BA's Mariners Top 10

by toonsterwu on Jan 22, 2026 6:53 PM EST Comment 26 comments

BA popped there Mariners stuff out. Matt Eddy compiled it. Thoughts? John ranked it

Ackley/Saunders/Noriega/Liddi/Triunfel/Franklin/Pineda/Martinez/Cortes/Jones/Moore/Carrera/Raben/Robles/Texeira/Chavez/Morban/Halman/Carp/Cleto.

Goldstein had it as

Five-Star Prospects
1. Dustin Ackley, OF/2B
Four-Star Prospects
2. Michael Saunders, OF
3. Gabriel Noriega , SS
Three-Star Prospects
4. Adam Moore, C
5. Alex Liddi, 3B
6. Nick Franklin, SS
7. Johermyn Chavez, OF
8. Guillermo Pimentel, OF
9. Carlos Triunfel, SS
Two-Star Prospects
10. Greg Halman, OF
11. Maikel Cleto, RHP

Four More:
12. Mario Martinez, 3B
13. Dan Cortes, RHP
14. Ezequiel Carrera, OF
15. Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B

TOP TEN
PROSPECTS

1.	Dustin Ackley, of/1b
2.	Michael Saunders, of
3.	Adam Moore, c
4.	Alex Liddi, 3b
5.	Carlos Triunfel, ss/2b
6.	Michael Pineda, rhp
7.	Nick Franklin, ss
8.	Greg Halman, of
9.	Danny Cortes, rhp
10.	Mario Martinez, 3b/1b

BEST
TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average

Dustin Ackley

Best Power Hitter

Greg Halman

Best Strike-Zone Discipline

Ezequiel Carrera

Fastest Baserunner

Ezequiel Carrera

Best Athlete

Greg Halman

Best Fastball

Michael Pineda

Best Curveball

Josh Fields

Best Slider

Steven Hensley

Best Changeup

Nick Hill

Best Control

Michael Pineda

Best Defensive Catcher

Steve Baron

Best Defensive Infielder

Gabriel Noriega

Best Infield Arm

Carlos Triunfel

Best Defensive Outfielder

Michael Saunders

Best Outfield Arm

James Jones

PROJECTED 2013
LINEUP

Catcher	Adam Moore
First Base	Dustin Ackley
Second Base	Jose Lopez
Third Base	Chone Figgins
Shortstop	Nick Franklin
Left Field	Michael Saunders
Center Field	Franklin Gutierrez
Right Field	Ichiro Suzuki
Designated Hitter	Alex Liddi
No. 1 Starter	Felix Hernandez
No. 2 Starter	Cliff Lee
No. 3 Starter	Michael Pineda
No. 4 Starter	Ian Snell
No. 5 Starter	Ryan Rowland-Smith
Closer	David Aardsma

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Comments

That's a pretty bad lineup for 2013

I mean, I don’t ever take their future lineups too seriously, but that’s the only thing that sticks out to me. The top 10 rankings look alright. I’m not sure if I love Moore at 3 … but then again, it’s not like there’s anyone that stands out as “look at me, I should be 3” after Ackley/Saunders.

by toonsterwu on Jan 22, 2026 7:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Noriega

Can’t believe that he doesn’t find his way into the top 10.

by BrosbeforeShaincoes on Jan 22, 2026 7:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

what's mildly interesting to me on that

is that most BA team lists heavily rely on organizational sources, which makes me wonder how highly the M’s view Noriega. Then again, maybe Eddy felt strongly on that one, or some other occurrence happened.

by toonsterwu on Jan 22, 2026 7:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Same.

I thought he would be top 5 furshur.

Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.

by Frederick0220 on Jan 22, 2026 9:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What's so weird about being overrated.

I don’t even understand the Noriega love. He’s raw, toolsy, and a good defender at short, from what I’ve heard, but what the hell else sets him so far above that requires he be in the top 10?

It seems some people are ranking certain players based on their maximum upside and not on the more realistic approach that said player is also a huge as hell risk to not be anything but organizational filler. Meanwhile, talents who are more ready to contribute as major league regulars get ignored or downgraded. I don’t understand this process in thought.

Absolutely, talent is important. But talent + skill is what gets you to the majors, not talent alone.

I hope this doesn’t seem like I’m too down on Noriega. I like the guy just fine, but he’s still someone to watch, not someone to promote with such vigor.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Jan 22, 2026 11:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Noriega v. Franklin

I’m just not sure you can justify ranking Franklin at seven and Noriega outside the top 10. Both have similar tool sets, but Noriega has put up good numbers in pro ball.

As far as ranking on projection. Teams win because they have star players, so I think it is advantageous to take chances on high upside guys over players who are closer to the majors, but project as second division regulars or role players. The majority of the toolsy guys won’t pan out, but you should hit on enough of them to make it worth while.

by BrosbeforeShaincoes on Jan 23, 2026 4:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Franklin over Noriega makes ZERO sense.

Both guys are great defensive shortstops, but Noriega has a much, much greater higher power ceiling.

Maybe Franklin ends up hitting for a higher average, but the power disparity will offset whatever Noriega is lacking in the contact department.

Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.

by Frederick0220 on Jan 23, 2026 6:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They're both raw as hell.

You can’t make any distinctions between the two right now. Let them develop their skills and see what happens.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Jan 23, 2026 8:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Power ceiling...

that’s just not true. Noriega is rail-thin and his normal swing isn’t taylored for power at all. Any power he’ll develop will have to come entirely from the wrists, because he doesn’t have room to fill out his frame. If you’d ever actually seen either player you’d know that Franklin has more offensive potential and Noriega’s the better defender.

I really don’t know where you’re getting this information about a power ceiling from. Not even Goldstein’s glowing scouting report (which quite frankly baffles me) hints at any more than average power potential, and that report over-stated all of Noriega’s strength and downplayed his considerable weaknesses.

by slamcactus on Jan 24, 2026 6:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's gonna fill out, he's already 6'3, and he's got an uppercut to his swing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx7DnUUG-Ac

Brett Anderson is the Truth. Brett Anderson is divine presence. Brett Anderson is eternal life. Brett Anderson is within you. Brett Anderson is here. Brett Anderson is Now.

by Frederick0220 on Jan 24, 2026 6:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I've seen him.

You call that an uppercut swing? Really? I’ve seen him hit some balls with an uppercut swing, because he presses and tries to hit for power, but his normal swing isn’t built for power.

Noriega filling out is a bad thing. He’ll add some more fast-twitch muscle, but adding bulk when defense is your #1 calling card is a really bad idea (see: Betancourt, Yuniesky).

He doesn’t have a higher power ceiling than Franklin. At all.

by slamcactus on Jan 24, 2026 7:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

now THIS is an uppercut swing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4svtGzz-TQ8

by slamcactus on Jan 24, 2026 8:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I didn't say anything about Franklin.

The real problem I have is with projecting Noriega that high. I wasn’t making a specific comparison between short stops, merely that putting him up above Adam Moore, Carlos Triunfel, et al is thinking too much about the upper top most potential of a player without taking into consideration anything else (like reality).

Noriega may have the talent to be a huge player in the majors, but he’s also got a huge risk of not being anything. This was also my beef with the Greg Halman love a year ago. Why are people overrating talent and ignoring skill development? A talented player without skill will not do anything in the majors. Thus, players who are more major league ready should be thought of as “better” prospects in the organization.

Thus, my conclusion: if you want to put huge talents in the top ten, fine, but I wouldn’t over rank them, and I certainly wouldn’t put them above projected major league regulars who are closer to the show, such as Adam Moore.

In the end, people can do whatever they want ranking wise. If you think Noriega is a better short stop prospect than Franklin, fine. If you think the opposite, fine. If you think they’re a better prospect / rank than Moore, you’re bonkers.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Jan 23, 2026 8:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Matt Tuiasosopo...

is major league ready and not without upside. Eddy not ranking him for the 2nd year in a row is just silly. He’s not a top-3 prospect, but he’s definitely a top-10 guy.

by slamcactus on Jan 22, 2026 7:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ackley at 1B

Several times in the chat Eddy reiterated his view that Ackley would end up at 1B. It seemed like he felt there would be difficulty recovering from the arm injury. If true, that would (I think) dramatically change his prospect status.

by FI2 on Jan 22, 2026 7:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Eh.

I don’t put much stock in that. Arm strength isn’t that big a deal at 2B or LF, and he’s athletic enough to do all of the other things that make for plus defense at both of those positions.

by slamcactus on Jan 22, 2026 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Because that throw from 2B is so difficult?

by PissedMick on Jan 22, 2026 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I guess

I specifically asked the question during the chat if he could elaborate but he never answered it. Just kind of kept coming back to it.

by FI2 on Jan 22, 2026 7:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It can be

You need a pretty good arm to turn the double play or to make plays up the middle. Obviously second baseman don’t need the arms of short stops, or even third basemen, but I would say a similar amount as center fielders is needed.

by BrosbeforeShaincoes on Jan 23, 2026 4:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs