Top 20 PRE-SEASON Mariners Prospects in Review
This is the PRE-SEASON list. That means it was generated BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED and that the grades were PRE-SEASON. Anyone complaining about the grades based on 2006 performance will be smacked up the side of the head with a Ryan Anderson autographed baseball.
1) Jeff Clement, C, Grade A-
Hitting a combined .257/.329/.417 in 37 games between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A Tacoma. Appears his knee problem will be OK, and at this point I don't think the numbers can be judged properly given the sample size and the injury.
2) Adam Jones, OF, Grade B+
.277/.332/.470 with 13 steals and 14 homers for Tacoma. Overmatched so far in the majors, but given his age this is not unexpected. An excellent prospect.
3) Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, B
Traded to Cleveland. Combined .235/.310/.349 in 75 games between Tacoma and Triple-A Buffalo. Will need more time to develop his offense.
4) Clint Nageotte, RHP, C+
5.45 ERA in 14 starts for Tacoma, 45/34 K/BB in 68 innings. Still held back by shaky command.
5) Chris Snelling, OF, C+
Hitting .263/.377/.407 in 48 games for Tacoma. Same as it ever was; he is good when healthy, just never healthy. Knee problem this time.
6) Matt Tuiasosopo, SS, C+
Hit .306 in 59 games for Class A Inland Empire, down to .176 after promotion to Double-A. Was rushed and not ready to hit at San Antonio. Still very young.
7) Shin-Soo Choo, OF, C+
Hitting .329/.396/.510 for Tacoma, with 24 steals and 13 homers. Appears blocked in Seattle if he can't play center field.
8) Yorman Bazardo, RHP, C+
5-3, 3.20 in 18 starts for San Antonio, 55/30 K/BB in 96 innings. Strikeout rate is low but his power sinker is impressive.
9) Bobby Livingston, LHP, C+
5-6, 4.70 in 14 starts for Tacoma, 46/25 K/BB in 84 innings, 101 hits allowed. Throws strikes but very hittable, has no margin for error.
10) Wladimir Balentien, OF, C+
Hitting .264/.353/.492 with 17 homers for San Antonio. Has struck out 98 times in 83 games but has also drawn 41 walks.
11) Ryan Feierabend, LHP, C+
7-7, 3.96 in 19 starts for San Antonio, 92/27 K/BB in 102 innings. A sleeper who throws strikes, keep track of him.
12) Luis Valbuena, 2B, C+
Hitting .286/.371/.400 with 21 steals for Class A Wisconsin. Good speed, also draws walks, has an interesting future.
13) Michael Saunders, OF, C+
Hitting .220/.319/.322 with 15 steals for Wisconsin. Good speed, draws walks, but power marginal and he strikes out too much.
14) Michael Wilson, OF, C+
Hitting a combined .324/.402/.578 between Inland Empire and San Antonio. Major sleeper prospect, keep track of him very closely.
15) Sebastian Boucher, OF, C+
Hitting .252/.354/.295 with 22 steals for San Antonio. Good speed, draws lots of walks, but has no power.
16) Osvaldo Navarro, SS, C+
Hitting .259/.359/.330 combined between San Antonio and Tacoma. Draws walks but doesn't have any power.
17) Edgar Guaramato, RHP, C+
7.17 ERA in 37 games for Wisconsin, 39/32 K/BB in 43 innings. K/IP is OK but poor control is inflating his ERA. .227 batting average against shows some potential.
18) Cesar Jimenez, LHP, C
4.50 ERA in 15 starts for Tacoma, 55/44 K/BB in 88 innings. Not much to get excited about, but he's not terrible.
19) Anthony Vavaro, RHP, C
Recovering from Tommy John.
20) Craig James, RHP, C
1.54 ERA in 34 games for San Antonio, 46/24 K/BB in 53 innings, just 2 homers and 39 hits allowed. Has a relief future if he sharpens his control.
Comment:
Things thin out rapidly after Jones and Clement. I think Jones is being rushed and is likely to continue to struggle in the short run, but I remain high on him long-term. Clement we don't know until we get more data. Of the others, we have a mass of C+ type prospects, the best of which are probably Bazardo and Wilson.
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