This is the post no one has been waiting for. The system I dread writing about more than any other. It’s the wasteland of Dipotopia. Desolate and destitute, dark most days, and it always smells like fresh cat urine. To put it mildly the Seattle Mariners system is putrid. We’re talking a handful of interesting players, and then several waves of system depth types. Two of the more exciting, and not to mention major league ready prospects, were shipped away over the last year and a half in Luiz Gohara and Tyler O’Neill, netting humbling returns. While the most recent draft yielded an uninspiring class for the most part. It did have it’s bright spots, consisting of a pair of talents in Evan White and Sam Carlson. They also netted a couple of intriguing arms in Seth Elledge and Wyatt Mills. The Mariners did make a serious run at Shohei Ohtani, but fell short in the end. Their International period was hardly a failure however, landing one of the top power bats in the class in the Dominican Republic’s Julio Rodriguez. There’s also been a cloud of bad luck following a once promising 2016 draft class, primarily Kyle Lewis, and the saga of his knee injury and subsequent recovery attempts. There’s also the feel-good story of the Arizona Fall League in Eric Filia, that morphed into the reality check of the winter following a drug of abuse suspension. So that’s what we’re working with today. Allow me to get through this misery so I can begin the next Minor league Update. It’s the Seattle Mariners Top Prospects! (puke emoji)
1.Kyle Lewis, OF | Age: 22 | Level: A+ | 2017 Stats: .257/.329/.412, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB
There’s no player who hurts my heart more to write about. Kyle Lewis is like a walking, talking heartbreaking Disney sports movie. After falling to the Mariners at 11 in the 2016 draft, many, myself included, considered Lewis the top hitting talent in the class. After his first month of professional ball those beliefs looked justified, as he slashed .299/.385/.530. The 30th game of that season proved to be a turning point for the outfielder’s career. An ugly home plate collision resulted in a nasty knee injury. One that Lewis still has not fully recovered from. He returned last June only to crash into a wall with his surgically repaired knee in his first game back. He hit the DL once again, returning in July and finishing the season strong with High-A Modesto. He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, but was shutdown after just two games with knee discomfort. He had a scope procedure done on his knee in the offseason, and returned to action on May 12th. To date he has hit poorly in 2018, sporting a .217 average, and .598 OPS through 6 games. Certainly no reason to panic, and it’s encouraging that he’s played on back to back days throughout his first week. He’s yet to play three consecutive days, but it’s important for Lewis to take it slow, and get his legs, literally, under him. The talent itself is evident from watching Lewis in his amateur days. He combines power, contact, and speed, all at a plus level, with on base ability, and serious feel to hit. At the time of his draft I expected him to be in the majors by this summer the latest. If Lewis can stay healthy and find his pre-injury skills, he could once again ascend to the top 50 or so prospects in the game. ETA: 2019
2. Evan White, 1B | Age: 22 | Level: A+ | 2017 Stats: .277/.345/.532, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB
A tough player to evaluate for fantasy, and here’s why. There’s two very real possible outcomes, one is the more positive; the power he flashed his junior year at Kentucky, and in his early pro debut are real, and will continue to flourish. Or the other more pessimistic view; he’s a contact, on base guy with middling power, and above average defense, and athleticism at first base. So far in 2018 it’s looking like the latter. I’ve flip-flopped on White, over the last year, he’s certainly shown flashes of promise with power, and his baseline hit tool makes it an exciting combo. Other times, he looks like that boring line drive hitter. His swing is clean and graceful from the right side, he takes good at bats, and spits on breaking balls. He also runs very well for a first baseman, with the ability to steal bases. At the end of the day the best way to summarize White is like this, if his power comes, he could be a beast. ETA: 2019
3. Julio Rodriguez, OF | Age: 17 | Level: N/A | 2017 Stats: Did Not Play
This is a reflection of this system’s poor talent level. As good as Rodriguez might be, no 17 year old should be a legit third ranked prospect in a major league system. For fantasy no less, but I digress. Signed for $1.75 million in the 2017 International Period, the righthanded hitting Rodriguez’s easy power, and feel to hit made him one of the more desirable players for deep dynasty league owners this off-season. We haven’t seen much of him yet, and it’s going to be a few years until he really gets going, but he has the pedigree, and prototypical skillset we should follow as dynasty managers. ETA: 2022
4. Sam Carlson, RHP | Age: 19 | Level: RK | 2017 Stats: 0-0, 3 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3 Ks, 0 Bb
A 2nd round pick out of the Minnesota High School ranks, Carlson gets the cold-weather-untapped-potential tag, as many do. From a pure scouting perspective he’s a really easy talent to buy into. He brings an arsenal led by a fastball that sits 91-95, touching 96 on occasion with late action and sink. His secondaries both flash above average to plus, with his changeup getting the more consistent 60 grades in scouting reports. His slider is no slouch however, it’s tilt, and late action make it a potential swing and miss pitch to pair with his change. Carlson is a talent worth stashing in dynasty leagues with 150+ prospects, or those with extra emphasis on pitching. ETA: 2021
5. Braden Bishop, OF | Age: 24 | Level: AA | 2017 Stats: .306/.393/.413, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 22 SB
This is where the Seattle system falls off a table, Bishop is a nice player, a potential fourth outfielder, or borderline second division regular. His game consists of getting on base, stealing bases, and gap power. The speed, and on base ability give him some additional value in fantasy as there are so few speed threats remaining. Could see some MLB time late this season if he hits at AA, and there are some injuries in the Seattle outfield. The other side of the argument is the competition could catch up to him in the upper minors, dropping his average, and essentially making him another good defensive outfielder. Super deep league depth guy, and sneaky speed play. ETA: 2019
6. Dan Vogelbach, 1B | Age: 25 | Level: AAA | 2017 Stats: .290/.388/.455, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 3 SB
The Jelly Donut of Swat is getting stale on the rack, and he’s just about to be thrown into the dumpster. The dreams of an on base machine with power, and a punchline body are dwindling. His 43 MLB games haven’t gone great, though he did hit a couple of homers in his brief callup this season. He continues to put up huge numbers in AAA, and hints at the potential to be a lovable sloppy-DH-only power guy. If he finally gets everyday at bats and adjusts to major league pitching, Vogelbach could carve out a niche as decent utility power only type. ETA: 2018
7. Joe Rizzo, 3B | Age: 20 | Level: A+ | 2017 Stats: .251/.349/.344, 7 HR, 51 RBI, 3 SB
A teenage draft choice with feel to hit and what some saw as projectable power. Where that power is? I can’t tell whether it be games or batting practice, Rizzo looks the part of an all fields gap hitter. The numbers bear this out as well, he’s sported a higher or equal oppo% each of his three seasons. His fielding is sub-par, but his strong arm is keeping him at the hot corner for now. His lack of size (he’s 5’9) makes him a tough sell at first, and his limited speed makes him hard to convert to an outfielder. ETA: 2021
8. Matt Festa, RHP | Age: 25 | Level: AA | 2017 Stats: 4-2, 6 SVs, 70 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 99 Ks, 19 BB
A 7th round pick out of Division 2 East Stroudsburg, Festa was one of the more dominant relievers in the California League in 2017. He mixes a mid 90’s fastball with sink, run, and deceptive movement that make it particularly hard on lefthanded batters. He mixes in a plus Slider, and high 80’s cut fastball that flashes plus. Just for S’s & G’s he mixes in the occasional changeup and curveball, but neither are much more than change of pace offerings. In AA to start 2018, but looks very ready to help at the MLB level within a few months. ETA: 2019
9. Max Povse, RHP | Age: 24 | Level: AAA | 2017 Stats: 4-6, 70.2 IP, 5.22 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 61 Ks, 26 BB
I honestly think many people have a fascination with Povse because he’s tall. All 6’8 of Povse is nothing more than rotation depth at best in my humble opinion. His fastball has some nice velo, sitting 93-95, touching 97 on occasion. His two secondaries consist of an average curveball, with poor control, and a fringe-average changeup. So far AAA hitters have teed off on Povse, with an 8.02 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .286 BAA, and a 12.8% BB% in 13 starts at the level. That’s 67 really bad innings, he is however striking out batters at a 23%+ clip. Perhaps it’s time to consider a move to the pen for Povse? ETA: 2018
10. Juan Querecuto, SS | Age: 17 | Level: N/A | 2017 Stats: Did Not Play
An across the board solid player, with a bucket of 50s across his scouting grades. He comes from a baseball family, and was considered one of the top middle infielders in the 2017 class. He has shown some feel to hit, baserunning ability, and good strike zone awareness according to scouting reports. Another long off prospect, though unlike Julio Rodriguez, he lacks real upside. ETA: 2022
Other Names: Eric Filia, Wyatt Mills, Luis Liberato, Ronald Rosario, Art Warren, Tommy Romero, Nick Rumbelow
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