Mariners Minor League Recap, Week 20: August 19 - August 25

Arkansas increases their lead, Everett falls out of the race, and Tai Peete runs wild

Welcome back Mariner prospect enjoyers! As the month of September quickly approaches, playoff races continue to rage on. With one affiliate already having clinched their spot in the playoffs and two more in the thick of the second half race, it’s gearing up to be a thrilling end of the minor league season. As always, let’s kick things off with Tacoma.

Tacoma Rainiers

29-22, 2nd in PCL West

Despite dropping this week’s series against Sacramento, the Rainiers remain well within striking distance of a playoff spot with less than a month to go in the regular season. They’ll need to catch a red hot Reno team to do it, but they’ve certainly got the fire power to pull it off. Let’s hope the Rainiers can catch fire and punch their postseason ticket.

It was a down week for Tyler Locklear, but Ryan Bliss managed to show well at the plate and cause some chaos on the basepaths. Bliss (6-21) totaled six walks and three stolen bases while adding a pair of doubles to his weekly resume. It’s hard to gauge where the fan base lies on Ryan Bliss and his future as a Mariner, however I think I tend to be more optimistic about it than most. His speed is enough to get him rostered at the big league level, but his ability to play up the middle and glimpses of pop make me believe he could be a solid player moving forward. Certainly not a superstar, but definitely someone you want on your team.

Emerson Hancock continues to be solid at the Triple-A level, pitching six innings of two run ball in Sunday’s loss. Hancock will always be somewhat of a weird fit on this roster with how loaded this starting staff is, but he’s always been a reliable starter in whatever role they’ve needed. He’s probably too valuable of a piece to leave in Tacoma forever, but right now, that’s the only place they’ve got for him.

Arkansas Travelers

30-21, 2nd in Texas League North

It was another series win this week for the Travs, knocking off a pesky NW Arkansas team. Because Springfield won the first half division title and is again winning in the second half, the Travs are actually in a playoff position despite not leading the division outright. This means the Travs hold a 4.5 game lead over NW Arkansas with just a few weeks to go. Should they hold them off and clinch a spot, they’ll have as good a shot as any to claim the league title.

After their hot weeks last week, both Cole Young and Harry Ford were just alright this week, turning in good-not-great performances at the dish that had more OBP than impact. Absolutely nothing wrong with the output, just not a ton to write home about. With as difficult as it is to hit in DSP, I have little concern with either of their offensive futures.

The real gem of this team continues to be the starting rotation. Much like their big league counterparts, Arkansas sports one of the best rotations in the league and is starting to look like something of a super rotation down the stretch. Logan Evans and Juan Mercedes have been producing all season long, Brandyn Garcia is punching tickets like nobody’s business (albeit in decreased innings), and Michael Morales has quietly transformed himself into an incredibly sound stud who looks advanced beyond his years. I know nobody likes cherry picked stats, but if you throw out his first start at Double-A where he was shelled for eight runs, Morales’ numbers look like a staff ace. A 3.38 ERA, 27.8 K%, 4.6 BB%, and 1.07 WHIP are fantastic numbers, but they’re especially impressive for a kid who just turned 22 two weeks ago and is pitching in Double-A.

Everett AquaSox

25-29, 4th in Northwest League

Everett wasn’t able to squeak out a series win in a series they really needed to if they had any hope of the playoffs. They realistically would’ve needed to dominate the series to even have an iota of playoff hope, and clearly that was not the case. This team still holds the second best run differential in the league, but their bullpen struggles and relative inability to win close games has haunted them.

Michael Arroyo continued his aggressive hitting approach this past week, totaling seven hits on the week with zero walks. Arroyo has completely overhauled his profile as a hitter this season. Once a contact machine that rarely struck out, Arroyo now features a lot more swing and miss in his game but has added considerable power. It’s worked well for him up to this point, but I’ll be curious to see if the power sticks if he tries to cut back on his strikeouts with a different approach.

Nick Payero, a recent signing for the M’s after he was released by Cincinnati, has been excellent thus far for the AquaSox. His release from the Reds’ organization seems a bit odd as he had solid numbers this season, but apparently they had seen enough of the 24 year old righty. It’s unlikely he’ll turn into the next pitching darling of the system due to his age and general track record, but his stuff seems solid and Seattle obviously liked him enough to give him a shot. I always love seeing guys like this succeed, so I’m sure as hell rooting for the “Nick Payero: Major Leaguer” vision to become reality.

Modesto Nuts

25-29, 2nd in California League North

Modesto continues to hold steady as the second ranked team in their division, but it’s much more a product of the teams around them than anything they’re doing themselves. Not a ton of superb baseball being played in Modesto right now.

It was a monster week for Tai Peete, finishing 9-28 with three doubles and a triple. Peete also swiped three bases in the series, giving him 39 on the year with excellent efficiency. Peete’s power ability is usually what people gravitate to, but his speed is an incredibly underrated facet of his game and is a difference maker for this Modesto team. I’m still concerned about the contact ability and it will ultimately be the make or break aspect of his game, but I’ve been pleased with Peete’s season and feel as though he might be becoming a bit underrated in the system.

The pitching has been slipping a bit, partially due to imposed inning limits on these young arms and partially due to mean regression. Newcomers Walter Ford and Teddy McGraw have been fine, but neither has been that top of the line arm the staff has desperately needed for a while now. It’s tough to complain much at all when the pitching development this season has been as good as it is, but I’d certainly like to see the Nuts finish strong and make a run at the title, and a revitalized starting rotation feels like a major piece of that puzzle.

DSL Mariners

16-39, last in Dominican Summer League Central

The DSL (mercifully) ended on Tuesday of this week for a Mariner team that never got it going this season. Most all of their top signings were lackluster at the plate and it’s not looking like this season’s crop of talent will produce a meaningful prospect anytime soon. Next year’s team should feature a much more talented roster that is sure to draw more intrigue, but for now, we’ll have to put a bow on one of the more uneventful seasons for the DSL Mariners in several years.

That concludes this week’s roundup. GOMS!!