just not trade for him.

[BlackMamba]

He would definitely be a great option for the Mariners.

But, let's be realistic, are there any actual good to star young players that would like to go to Seattle?

[Bulltalk]

If that no-trade thing can be lifted and he wanted to come here, it would be an interesting situation dive into. I'm often guilty of falling in love with our young prospects until suddenly I realize it's four years after their initial call-up and they've yet to hit over .230; I've got the same honeymoon effect going on with Ackley, Smoak, and Pineda. Could they be great? Sure. Do I fear I'm overrating their potential?

LOL at your honesty. Guilty as charged myself.

NO WAY, however, would I include either Ackley or Pineda in any kind of a package for him. Ackley seems all but a can't-miss-prospect to me, at least in terms of being a very reliable starter for us for the next ten years. How high he flies for us (dreaming of a .300+ hitter with 20 homers and 80-90 RBI's) will remain to be seen. But I am too confident in all I hear and read about him to live with the potential regret of including him in any kind of a package.

As for Pineda, this guy has done nothing but meet and far exceed every challenge he's been faced with in the minors so far. We are going to need a strong #2 starter behind Felix to compete for division titles once our hitting problems (if ever lol) get properly addressed. There's just too much potential as of now for Pineda being just that for us at this time. I'm not looking for miracles here, and I think it will probably happen for us (if it does at all) the 2013 season, though I'd love to see flashes of it next year, and have my fingers crossed for the 2012 season. We are a pitcher's park, and have to keep that in mind.

As for Smoak, I'm inclined to hold onto him as well, but don't feel as strongly about him as I do the other two at the moment. I'll defer to Z on that front. He's the guy who really wanted Smoak in the first place, so if he was willing to include him in such a package, then he must really like Upton, and that would be fine by me.

I wondering what other prospects currently down on our farm are at all rather desirable to other teams? Poythress? Triunfel? Chavez? Franklin (though I know we are high on him as our future SS)? Others?

Just wondering...

As for Saunders...you can include him in just about any package as far as I'm concerned. I'm just not that high on him now to succeed for us at one of those hitters-positions like LF.

[Sweezo]

NO WAY, however, would I include either Ackley or Pineda in any kind of a package for him. Ackley seems all but a can't-miss-prospect to me, at least in terms of being a very reliable starter for us for the next ten years. How high he flies for us (dreaming of a .300+ hitter with 20 homers and 80-90 RBI's) will remain to be seen. But I am too confident in all I hear and read about him to live with the potential regret of including him in any kind of a package.

I hear Ackley and Pineda brought up and I tend to cringe, but then I think of this way:

Ackley COULD become a .300+ hitter with 20 homers and 80-90 RBI's

Upton IS a .300+ hitter with 20 homers and 80-90 RBI's [and he has room to grow]

I like Ackley but we have no idea what he will amount to. He's given us reason to believe he can get some hits and get on base, but we don't know if the power will develop or if he will be a long term 2B instead of an outfielder.

Some of us thought Ryan Anderson would be Big Unit #2. Or Jeff Clement was a 20 HR capable catcher of the future with a swing perfect for SafeCo Field. Or that Carlos Triunfel was the second coming of A-Rod.

Jeremy Reed. Clint Nageotte. Gil Meche. Phillipe Aumont. Chris Snelling. Michal Saunders.

We've had many a prospect that has failed to amount to anything, or at least showed that they were more likely to be an average MLB player than anything else. Sometimes I look back about what I said about certain prospects and find the hype was credible, and other times I look back and think "what the hell was I thinking?"

Trading top prospects in an attempt to create a false contender immediately [i.e. Jones/Tillman/etc. for Bedard] is a bad idea. But trading top prospects for a 23 year old OF who would still be under team control for a few years is a different thing entirely.

While Saunders is still young and has time to develop, nothing in the past year and a half has lead me to believe he's going to be able to hit anything inside and that he's the long term answer in LF.

Let's say we go into next season with a 1-2 punch of Felix/Pineda. An OF of Ichiro/Guti/Upton. An IF of Smoak/Figgins/Wilson. A bullpen with League/Lueke/Cortes/Kelley. Now add a 3B, a decent SP, and a decent veteran C and what was once a team with the worst offense in baseball suddenly sounds like it will be fun to watch again.

That team may not be enough to overtake the Rangers, but it may be enough to keep me watching the team past the All-Star break.

[Bulltalk]

^^^Hmmm...some good points made. I'm not there yet, but you've got me wavering a bit.

[Sweezo]

Of course it's all a moot point if AZ wants Ackley AND Pineda. **** that.

[TTown]

One of the "Big 3" (Pin, Ack, Smoak) + Saunders + Vargas for Upton. I'd do it. Zona gets a hot young prospect, a legit starting pitcher, and a replacement in the OF for Upton.