Dustin Ackley's Promotion Is on the Horizon

[Go76ersGo]

Much like his first professional season a year ago, Dustin Ackley got off to a slow start in 2011 with the bat.

At the end of April, he was hitting a lowly .211 with a slugging percentage just north of .300. This was discouraging news for some, as Ackley finished 2010 so strong, including an Arizona Fall League MVP campaign in which seemingly everything coming his direction from the pitcher's mound looked like a beach ball.

So when he struggled out of the gates this season, some people wondered which Ackley was the real Ackley. Would the Mariners eventually see their former No. 2 pick in the draft become an on-base machine with good gap power, or would he be a skinny slap-hitter who sat around hoping to draw a walk?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/678865-seattle-mariners-dustin-ackleys-promotion-is-on-the-horizon

[Sweezo]

Nice to see the Bleacher Report noting other members of the M's blogosphere had already posted this information in greater detail. Nowhere in that article does the author indicate he has information that Ackley could be coming up except for a cite of something Matthew Carruth heard, and most of the stat info he uses was already available in those articles. Anyway...

As for the possible promotion, Dave Cameron is indicating the promotion could be coming damn near immediately, and Jeff Sullivan indicated the same sentiment on his Twitter account. Brock and Salk also seemed to know something but seemingly decided to pass going into it without some sort of confirmation.

Guti's coming up within a week, Ackley's possibly soon to follow...who goes away if both those promotions occur?

[TTown]

Guti's coming up within a week, Ackley's possibly soon to follow...who goes away if both those promotions occur?

I've been wondering about the infield, myself. Jack Wilson is marginally better than Brendan Ryan, in the sense that one is awful and the other is pretty awful, but Ryan will likely be here for awhile and Wilson is in his last season as a Mariner. Do you take out the better player because he doesn't fit into our plans after September and put in Ackley?

I mean, I realize we're a poor team and neither really helps us so wondering about such things is probably a waste of effort, but these are the issues I choose to fret over as a fan.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Jack Wilson is marginally better than Brendan Ryan, in the sense that one is awful and the other is pretty awful

Whoa whoa. Come on, now. Brendan Ryan is awful at the plate, but he's pretty f'n awesome in the field. To me, that almost makes up for it. I love having that guy out there.

If its me, I send both Mike Wilson and Michael Saunders down to the minors. Saunders is the worst player in MLB history, and I dont like how Mike Wilson swings at EVERYTHING. Needs to work on his discipline. Start Ackley at 2B and bat him 2nd in the order. That's right.

[TTown]

Well, Jack Wilson is no slouch with the glove, either.

[TTown]

At least with Guti back now that's one less AA-caliber hitter we have to put up with most games.

I guess I'd prefer Peguero in left, if only because all the remaining options seem to just close their eyes and swing as hard as they can every time up. At least Peguero will occasionally drive one out of the yard.

Kennedy's played some outfield in the past. With 2B about to get jammed w/ Ackley's call up (Kenneddy's started 14 of his 22 games in Seattle there) I'm not so sure I wouldn't stick him in left for awhile, actually. His 4 HRs are, sadly, still second on the team.

RF Ichiro
2B Ackley
1B Smoak
C Olivo
CF Guti
LF Kennedy
DH Cust
SS Ryan
3B Figgins

I don't know. I wouldn't go to war with that line-up, but it's better than what we have been trotting out there.

[Sweezo]

In a way, it's almost a shame Ackley's been playing 2B. I don't think anyone expected this given the then apparent options at LF in our system, but we could use him more in the outfield than we can in the infield at the moment.

Moving him to 2B seemed like a fantastic idea, and realistically I think that's where he needs to stay long term as he can provide the most value there if his defense holds up, but in the short term it's hard not to wish he could be placed in LF and leave things as is at 2B. Our 2B options are passable...our LF options are not.

I don't know if being up here is doing Saunders any favors. Is he learning more by facing MLB pitching or is his confidence just being obliterated?

[Bulltalk]

Ackley has been hitting real well of recent. You've got to think a June call-up is in order.

[Bulltalk]

Ackley has been on a tear in the last few weeks. His average is up to .292 with an OBP of .400 to go along with his 7 HR's.

This guy is ready to come up now. It's June 1st, and we won't lose an option on him hence.

I would assume they bring him up on our next road trip, 5-6 games from now. Why the hell not? He's our top prospect, and he's hitting the ball like he was supposed to now.

[TTown]

I still say you throw Kennedy in left, at least until he proves he can't do it. 114 of his 130 ABs have come at 1B or 2B, it's easy enough to pull Jack Wilson in favor of Kennedy now but ideally Smoak and Ackley will make that choice an impossibility. Cust is heating up, I'd like to keep him at DH. I think we need Kennedy's bat in the lineup...

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I still say you throw Kennedy in left, at least until he proves he can't do it. I think we need Kennedy's bat in the lineup...

Agree on both points.

I honestly don't think Kennedy could be worse than Peguero out there. But, Kennedy has been far too effective at the plate to take him out. LF or move him to 3B, but not sure how comfortable he is there.

[Sweezo]

I still say you throw Kennedy in left, at least until he proves he can't do it. I think we need Kennedy's bat in the lineup...

Agree on both points.

I honestly don't think Kennedy could be worse than Peguero out there. But, Kennedy has been far too effective at the plate to take him out. LF or move him to 3B, but not sure how comfortable he is there.

Geoff Baker posted an article yesterday indicating the reasons for not giving Kennedy a starting gig. They like giving him days off, give his age/injury risk, and don't like him hitting against LHP. Still, I would note that that his career splits against LHP, while not as strong as his RHP numbers, are far better than anything else we've put in LF this year.

That said, I don't like the idea of putting him out in LF. He doesn't have a lot of experience there, and putting the stress on him to basically learn a new position mid-season doesn't seem like a good idea. We tried moving Figgins to 2B last year [which was a failure], and moving J. Wilson to 2B this year on the fly [which lead to him taking himself out of a game and being buried...behind Kennedy].

Right now, Kennedy's doing a fine job as a utility infielder and I'd like to keep him in that role. He'll get a decent amount of AB's spelling other infielders IMO...especially with Figgins continuing to scuffle mightily.

Personally, I think Carp should get his shot out there.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Is Carp an outfielder? I always thought he was strictly a 1B? I really have no clue, but figured he was all but done with Smoak on our club now.

I've actually always been one of Carp's biggest supporters. I've never understood why he hasn't gotten significant playing time. Dude has routinely hit well in the minors and he even swung a really good bat in the big leagues, yet nothing has come of it. What gives?

If he can play left then HELL YES.

[jumanji]

Ackley has been on a tear in the last few weeks. His average is up to .292 with an OBP of .400 to go along with his 7 HR's.

This guy is ready to come up now. It's June 1st, and we won't lose an option on him hence.

I would assume they bring him up on our next road trip, 5-6 games from now. Why the hell not? He's our top prospect, and he's hitting the ball like he was supposed to now.

Wasnt sure weather it was june 1st or some other day in june. Might as well bring him up immediately if not sooner. The guy is the future somewhere in the lineup and has proven himself at Tacoma. Adam Kennedy has done a nice job and i wouldnt mind seeing him in left or 3rd but everyone knew he was just a temporary fill in for Dustin.

[Sweezo]

Is Carp an outfielder? I always thought he was strictly a 1B? I really have no clue, but figured he was all but done with Smoak on our club now.

I've actually always been one of Carp's biggest supporters. I've never understood why he hasn't gotten significant playing time. Dude has routinely hit well in the minors and he even swung a really good bat in the big leagues, yet nothing has come of it. What gives?

If he can play left then HELL YES.

Carp is typically a 1B but has been playing LF all year [and part of last year] for Tacoma. He's posted a .325/.387/.619 line over 220+ plate appearances this year [including 15 HR]. I know it's a hitter's league but the OBP and power numbers are unreal.

His defense in LF is supposedly less than stellar but...has anyone seen Peguero out there? Peguero will make the occasional great play somehow but more often than not he has no clue where the ball is going when it's in the air. People may think Carp won't hit if promoted but Peguero posted a .282/.345/.456 line when he was in Tacoma this year, and he's not hitting either. Peguero's posted a -.5 WAR with the M's this year...he's really not helping the team win consistently.

Give Carp a shot. There is nothing to lose by doing so; I don't expect big things out of Carp but if he can simply be an average baseball player then he's helping the team win. Peguero is clearly overmatched and needs to go to a league where he can work on not using a power swing on everything thrown at him. If Carp fails, you can always throw Peguero back in there anyway.

[TTown]

Based on his numbers, I'd certainly give Carp a shot. We can always throw Saunders in late as a defensive replacement.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

[People may think Carp won't hit if promoted but Peguero posted a .282/.345/.456 line when he was in Tacoma this year, and he's not hitting either. Peguero's posted a -.5 WAR with the M's this year...he's really not helping the team win consistently.

Peguero must have seen your post and used it for motivation tonight against the Rays.

[Sweezo]

[People may think Carp won't hit if promoted but Peguero posted a .282/.345/.456 line when he was in Tacoma this year, and he's not hitting either. Peguero's posted a -.5 WAR with the M's this year...he's really not helping the team win consistently.

Peguero must have seen your post and used it for motivation tonight against the Rays.

No ****...where the hell did this come from? I was happy after he hit the first one, but after the second HR I just thought "oh come on..."



He's definitely a work in progress but good for him. And good for the fans in attendance tonight...about time they got to see a power display like this from the M's.

[TTown]

On the heels of this call-up thread...

Saunders sent down; but Halman comes up, not Carp. It would appear Halman is here to only back up Guti (as far as I've read) in CF? Peguero, Wilson will still be our guys in left.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

I guess that makes Halman our late-game defensive replacement?

I read about the call-up on bleacherreport. Glad Saunders was sent down. He has had so many problems at the plate.

The site also wrote up an article calling for what we have been; BRING UP ACKLEY AND CARP!

God. Come on, management.