Mariners Minor League Recap, Week 13: June 24 - June 30

Moving on up!

Welcome back to your Seattle Mariners prospect recap. If you’re as tired of watching the big league club as I am, lower your blood pressure and take in some nice and easy news from down on the farm. With as many big promotions as there were and the draft coming remarkably soon, it’ll be a big few weeks for the minor leagues. As always, let’s kick things off with Tacoma.

Tacoma Rainiers

2-4, last in PCL West

The Rainiers are off to a slow start to their second half, dropping their first series to the Space Cowboys. Sugarland has been the best PCL team all year and ran away with the title of first half champs, but a retooled Tacoma team played them close all series. Officially down a Dallas Keuchel and up a dollar, Tacoma is sure to be ready for the remainder of their season in a competitive PCL.

It was a good week for Jonatan Clase. Getting Sunday’s game off, Clase went 7-24 across five games and managed to club both a homer and triple in Thursdays affair. The young centerfielder seems to be finding a bit of a groove with consistent playing time in Tacoma and has maintained his game changing speed on the basepaths. The strikeouts are still his main wart right now, but the rest of the profile remains very intriguing. Hopefully Jonatan can build on this week and keep things rolling into July.

On the major league front, Emerson Hancock returned and pitched a shorter outing after being removed from his last start due to back spasms. He’ll likely play some type of role in the not so distant future with Bryan Woo struggling with his health. Additionally, Seby Zavala was removed from Sunday’s game early. With Garver exiting Sunday’s game and Ryan Bliss rarely seeing the field right now, the club may see Zavala as a better option for backup catcher than a sore or outright injured Garver. Pure speculation, but don’t be shocked if it happens.

Next up: Tacoma takes on Salt Lake

Arkansas Travelers

4-2, 1st in Texas League North

It was a big week of promotions down on the farm with several new faces joining the Travs. The fresh squad managed to take down the reigning division champs and currently hold the best record in their division to start the second half. After falling just short, the Travs should be locked and loaded to do some serious damage down the stretch.

One of the recent promotions, Brock Rodden continued his excellent hitting in his new home. Rodden managed to reach base eight times in his first five games and swat his first Double-A homer as well as steal a bag. It’s obviously an incredibly small sample size, but Rodden is showing the jump in stuff isn’t overwhelming him at all. With more walks than strikeouts thus far, I’m incredibly encouraged by Rodden’s performance. He should be a major contributor for Arkansas the rest of the way.

I can’t not write about Hogan Windish and his ridiculous Tuesday night. Launching FOUR homers and driving in all nine runs, Windish more than doubled his season home run total in one night. It’s been a down year for Windish on the whole, but absolutely nothing was stopping him against Springfield.

More major news in the way of promotions: Both of Brandyn Garcia and Michael Morales were promoted to the squad with Blas Castano earning his promotion up to Tacoma. Garcia and Morales have both been laying waste to the Northwest league and should be a major boost for this Traveler ballclub. While Garcia may edge Morales in the ERA department with his exceptional 1.84 mark, Morales now finds himself in Double-A at just 21 years of age. After toiling for two straight seasons in Modesto and finding middling success, Morales looks to be one of the best pitching prospects in the entire system. Joining Reid VanScoter (who pitched an exceptional game this week) and Juan Mercedes in the rotation, I’d expect the pitching in Arkansas to improve greatly.

Next up: A tough Frisco team comes to town.

Everett AquaSox

5-4, 4th in Northwest League

The new guys are here and they’re amazing. Despite the revamped lineup adding both Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes, the Frogs were entrenched in their old ways and insisted on splitting the series against a very good Spokane squad. There were some clear highs and lows throughout the week, but it’s tough to look at this team on paper and not believe they can do some major damage in the second half. The pitching may be a bit adventurous without their two top starters, but a draft that is just two weeks away is sure to provide some support.

How can I not show some love to the new guys? Both Montes and Arroyo are off to scorching hot starts to start their Northwest League careers. Arroyo, who’s been batting leadoff, went 6-20 and walked an astounding eight times across his first six games and holds an OPS over 1.000. Montes has managed to secure his presence in the middle of the lineup and is hitting .360 so far. They’ve both slugged their first homers and made some plays in the field. If the K rates mellow out a bit, watch out.

The two best performances of the week were from guys that are no longer with the team, however the Frogs are getting some reinforcements to help out their staff. Will Schomberg, an undrafted righty out of Davidson last year, earned his promotion to Hi-A after holding a league best 97 Ks across 70.1 IP as well as the second lowest ERA (2.69) to teammate Ashton Izzi (2.62). The control can get a little wild and he’s been walking people at too high of a rate, but the run prevention has been undeniable. I’m intrigued to watch him pitch in Everett and see if he can continue his remarkable story up the minors as a UDFA.

Next up: A scorching hot Vancouver team will look to continue a nine game win streak at home against the Frogs.

Modesto Nuts

4-5, 2nd in California League North

The Nuts managed a split against a Stockton team that this team should frankly trounce, but what’s done is done. Now officially down their two best sluggers this season, the Nuts received some backup in the form of Colt Emerson. Emerson, who’d been on the IL with a broken ankle, returned to the Nuts over the weekend, though he was removed a bit early due to some cramping. Still, the seemingly consensus top prospect in the system will be a huge get for this Nuts team who’ve looked a bit more vulnerable than they once were.

It was a big week for two teenage studs manning the middle of Modesto’s grounds, with both Tai Peete and Aidan Smith logging huge numbers. Smith, who went 9-25 with seven walks, three doubles, and two homers, played some fantastic defense in right field and showed off his outstanding arm on multiple occasions. Nabbing two runners at home and displaying fantastic range, Smith is showing why some evaluators thought he may just be a double-plus fielder. Peete, who also went 9-25 on the week, slugged a homer as well and has looked more than comfortable playing shortstop. Plus, both have each been sneaky on the basepaths and are near the top of league in stolen bases (22 for Smith, 21 for Peete). If this hot hitting continues and the strikeouts continue to trend positively, Smith and Peete could make mincemeat of the California League.

There’s been much acclaim given to the rotation of Modesto, and rightfully so. This week, however, I’m choosing to highlight the unheralded German Fajardo, another UDFA out of last year’s draft class. The undersized Fajardo has pitched some major innings out of the bullpen and often stretches out for multiple innings at a time. With a respectable 3.49 ERA and 48 Ks across 38.2 IP, Fajardo has proved to be another exceptional contributor to the minor league system.

Next up: Modesto takes on Fresno at home.

ACL Mariners

20-20, 2nd in ACL West

Of most import in these ACL games, Felnin Celesten did not appear in a game and hasn’t played since June 20th. With no move to the IL and no word from the team, it remains a bit of a mystery as to why he isn’t playing. Hopefully the young star can return to the field quickly and continue his scorching hot streak at the plate.

On the mound, Walter Ford turned in another good performance and may be finding a bit more consistency after a few stinkers to start June. Other top pitching prospect Jeter Martinez continues his odd year with his first truly poor start in the ACL. He’s been good for the most part, but the walks have really ticked up this season and are beginning to be somewhat of a concern. They’re the two arms I’d watch for the most down in Arizona.

DSL Mariners

7-13, 7th in Dominican Summer League Central

It’s rough out here for the DSL M’s. The DSL squad is among the worst in all offensive categories and holds a team ERA over six, a mark that sounds terrible but actually is pretty close to the middle of the pack. In such an offense heavy league, to have such atrocious offensive numbers is a major concern. I would say I’m confident they’ll turn things around, but I’d be lying.

That wraps things up for the week. Enjoy the Fourth of July and GOMS!