The Future Forty has been updated for June. We wave goodbye to Rafeal Soriano’s status as a prospect and welcome Matt Thornton back to the fold, among other things. Find out how waiver claim Cristian Guerrero compares to the other players in the system and what Justin Leone’s huge start in San Antonio have done for his status. You won’t find a more in depth ranking of the Mariners farm system anywhere else, and it is updated at the beginning of every month for your viewing pleasure.
In other good news for prospect hounds, I’m going to be hitting the airwaves in the great Northwest later this month. I’ll be joining Pat Dillon on the June 20th pregame show for the Everett Aquasox game against the Vancouver Canadians. The Aquasox games will be broadcast on 90.7 FM KSER and will also be streamed via the internet from the Aquasox home page. I encourage you to check out the broadcasts as Pat Dillon is truly a joy to listen to and brings excitement to the game.
I’ll also be posting a draft preview on Monday as the Mariners are narrowing down the field of potential candidates. Early word has them leaning towards yet another high school pitcher, but things will almost certainly change between now and draft day.
Enjoy.
After a sweep of the Twins, the Mariners now stand at 24-6 against the American League Central. In other words, if they played the Twins, Royals, White Sox, Tigers, and Indians all year, they’d win 130 games. In this land of the blind, Minnesota is king, but I’m not convinced they even have one eye. More like a walking stick or a crippled boy scout helping them across the street.
So, what does our thumping of the Central tell us? I’m not sure, honestly. We’re clearly good enough to beat the dregs of the American League. However, in games versus the East and West, we’re an ordinary 13-12. I don’t think its coincidence that the top two teams in the AL West are the ones who have played 30 games apiece against the AL Central.
Also, before people count out the Angels and Rangers, remember that they have played a combined 11 games against the central to date. The Angels are 5-0 vs the division of craptasticness, and get a month against the central from August 8th to September 7th. If Anaheim is hanging around, they could make a big push simply based on scheduling. This certainly isn’t a two horse race just yet.