SB Nation Seattle - Mariners Minors: Generals Lose Championship Series

M's Minors Season Review: John Hicks

2012-10-01T04:00:02Z

Seattle Mariners catching prospect John Hicks was immediately known to many fans around the team, despite the fact that he was "only" a fourth round pick. That's because Hicks was a teammate at Virginia of the teams top pick, Danny Hultzen. But Hicks is a real prospect in his own right.

The right-handed catcher hit .309/.331/.446 with Clinton during his debut season and moved up to the hitter-friendly Cal League this year and was... very hitter-friendly. Hicks hit .312/.351/.472 with 15 HR and 32 doubles in 506 at-bats. If there was one knock in particular though, it's that the catcher got worse at the plate as the season went along, hitting .299/.340/.381 in August, the lowest OPS he posted all season. He posted a similar batting line in July and when hitting for High Desert, you'd like to see more power than that.

As a catcher, he threw out 54% of would-be base-stealers and committed eight errors with 20 passed balls.

Hicks has a strong arm but if he wants to advance to the majors, he may need to work a bit on his overall catcher defense or tap into the power potential that the Mariners saw in him when he was drafted. Double-A Jackson will be a good test of that in 2013.

Jackson Generals Season Recap: The Best Of The Mariners Farm

2012-09-24T18:32:21Z

The Jackson Generals entered the season with high expectations, as perhaps one of the top five teams in all of minor league baseball. However, since it is minor league baseball, the best you have to offer at the beginning of the year is likely the deathkill by the end of it.

By that I mean, the more successful your players are the more likely it is that they'll leave you. On the other hand, the less successful they are, the less likely it is that you're as good as you thought you were.

The Generals had a little bit of both. They entered the season with the pitching trio that fans at Lookout Landing dubbed as "Cerberus,"named after the three-headed dog of Greek and Roman mythology that guards the gates of the Underworld. Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, and James Paxton could be deemed as as three of the best 30 or so starting pitching prospects in baseball. In addition to those three, Jackson had the best Mariners hitting prospect still left in the minors (since Jesus Montero spent all year in Seattle) with Nick Franklin at shortstop.

Those four prospects would be what made Jackson a neck-and-neck tie for best team in the Southern League, along with the Diamondbacks Mobile Bay Bears-affiliate that featured their own Cerberus of Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs, and Patrick Corbin. So, how did it all turn out?

Well, the D'backs trio did not spend all that much time in double-A Mobile and finished 69-71. The Generals wound up at 79-61, the best record in the league. However, minor leagues have weird "1st half, 2nd half" winner rules and by the end of the year it was indeed Jackson vs Mobile in the Southern League Championship Series. After the Generals took game 1, the Bay Bears won the next three to capture the championship.

That's all well and good, but I'm mostly concerned about the players. How did the Mariners top prospects turn out this year? Let's take a look:

Danny Hultzen, LHP, 22

I wrote about Hultzen's massive control struggles after he was promoted to the Tacoma Rainiers in my triple-A review, but he was absolutely dominant while he was a General. Hultzen made 13 starts in his full-season debut with Jackson, and had a 1.19 ERA, 79 K/32 BB in 75.1 innings with only 38 hits allowed. He gave up 10 earned runs total during his time in double-A, and half of those came in his first start. He was unhittable, un-score-upon-able for the rest of his run. The walk issue is showing already in those numbers, and it would get much worse, but he was otherwise fantastic.

Let's just hope he can put it all together in 2013.

Nick Franklin, SS, Switch-hitter, 21

I just want to get these two out of the way that I already spoke about in my Tacoma review. Franklin had some nice moments with the Rainiers, but he got promoted because he was just too good for the Southern League. He hit .322/.394/.502 in 57 games with only 38 strikeouts in 239 plate appearances. Franklin stole nine bases, hit four home runs, walked 24 times, and had 17 doubles with four triples.

He struggled at times in triple-A but a 21-year-old at that level is an aggressive assignment and the fact that he could hit at all is impressive. He struggles as a switch-hitter, something that may have to be addressed in his future (or at the Arizona Fall League where he'll be reporting for extra duty) but is otherwise looking like a staple of the Mariners future infield.

A return to Tacoma seems likely to start 2013.

James Paxton, LHP, 23

Fans were absolutely thrilled to land Paxton in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, a year after he was a supplemental first round pick of the Blue Jays that didn't sign. He spent a year pitching in independent leagues, hurting his value and driving down his stock but no matter what happens at this point - it looks like a great pick for Seattle.

Just to get any kind of prospect in the fourth round is a major coup.

Paxton had 17 mostly-dominant starts for Clinton and Jackson in 2011, totaling 131 K in 95 innings with a 2.37 ERA. Baseball America rated him as the 52nd best prospect coming into the year. Command/control seemed to be an issue, wondering if he would ever be able to strike out enough batters at higher levels to make up for his high number of walks or vice versa, but he got off to a phenomenal start when he struck out 10 and walked none in 5.2 innings against Birmingham.

It wouldn't be long until those walk issues came back though.

Paxton walked eight batters in his third start. Five in the next. Overall, he walked 31 batters in his next 36.2 innings before hitting the DL after his May 25th start that saw him walk five and strike out one in 2.2 innings. Paxton wouldn't return until July 3rd, but he was much more efficient after that.

After walking almost 16% of batters faced in April and May, Paxton dramatically reduced free passes. He would pitch 26.1 innings in July and walk 7.5% of batters while striking out 22.6% and posting a 2.39 ERA. He pitched 33.2 innings in August and walked 9.7% of batters while striking out 23.6% faced and posting an ERA of 2.41. He was equally as good in the playoffs.

Paxton probably finished the year better than any other Mariners prospect and should start the 2013 season in Tacoma depending on how the Arizona Fall League and Spring Training go. There's a possibility that Paxton winds up in the bullpen, as there would be with almost any pitching prospect, but he's got the chance to be a very good number two starter if all works out.

Taijuan Walker, RHP, 20

Walker effectively turned himself into the steal of the 2010 draft when he dominated low-A at Clinton in 2011, striking out 113 and walking 39 in 96.2 innings with a 2.89 ERA. Baseball America ranked him as the 20th best prospect in the game and one of the top teenage prospects in baseball.

He lived up to that hype and more during the first two months of the season. Walker posted a 1.64 ERA in April over 22 innings, striking out over 30% of batters faced and walking only 7%. He was pretty good in May, striking out 18.8% and walking 8.3% of batters with a 2.82 ERA. As a 19-year-old pitching at least two levels above most players his age, this had scouts wondering if he was the best pitching prospect in baseball. It was basically down to him and Orioles phenom Dylan Bundy. Most agreed it was Bundy, but the debate was legitimate.

That talked quieted down after June.

Walker had his worst stretch as a professional, posting a 9.14 ERA in 20.2 innings in June, walking 15.4% of batters. He gave up three runs or more in seven straight starts, three times failing to reach the fifth inning. He was ineffective, hittable, and wild. Walker settled down at times (July 26: 6 innings, 2 hits, 8 K, 0 BB) but then come crashing down (August 12: 5.2 innings, 12 hits, 5 ER, 5 extra base hits.)

He gave up seven earned runs in his final regular season start over 3.1 innings, but on the bright side I guess he did strike out seven and only walk one. He also had a fairly dominant playoff finish, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing five hits, no runs, no walks, and nine strikeouts. (Overall in two playoff starts: 12.2 innings, 1 R, 13 K, 4 BB)

Walker's got something that most pitching prospects simply don't have: The "stuff" to be as dominant as anyone could hope to be. He just needs to figure it out, but it's not surprising that a guy who spent most of the season as a teenager in a league full of twenty-somethings would struggle at times. He pitched the most innings of his career and could have been fatigued but he ended on a high note. His curveball and fastball still give him the potential to be a number one starter.

After a a winter of rest, Walker could open 2013 back at Jackson (for what I expect would be a short stint to get his feet wet) or in the Tacoma rotation. His ETA will be entirely dependent upon his success, but there's a chance he gets a midseason call in 2013 with his innings closely monitored.

With the season wrapped up, I'd probably say that I'd rank Cerberus as: Walker, Paxton, Hultzen. That could always change in a heartbeat, and we saw a rollercoaster of events with these three this year, but I still think that Seattle has one hell of a trio. It's unlikely that all three will pan out, but it's also unlikely that none of them will. It's a good place for the Mariners to be in.

The Call-Ups:

The reason that Jackson managed to stay good after the promotions of Franklin and Hultzen was that they found an infusion of talent from the lower levels that wasn't quite expected. Here is a breakdown of those guys.

Mike Zunino, C, 21, Bats: Right

Not long at all after playing college ball at Florida, Zunino dominated minor league pitching after being the third overall pick in the 2012 draft. He started at short-season Everett and made that look like a joke: .373/.474/.736, 10 HR in 29 games.

He was promoted all the way to double-A Jackson so that he'd be eligible for the Arizona Fall League, where he'll join Franklin and Paxton among five others. It seemed to be a formality for that reason, but instead he made it look like he was ready for the majors instead.

Zunino played in 15 regular season games and hit .333/.386/.588 with 3 HR, 5 BB/7 K and four doubles. He shows excellent plate discipline and displayed power with three more home runs in the playoffs. After years of searching high and low, spending draft picks and trading young stars, the M's are hopeful that they have finally found a franchise catcher.

Thus far, he's done nothing wrong. (Jeff Clement looked pretty awesome in the minors.) He could start 2013 with Tacoma or possibly in the majors as the opening day catcher.

Stefen Romero, 2B/3B, 23, Bats:Right

A 12th round pick out of Oregon State in 2010, nobody ever really talked about Romero because... he was a 12th round pick. That's changing now.

He hit .280/.342/.462 for Clinton last year with 16 HR and 16 SB, which isn't bad at all but won't get you on any prospect lists. He came into this year with no expectations and hit .357/.391/.581 in High Desert. But, it's literally on the moon.

How would he fair for Jackson? Pretty awful, right?

Well, he improved actually and led the Generals in OPS when he hit .347/.392/.620 in 56 games with 12 HR, 6 SB, 15 doubles and four triples. At 6'3, 225 lbs, Stefen carries the weight to continually hit for power, which he's going to have to do since he doesn't walk much. He just seemed to get hotter as the season went on and his trend kind of reminds me of Kyle Seager. Everybody was waiting for Seager to finally reach a level where he'd be outmatched and it just never happened. Instead, he's currently leading the Mariners in home runs, RBI, doubles, and a tick behind Michael Saunders in OPS.

Seager was supposed to be a utility player and right now he's one of our best hitters. He also plays 3B and Ackley plays 2B, so there's a logjam there at the moment. Luckily if you're going to get jammed up, let it happen in the infield. There's always a chance that Romero will hit well enough to be an above-average corner outfielder. The fact that he was a 12th rounder shouldn't harm how you view him, he's got excellent reports on his confidence, leadership, and clubhouse presence.

This is a guy that could open the season on the major league roster, a year after nobody outside of the organization knew who he was. In the future, he could even hit somewhere near that number three spot. Maybe the highest jump of anyone in the organization. He'll also be going to the AFL.

Brad Miller, SS, 22, Bats: Left

Another middle infielder prospect, people did know about Miller. A 2nd round pick out of Clemson in 2011, Miller sat right next to Hultzen at the press conference and so we knew of him. He hit .415/.458/.528 in a short 14 game stint with Clinton last year and began the season with Romero at High Desert.

Miller was tabbed by some as a sleeper to jump high up the rankings, and he did a pretty good job of that.

He hit .339/.412/.524 for the Mavericks with 11 HR and 19 SB in 97 games. He made his double-A debut on August 4th and mostly kept hitting.

Miller hit .320/.406/.476 with 4 HR, 7 doubles, two triples, 4 SB, 26 K/22 BB in 40 games and 170 plate appearances. Positives include an excellent eye at the plate and potential 10-20 HR power from a middle infield position. Negatives include 31 errors at High Desert, but that went down to just five in double-A. Of course, errors don't tell the whole story of a player but at least there was significant improvement there. Hopefully between Franklin and Miller, the M's have their future shortstop.

Either way, Miller could hit enough to play second base and maybe as an outfielder if he can continually hit for high average with great plate discipline. He's a legitimately good prospect and I expect him to open 2013 back at Jackson.

The "Other" Pitcher

Brandon Maurer, 22, RHP

The last player that I'll go over in great detail is another prospect that made a significant jump on prospect lists as the year went on. Maurer was drafted all the way in the 23rd round of 2008 out of high scool. He's pitched well during his time in the minors, but injuries have slowed him down quite a bit and he had never pitched more than 80 innings in a season until this year.

Getting out of a Cal League that saw him post a 6.38 ERA in 42.1 innings last year, the 22-year-old Maurer handled double-A pretty well: 137.2 innings, 117 K/48 BB, 133 hits, 3.20 ERA. That doesn't look that dominating, but he got better as the season went on, posting an ERA of 1.99 in July and 2.20 in August.

At 6'5", 200 lbs, Maurer has the build to be an intimidating starter. He's got a four-pitch repertoire with at least a couple of above-average pitches with potential to have at least two plus pitches, specifically his slider and curve though his fastball can reach the mid-90s. There's a chance that Maurer can go from fringe prospect to the ceiling of a good number three starter. Maurer should open the year in 2013 with Tacoma and possibly get some fill-in opportunities in the majors, though he needs to work up his arm to handle more than 150 innings. He just doesn't have that much experience yet.

While the M's had struggles at times with their absolute best prospects, they turned out to get a few extras in the bags that most of us didn't even know about.

Here's a quick rundown of the rest:

Rich Poythress, 1B - Former 2nd rounder hit .304/.404/.439 with 50 BB/33 K in 86 games. Great eye, no power first baseman. He's hit 17 home runs in his last 208 games.

Nate Tenbrink, INF - Formerly-interesting utility prospect missed much year with injuries, hit .283/.396/.539, 8 HR in 46 games. 23 BB/56 K in 152 at-bats. Turns 26 this year.

Joseph Dunigan, OF - Hit .254/.320/.502 with 25 HR, 72 RBI, 175 K/38 BB. Hit more than twice as many home runs as anyone on the team but 26-year-old power hitter is not a prospect.

Chih-Hsien Chiang, OF - Part of the Erik Bedard deal in 2011, M's fans were hopeful that they could Chiang their lucky stars for this prospect. Unfortunately, he's not very good. Chiang hit .252/.289/.386 in 77 games with Jackson and .245/.265/.321 in 40 games with Tacoma. No Chiang you.

Denny Almonte, OF - Sometimes I still wish that this was Danny Almonte, the former Little League star that turned out to be an 82-year-old grandfather of 17. But instead it's Denny Almonte, the former 2nd round pick that was taken one spot ahead of Giancarlo Stanton. Almonte has been a disappointment in his career, regularly striking out like every pitcher he faces is... 11-year-old Danny Almonte. He struck out 192 times in 2010 and then got it down to 161 strikeouts last year. He did have his best season at the plate in that regard: 135 strikeouts (career-low) and 52 walks (career-high) However, he hit just 12 home runs and finished at .249/.331/.401.

Johermyn Chavez, OF - Don't hold it against Chavez that he's involved in maybe the worst trade of the Jack Z era, coming in from Toronto along with Brandon League for Brandon Morrow. Chavez could have been a good prospect, he just wasn't. He was DFA'd a few weeks ago.

Francisco Martinez, 3B - Don't hold it against Martinez that he's involved in maybe the worst trade of the Jack Z era, coming in from Detroit along with a few others for Doug Fister. Martinez could have been a good prospect, he's just not. Martinez hit .227/.315/.295 in 95 games with 2 home runs and 27 stolen bases. It's so weird that he was traded because of his power potential and then he turns into a "speedster third baseman!" Not good.

Steven Proscia, 3B - Mostly worked at high-A and hit .333/.368/.567. Played 21 games for Jackson and hit .211/.259/.395 but did hit four home runs. Still an interesting prospect.

Gabriel Noriega, SS/3B - Glove-first player is still glove-first: .208/.266/.223

Anthony Fernandez, LHP - Not likely to make a major league rotation, Fernandez is still only 22 and pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts this year. 76 innings, 55 K/24 BB, 3.32 ERA.

Mauricio Robles, RP - Former prospect who has fallen apart with command issues pitched 50.2 innings, 50 K/41 BB and that's actually an improvement.

Moises Hernandez, RP - Gets to be Felix Hernandez's brother.

Carter Capps, RP - Now in the majors and probably staying there for a long time, just dominated in the minors. 50 innings, 72 K/12 BB, 1.26 ERA. Future closer, possibly future elite closer.

Logan Bawcom, RP - Acquired in Brandon League deal, pitched 49 innings for Jackson, 51 K/31 BB, 2.39 ERA.

Andrew Carraway, RHP - Opening day starter, seven starts, 2.61 ERA, 38 innings, 32 K/7 BB, promoted to Tacoma.

Steven Hensley, RP - 33.1 innings, 36 K/19 BB, 3.24 ERA.

Brian Moran, RP - 31.2 innings, 29 K/6 BB, promoted to Tacoma. Finished overall year at 68.2 innings, 82 K/18 BB, 2.62 ERA. Possible future in Seattle crowded bullpen.

Bobby LaFromboise, RP - Midseason All-Star, going to the Fall League, 26.2 innings for Jackson, 32 K/5 BB, 1.01 ERA. Another good reliever.

Stephen Pryor, RP - Did somebody say good relievers? Pryor posted a 1.13 ERA in Jackson, 24 K/5 BB in 16 innings. Should be a mainstay in Seattle's bullpen.

When it's all said and done, Jackson might be one of the greatest collections of talent that a Mariners affiliate has ever had. Look at this collection of potential future regulars:

Hitters - Franklin, Zunino, Miller, Romero, Proscia

Starting Pitchers - Hultzen, Walker, Paxton, Maurer (and good years from Carraway, Fernandez.)

Bullpen - Capps, Pryor, LaFromboise, Moran

That's a semi-ridiculous roster right there. Let's hope that it works out as best as possible.

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Old News: Generals Lost That Championship Series

2012-09-19T18:58:24Z

So I was away for five days and while I was gone, I was unable to update everyone on the Jackson Generals championship series. Since I've been covering the Mariners minor leagues all season long, I would hate to not just get this on the record.

They lost that series!

After taking a 1-0 series lead after a masterful performance by James Paxton, the Generals struggled to score runs in games 2, 3, and 4 and lost the series to the Mobile BayBears 3-1.

After James Gillheeney had an awful game two start, Taijuan Walker came in to save the say for game three by pitching 5.1 innings of 5-hit, 0-run, 0-walk baseball with 9 strikeouts. After being very concerned for Walker down the stretch of the season, he ended it on an extremely positive note that reminds us how damn good of a prospect he really is. The only pitcher out of the M's top 3 that didn't end on a high note was Danny Hultzen. But there's plenty of time for him to get better too.

The Generals held a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, but two unearned runs scored against Yoervis Medina and forced a tie that was broken in the bottom of the tenth when Matt Davidson hit a 2-run walkoff home run against Jonathan Arias.

The fourth and final game of the series uneventfully ended Jackson's season when a solo shot in the third inning for Mobile's Jonathan Griffin was the only run of the ball game and the Generals lost 3-1 after managing just three hits in the final game.

They don't have to hang their heads low though. Sure, they lost the championship (that nobody else cares about but them) and their best players are going to Tacoma but at least we got to see a few more great starts from Walker and Paxton. Good memories.

Generals Drop Game 2, Taijuan Walker Pitches Tonight

2012-09-13T17:48:31Z

The Jackson Generals dropped game 2 of the Southern League Championship Series to Mobile by a score of 7-2 last night. Former Mariner Matt Mangini did most of the damage with a 3-run home run for the Mobile BayBears.

James Gillheeney got the start and allowed 6 runs in 5 innings with 9 hits, though he struck out 4 and walked none. Forrest Snow came in relief and pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts and Jonathan Arias pitched a perfect eighth inning with three strikeouts.

The offense was mostly provided by Stefen Romero, who went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Catcher Mike Zunino was 0-for-3.

Taijuan Walker will try to turn the series back into the Generals favor tonight as the games head to Mobile. He allowed just 1 run over 7.1 innings in his last start, perhaps his best start in awhile although he did walk four.

Generals Take Game 1 of Championship Series Behind Paxton, Zunino

2012-09-12T16:21:44Z

The Jackson Generals took a 1-0 series lead in the Southern League Championship series last night with an 8-1 win over Mobile. Two of the Mariners top five prospects came up especially big in the game, with James Paxton having potentially his best start of the season.

Paxton went 7.1 innings and allowed 4 hits, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB and 10 K in the victory. Paxton has not allowed an earned run in 13.1 playoff innings and has allowed just five earned runs over his last 35.1 innings. He'll be headed to the Arizona Fall League on a very high note.

Catcher Mike Zunino, who had three home runs in the opening round, went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, walk, RBI, and three runs scored. He is hitting .444 in the playoffs. It seems likely that both Zunino and Paxton will start 2013 with AAA Tacoma, right on the cusp of joining the major league club.

Johermyn Chavez went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBI.

James Gillheeney gets the game 2 start tonight at 4:05 PST.

Jackson Generals Advance to Championship Series, Mike Zunino Advances to 'Legendary' Status

2012-09-10T19:37:26Z

The Jackson Generals, the Seattle Mariners AA-affiliate, have advanced to the Southern League Championship Seriesfor the first time since 2005. The Generals entered the season with high expectations after learning that Danny Hultzen, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, and Nick Franklin would all start the season there and there were few disappointments from them in the first half.

After Franklin and Hultzen were promoted to Tacoma in the second half, it would have been fair to expect a dropoff from the Generals, but new additions helped at least as much as the dearly departed. Brad Miller and Stefen Romero were called up from High Desert and hit .320 and .347, respectively. Additionally, Mike Zunino was called up for 15 games and hit .333/.386/.588 with 3 home runs.

Zunino has been even more phenomenal in the playoffs, hitting three home runs in Jackson's four games against Chattanooga. One of those homers came last night in the Generals clinching 8-2 victory that also saw Miller, Romero, Francisco Martinez, Chih-Hsien Chiang, and Nate Tenbrink have multi-hit games.

The Generals best-of-5 series against Mobile starts on Tuesday at 4:05 PST at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tennessee. If you live out there, the team is offering free admission. Why the hell would you miss it?

Seattle Mariners Top the 2012 MLB Prospects List

2012-09-07T17:21:53Z

The rebuilding project of the Seattle Mariners has been a long, long decade going, but according to MLB.com's prospect list, the Mariners are going to get a very nice boost quite quickly. The Mariners have five players in the top 100, and are the top-ranked team by accumulation of points given to the prospects.

General Manager Jack Zduriencik has made it quite clear the Mariners needed to restock their farm system after a rash of ill-advised Bavasi era trades left it more depleted than Justin Smoak's batting average. After a few years of smart drafting and international scouting, the Mariners have a few players who *hopefully* will make a big splash with the major teams quite soon.

Pitchers Taijuan Walker (fifth) and Danny Hultzen (ninth) head the pack in the top 10 prospects, with shortstop Nick Franklin (31st), catcher Mike Zunino (51st) and pitcher James Paxton (82nd) heading the rest of the list.

Read what MLB.com said about the players after the jump.

Taijuan Walker:

The way Walker pitched in his first full season, in 2011, helped the Mariners forget they didn't have a first-round pick in 2010. The SoCal high school product was a multi-sport star and, as a result, is really focusing on pitching full time for the first time as a professional. So far, so good, as he was dominant in the Arizona League in 2010 and the Midwest League in '11 and then held his own in '12 at Double-A Jackson, where he pitched most of the season at age 19. The stuff is there, with a mid-to-high 90s fastball and excellent curve. His changeup is rapidly improving. That three-pitch mix, his size and athleticism could all add up to a frontline starter in the future.

Danny Hultzen:

While most thought Seattle would go after Anthony Rendon with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 Draft, the Mariners had their sights set on Hultzen all along. The University of Virginia product is the kind of college lefty expected to move quickly, but he's more than just a command/pitchability type. Hultzen's velocity increased in his junior season, giving him a plus fastball from the left side as well as a plus changeup. His slider isn't quite as good as those first two, but it's a serviceable pitch and Hultzen will work to improve it. He has indeed moved quickly through the Mariners system, pitching in the Arizona Fall League in 2011, then Double-A and Triple-A in his first full season in 2012.

Nick Franklin:

After going 20-20 in his first full season, everyone was excited to see what Franklin would do in year No. 2 with the Mariners. But the 2011 season really never got going full-bore for the infielder because he was hit in the face with a bat during batting practice in June. He did eventually return and played well in the Arizona Fall League, named the No. 14 prospect there by MLB.com. He then hit .322 over 57 games at Double-A Jackson to start the 2012 season before being bumped up to Tacoma, where he split time evenly between shortstop and second base, perhaps signalling the beginning of his transition away from short.

Mike Zunino:

The 2012 Golden Spikes Award Winner has the chance to be a fairly quick to the big leagues everyday catcher for the Mariners. While some concern was voiced over an up-and-down junior season, Zunino has outstanding bat speed and loft, which should translate to a lot of power as a professional. His swing can get long at times, but if he finds some consistency. He should hit for average and pop, just as he did during his pro debut. He's a natural leader behind the plate who can run a pitching staff -- one with an accurate arm, good hands and more than enough agility to stay there long-term. Middle of the order, run-producing catchers don't grow on trees, but that's what the Mariners added to their system.

James Paxton:

Paxton didn't sign with the Mariners until March 2011, but he made up for lost time quickly by double-jumping from Class A to Double-A during the season, pitching well at both levels. He followed that up with a very solid season at Double-A Jackson. Paxton's two best pitches are his fastball, a truly plus offering he can crank up into the upper 90s, and an excellent power breaking ball. The improvement he's shown with his changeup is a big reason the Mariners are even more excited about his potential as a Major League starter. He was shut down a bit early in 2011, more as a precaution than anything, and he missed the month of June in 2012 with a sore right knee, but, assuming he's healthy, seeing him in Seattle's rotation soon is not out of the question.

For more on the Seattle Mariners and their impending glory, head over to Lookout Landing and join the conversation.

Seattle Mariners: Tacoma Rainiers 2012 Season Review

2012-09-05T20:29:28Z

The Tacoma Rainiers were supposed to be the only thing standing in the way between the Mariners top four prospects and the big leagues. It turns out that they did more than just stand in the way, they proved to be difficult ground for one of the team's major building blocks and two of the four were not able to advance at all. Overall, Tacoma was not a pretty team to watch and nearly all of the Mariners top prospects seemed to fail there.

They finished 63-81 in the PCL North, good for last place. They hit .264 as a team, good for 14th in the PCL. Their 4.97 team ERA was 12th. They committed a league-high 139 errors. There's not much good that head coach Daren Brown could say about the Rainiers as a team, but as Mariners fans we aren't really interested so much in how the team does as how the individuals do.

That's what I'm going to go over here with you today, how did the M's prospects fair for the Rainiers, not how the team did. Well, I've got bad news for you because usually when a team does bad that means that they had bad individual performances. I wish I had better news.

Here are the prospect reports from the Seattle Mariners AAA-affiliate Tacoma "That's where the aroma is really coming from these days" Rainiers.

Danny Hultzen, LHP

The report on Hultzen coming out of Virginia when the Mariners surprisingly selected him with the number two overall pick last season was that he might not have the highest ceiling in the draft but he was polished and near-ready. Hultzen had a decent fastball and okay slider but his change-up could already be a major league pitch that could advance him through the ranks fast. He was a lefty with a great build and maybe at best he "only" becomes a number two or three starter, but few people imagined that he didn't have a long major league future.

Hultzen seemed to prove the doubters embarrassingly wrong during his debut at AA Jackson. He made thirteen starts and was grossly, disgustingly effective: 75.1 innings, 38 hits, 1.19 ERA, 79 K, 32 BB, 2.80 FIP, 50% groundballs. He was essentially unhittable with all contact being weak contact. Hultzen allowed just eight extra base hits and while his walks seemed a little high (3.82 BB/9) it wasn't a major concern.

And then he got promoted and it became a major concern.

In his first AAA start, Hultzen went 3 innings at Colorado Springs and allowed five runs (much like he had allowed five runs in his first AA start before dominating) with three strikeouts and five walks. Based on runs allowed, he seemed to settle down after that, allowing just four earned runs total in his next four starts. But the control became out of control.

Hultzen walked no less than two batters in any of his twelve AAA starts. He allowed four walks or more in half of his starts. He went six innings just one time. He went fewer than five innings seven times. He was wild and ineffective and while he did strike out 10.54 batters per nine innings, he actually struck out fewer batters per plate appearance than he did in Jackson (23.8% compared to 27.2%) because he was facing so many damn batters.

At the end of the year, Hultzen's AAA numbers are scary in a bad way: 48.2 innings, 49 hits, 5.92 ERA, 57 K, 43 BB, 4.76 FIP, 38% groundballs.

He allowed all kinds of contact. He allowed 13 extra base hits. In about 2/3rds as many innings as he pitched in Jackson, he faced only fifty fewer batters. While Hultzen was more effective at home (3.16 ERA in Tacoma compared to 9.00 on the road) he still wasn't very effective. He walked 19.8% of batters on the road and still walked 16% of batters at home. His 38% groundballs were the same on the road and at home. Everything good that Hultzen did in Jackson was erased by how awful he was in Tacoma.

There are plenty of excuses you can make. Hultzen was new to the league, in his first pro season, possibly trying new stuff, and possibly tired by the end of the year. The Mariners started to give him more rest between starts to try and soften the blow. But at the end of the day, this will leave a sour taste in many mouths. Hultzen needs to find out how to find the strikezone without allowing hits again or all of those "high floor" expectations that made people believe he'd at least be in a major league rotation for awhile, could be gone.

Years from now, people might point to the fact that Hultzen was drafted ahead of Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Bubba Starling, Anthony Rendon, Archie Bradley, and Francisco Lindor among others. But I'll remind everyone that Bundy was likely to only sign with the Orioles or go to college. And it's far too early to say who the winners of the 2011 MLB draft were, but I have to admit the wind has been taken out of my Hultzen sails.

Let's hope that he comes back strong and in control in 2013.

Nick Franklin, SS, Switch-hitter

Another player that impressed at Jackson, got a promotion, and then sort of broke my heart was Nick Franklin. He was one of the best middle-infielders in the Southern League and doing it at 21:

.322/.381/.502, 4 HR, 17 2B, 4 3B, 9 SB, but most encouraging was his improvement in plate discipline. As a breakout player for the Mariners in 2010, Franklin hit 23 HR and stole 25 bases for Clinton, but he struck out in 21.4% of his at-bats and walked in just 8.7%. That was an area that we'd really like to see improvement in. He lowered his strikeouts to 18.9% and raised his walks to 10.8% in 2011 with the High Desert Mavericks, but his power surprisingly disappeared.

That changed with Jackson: 15.9% strikeouts, 10% walks, and an Isolated Power of .180 (compared to .136 with HD. More standard-y would be to say that he raised his SLG from .411 with the Mavs to .502 with Jackson.)

That's the kind of hitter we wanted to see. So we did and he got promoted to be one of the youngest players in AAA. Then it all seemed to disappear.

Franklin struck out at a ferocious rate to begin his career with the Rainiers, striking out in 34.1% of his 41 June plate appearances and 28.2% of his 117 July appearances. However, he calmed down to end the year and struck out in just 15.2% of his final 138 plate appearances, but still didn't walk a lot. He did hit four home runs in August however.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about Franklin though is his insistence to be a switch-hitter. Franklin has never hit left-handers well and he's still not doing it. With Tacoma he came up against a lefty 63 times and hit .206/.292/.333 compared to 204 at-bats against righties when he hit .255/.315/.441.

His overall line was .243/.310/.416.

It's really not anything we can know much about though because he just might not be able to ever hit a southpaw, no matter what side of the plate he stands on. There is still plenty to be encouraged about with Franklin though. He maintained 17.8% line drives in Tacoma (17.8% in Jackson) but hit fewer balls on the ground (33% compared to 40%) and got more in the air. His power still seems pretty good for a shortstop and if he can stick at the position he could start taking reps with the big league club next year at 22.

I think that my expectations for Franklin have gone down a significant degree since 2010 but I don't think that is a terrible thing. Expectations of 25 HR and 25 SB were probably too much to put on him and he'd still have significant value as a major league shortstop that can hit 15-20 home runs with a decent batting average and 10-15 SB. I'm also encouraged by his continued adjustments at every level to get better. He got off the ground running and so some of us might expected it to only get better, but Franklin has continued growing pains. However, he seems to work through his growing pains each and every time to get better.

I think that Franklin could be with the Mariners by next season and he very likely could struggle at first but I think he'll work through it to become a fixture at the position for awhile with some All-Star potential in him when he taps into that power. He's got to figure out what to do against left handers though or he's doomed to be a forgotten man on those days, if not in a mini-platoon.

My feelings for him are probably the same as they were entering the year, but if I can be Franklin, they are lower than they were at midseason. His stock goes up and down like a booty shakin' contest.

Vincent Catricala, 1B/3B/DH, Bats:Right

The one thing we didn't have to worry about with the Big Cat was the Big Bat. Even if he played defense like an actual cat, there was nothing that would have stopped him from getting a call to the majors this year if he had just continued to hit, especially with how badly Justin Smoak played this year. Unfortunately, he hit like a kitty cat too.

After hitting .341/.424/.636 in a half-season for Jackson last season (and .351/.420/.574 in a half-season with High Desert) Catricala went numb at the plate this year for Tacoma.

He hit .229/.292/.348 in 507 plate appearances with 10 HR, 23 2B, 88 strikeouts and 37 walks. His BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play, essentially a stat that tries to isolate how "lucky" a hitter gets) did drop from .403 (really high) to .263 (pretty low) this year, but that's not going to save him from the absence of power. He finished the year with a .640 OPS, far below the league-average.

His best month was June when he hit .256/.343/.400 and that's not a really great month for a guy that's only a hitter.

Unless he stuns everyone with a really solid spring training in 2013, it's pretty much guaranteed that Catricala will repeat AAA and maybe he'll finally make those adjustments to become a dominant hitter again, but we can't rely on that. As of now, he's not one of the team's top prospects.

Alex Liddi, 3B, Bats:Right

The Italian Stallion got an early-season cup of coffee with the Mariners and basically struck out all of the time. (42 K in 114 plate appearances.)

He got sent back down to Tacoma and struggled early (.198/.271/.311 in July) before finishing the year on a higher-note and hitting .328/.347/.563 with 6 HR in August and an absolute tear to end the season, hitting .405/.409/.810 in his final ten games. But the problem with Liddi is apparent in the fact that his OBP is hardly higher than his average.

He doesn't walk and he strikes out too much. Liddi would essentially have to either improve his plate discipline or profile to hit 30+ homers at the major league level, none of which are all that easy to do. Liddi has been a good hitter in Tacoma but he's going to have to be a better hitter to be a major league regular.

Carlos Peguero, OF, Bats:Left, Strikesout:A Lot

His numbers are phenomenal. And by that I mean, it's phenomenal that a guy can strike out in 51% of his at-bats in the majors with one walk and some fans still expect him to contribute.

It doesn't matter if he can hit the ball a mile, Peguero struck out 25 times in his major league at-bats this year and walked once. Major league pitching is fine with seeing Peguero at the plate. He led the Rainiers in OPS by hitting .285/.366/.562 with 21 HR, but he struck out 103 times and walked 29 times in 281 at-bats.

It's doubtful at this point that he'd ever actually be able to hit .285/.366/.562 against major league pitching and not AAA-pitching, which is made up of a lot of guys that couldn't cut it in the majors.

Carlos Triunfel, SS, Bats:Right

Triunfel was Baseball America's #62 prospect in 2008 and #89 in 2009, but has never developed like we had hoped. Despite that, he just got his first call to the majors for September roster expansions. One wouldn't say that he's having an especially good season, but it's not especially bad for a still-only-22-year-old shortstop.

He hit .260/.308/.391 this year with 10 HR, 31 2B, 89 K/23 BB in 131 games. It's weird that he stole 30 bases in 2008 but just 11 total in the three years since. He hits much better against RHP than LHP:

.344/.377/.574 against LHP

.233/.286/.332 against RHP

That's something that could keep him around as a utility infielder for southpaw starters, but not much more. It's not what we expected when he was so highly-regarded as a teenager, but you have to acknowledge that a lot can go wrong when a player is more projection than production and has years to go before a major league callup. It would be nice if he could stick around the bigs as a useful role player.

Luis Antonio Jimenez, DH, Bats:Left, Large:Yes, InCharge:Definitely

He's hardly what you'd call a prospect but Jimenez is making his major league debut at 30 after over a decade in the minor leagues, which is another good story for the Mariners. He could also be pushing 300 pounds.

He hit .310/.394/.514 with 20 HR, 32 2B, (TWO TRIPLES?!), 97 K and 64 BB in 536 plate appearances.

It's not likely that Jimenez will stick, but stranger things have happened. He is really old for any minor league team but he hasn't done anything to not prove himself a case for a shot.

Adam Moore, C, Bats:Right

Remember him? Moore was the #83 prospect in baseball going into 2010, one of the M's only legit prospects before Jack Z started to turn things around in the farm system. Injuries have kept Moore shelved for most of the time and the team went out and got catcher-happy to make him expendable.

He hit .209/.247/.372 in 24 games for Tacoma before being selected off waivers by the Royals in July. He is hitting .296/.381/.443 in 35 games for their AAA-affiliate Omaha.

Other Hitters:

Darren Ford: .273/.326/.385, 26 SB/14 CS in 329 plate apperances

Guillermo Quiroz: .278/.362/.483, traded to the Red Sox

Luis Rodriguez: .296/.389/.452, 12 HR, 15 2B in 422 plate appearances

Mike Wilson: .239/.343/.452, 12 HR in 268 plate appearances

Trayvon Robinson: .265/.331/.409, 9 HR, Seattle Mariner now, Defense

Scott Savastano: .259/.331/.371 in 250 plate appearances

Chih-Hsien Chiang: .245/.265/.321 in 168 plate appearances

Andrew Carraway, RHP

He was the opening day starter for AA Jackson ahead of the three-headed monster but proved himself quite capable and went seven starts with a 2.61 ERA and 32 K/7 BB in 38 innings before getting promoted to Tacoma.

His ceiling was probably still that of a #5 starter but Carraway's overall numbers at Tacoma are not very good:

20 starts, 4.66 ERA, 112 innings, 69 K, 30 BB, 114 hits, 15 HR, .265 average against. He walked more, struck out fewer, and posted a FIP of 5.14. If there is a silver lining though, it's that he pitched much better at home:

Road: 57.1 innings, 12% K, 7.9% BB, 7.06 ERA

Home: 54.2 innings, 18% K, 4.4% BB, 2.14 ERA

He got rocked in several starts and was solid in several starts. If Carraway were to ever find a way to hone his good skills on a more consistent basis, he could have a future as a long-reliever or spot starter, but at 26 (Happy Birthday Yesterday!) he doesn't have much time left to develop.

Erasmo Ramirez, RHP

I think he proved himself capable of pitching in the major leagues, even if he'll never be spectacular. Ramirez even went 8 innings against Oakland on June 25th and struck out 10 with one walk, three hits, a one run in a 1-0 loss.

He was essentially up and down in fifteen starts for Tacoma and like Carraway, pitched much better at home.

ROAD: 29.2 innings, 13 K/11 BB, 6.98 ERA, 46 hits, 4 HR

HOME: 47.2 innings, 45 K/7 BB, 1.70 ERA, 35 hits, 1 HR

The home version of Erasmo is a 22-year-old control-artist that could profile as a number three starter in the bigs. If he manages to hone that, he could definitely make a home for himself in the major league rotation and at 22, he's got a lot more time to do that than Carraway does.

Chance Ruffin, RHP, Relief

Ruffin was the sure-thing relief pitcher acquired from Detroit for Doug Fister but he's been anything but. Well, he's definitely been a relief pitcher, just not a very good one. Ruffin finishes the year with a 5.99 ERA in 70.2 innings over 50 appearances, and that's actually a significant improvement with how he started the year.

Ruffin posted an ERA over 7.00 in each of his first three months of the year and then settled down for an ERA of 2.87 in July and 2.19 in August. He still doesn't especially excel in striking people out or limiting walks and with the Mariners bevy of good relievers, Ruffin might not make it with the Seattle bullpen.

However, relief pitchers come and go, improve and get worse, and can get better out of nowhere or implode out of nowhere. Either way, it's not that big of a concern and at least he got a little bit better after being a total disaster.

D.J. Mitchell, RHP

Acquired from the Yankees in the Ichiro trade, Mitchell significantly improved his numbers, albeit in a small sample size. With the Yankees affiliate, he had a 5.04 ERA in 85.2 innings with 72 K and 29 BB. After coming to Tacoma he made 8 starts and posted a 2.96 ERA in 48.2 innings with 33 K and 19 BB.

Mitchell doesn't seem to strike out enough or walk few enough to be considered a major league starting pitching prospect at age 25, but if he pitched one inning for the Mariners it would be considered a success for getting something in return for Ichiro at this stage in his career.

Bobby LaFromboise, LHP, Relief Pitcher

He's a 26-year-old relief pitcher but LaFromboise is coming off of a career year after being drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round of the 2008 draft. He was promoted to Tacoma after posting a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings with Jackson and continued to do well:

39.2 innings, 1.59 ERA, 38 K, 16 BB and 30 hits. He will be going to the Arizona Fall League with seven other Mariners and he's probably just happy that the M's know he exists. It's very possible that LaFromboise could squeeze himself into the major league bullpen at some point next year.

Brian Moran, LHP, Relief Pitcher

Another challenger for a bullpen spot could be Moran. He had an exceptional 2010 season before a disappointing 2011 campaign.

He was really good for Jackson (1.14 ERA, 29 K/6 BB in 31.2 innings) before a promotion to Tacoma that saw him strike out 53 batters in 37 innings with 12 walks allowed. He did also give up six home runs in AAA.

Other Pitchers:

Brian Sweeney: 4.63 ERA, 55 K/24 BB in 95.1 innings

Jeff Marquez: 6.69 ERA, 47 K/36 BB in 79.1 innings.

Hector Noesi: 5.74 ERA, 55 K/22 BB in 64.1 innings.

Anthony Vazquez: 6.53 ERA, 31 K/21 BB in 60.2 innings

David Pauley: 2.43 ERA, 41 K/15 BB in 59.1 innings. Suspended 50 games for violating drug policy.

Forrest Snow: 8.42 ERA, 56 K/38 BB in 56.2 innings. Demoted to AA.

Jarrett Grube: 9.26 ERA, 43 K/20 BB in 46.2 innings

Cesar Jimenez: 5.75 ERA, 39 K/19 BB in 40.2 innings

Blake Beavan: 2.61 ERA, 15 K/9 BB in 38 innings

Steven Hensley: 6.27 ERA, 22 K/20 BB in 37.1 innings

Danny Farquhar: 3.65 ERA, 22 K/11 BB in 24.2 innings

Mauricio Robles: 9.86 ERA, 19 K/22 BB in 21 innings. Demoted to AA.

Anyways, that's it. Yep, that is all I've got. Sorry for not giving you much information, I like to keep my recaps short and sweet as you can tell and there wasn't much to say about the Rainiers this season. They weren't very good and they had quite a few disappointments but there might be a few useful bullpen arms in here, Franklin showed a few positive signs as the year went on, and it's too soon to give up on Hultzen though it sucks that he sucked all the sucks.

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