Game 59, Mariners at Orioles
Betancourt is back in the lineup. On a more positive note, Happy Felix Day! And game threads are back after a one-day hiatus, because there really wasn’t much point in discussing yesterday’s abysmal offense anyway. Hernandez v. Guthrie, 4:05.
Draft Updates
The 4th round just kicked off, and draft will go through round 30 today. I’ll update the picks as I have time here, with limited commentary on the guys I know a little bit about.
4th round – James Jones, OF/LHP
He’s a two way kid from New York who had been up to 94 off the mound but with no secondary stuff to write home about, so the M’s intend to use him as a position player. At 6’4 and with serious athleticism, there’s a lot of upside if the bat develops. You’ll hear comparisons to Mike Cameron and Adam Jones because he’s black and a good athlete, but those are obviously long shot best case scenarios, or he’d have gone about 100 picks higher than this. As another lefty bat with upside, it seems clear that the M’s know what they want to build around long term. For everyone who wasn’t happy with the lower upside picks yesterday, you should like this one.
5th round – Tyler Blandford, RHP
The M’s finally take a pitcher, and here’s a shock – it’s a hard thrower with no idea where the ball is going. If you like the guys in the bullpen right now, you’ll love Blandford. He’s 93-96 with a fastball, and he also throws a slider and change-up, but his command is a 15 on the 20-80 scale. Not surprisingly, he’s projected as a reliever long term, since he just doesn’t throw enough strikes to be a starting pitcher. Maybe the M’s can make a mechanical tweak and get him fixed, but probably not – he’s another higher upside guy with boom or bust potential, though.
6th round – Shaver Hansen, 3B
If you weren’t convinced that the M’s wanted guys who could swing the stick from the left side yet, they’ve added another one with the switch hitting Hansen. He played SS in college, but no one thought he could stick there, and the M’s announced him as a third baseman. He had a good year offensively, showing added power, but there are questions about how well he’ll hit with wood. He doesn’t have great footwork or athleticism, either, so he might not be a good defensive third baseman, even with the SS pedigree. Probably a utility infielder type in the majors if he gets there.
7th round – Brian Moran, LHP
I think the M’s like UNC’s baseball team this year. First Ackley, then Seager, now Moran. Moran has underwhelming stuff, throwing 85-89 with his fastball, but his delivery gives him some deception and allows him to get college hitters out. His secondary stuff isn’t great, and he’ll need to improve his breaking ball to fit into a LH relief role long term. But he’s probably not a major league pitcher, despite dominating NCAA hitters (his FIP was #2 in the country behind some guy named Strasburg).
8th round – Jimmy Gillheeney, LHP
The M’s take another kid from the state of North Carolina, drafting NC State’s best pitcher. He’s a pitchability lefty with a good change-up that will have to become a great one, because his fastball is well below average, ranging from 83-89. Jason Vargas is his upside.
9th round – Trevor Coleman, C
Switch-hitting catcher who had a terrible junior year, causing him to fall. He was pretty good in the Cape Cod League last summer, and the M’s will be hoping he can get back to that level. He should be able to stick behind the plate and offers some offensive upside. This is a nice pick in the 9th round.
10th round – Vincent Catricala, 3B
A third baseman who might end up in the outfield, he’s shown power and the ability to hit a fastball, but has struggled with off-speed stuff. But, hey, he’s a right-handed bat, so that’s different.
That’ll do it for me. I’ve got stuff to do, and the 11th+ round picks are extreme longshots to make the majors. Overall, though, I think the M’s did a nice job in rounds 1-10. Be happy.
The End Of Yuniesky Betancourt
Ronny Cedeno played shortstop for the Mariners again last night. That’s four games in a row with a couple of off days thrown in. Add it all up, and Yuniesky Betancourt hasn’t been in the line-up in a week. And this time, it’s not an ultimatum with an opportunity attached – the Mariners are ready to pull the plug on the guy. LaRue’s got the good quotes:
Betancourt, who has had meetings with his manager and coaches all season, insists he’s doing nothing different now than ever.
“I’ve been doing the same routine for years,” Betancourt said. “I can’t control the lineup. I’m doing whatever I’ve done in the past.”
That, of course, may well be the issue. Betancourt has never been a hard worker, and the past four days have not served him well.
Since being out of the lineup, his teammates say, Betancourt has not taken a single ground ball.
And Monday, when 12 position players showed up for early batting practice, Betancourt was not among them.
“I was asleep on the plane when they announced that,” Betancourt said.
Clearly, this management group – from general manager Jack Zduriencik to Wakamatsu and his coaches – have had enough of half-assed workouts and a failure to adjust.
The simple truth is, Betancourt has minor league options left, and one plan is to send him down and tell him he won’t be back until he shows his work ethic has changed.
“You can’t play a guy who doesn’t work hard on a team where everyone else busts their ass,” one Mariner said. “I don’t know why this never happened before, but no one in this clubhouse has any doubts about why it’s happened now.”
Well, no one but Yuni.
We’ve all watched first hand as Yuni has regressed from an athletic young player into a complete waste of space and time. His lack of hard work is nothing new – even after an offseason where he trained with Raul Ibanez, he showed up to camp as the same rotund non-athlete that he was at the end of last year. He’s getting worse at every facet of the game, and at this point, he’s not a major league player.
We’ve all had enough, and so have the M’s. If Betancourt wants to actually put in a little bit of effort to live up to the abilities he was born with, great. But he needs to do that in Tacoma, and earn his way back to the major leagues by showing that he cares enough to make himself into a guy who deserves to be here. If that never happens, so be it – I’m perfectly happy never having to watch him play baseball again.
Brandon Morrow Is A Starter Again
Want some more good news? Morrow’s tired of being a reliever, and he’s headed back to Tacoma to convert back into the starting rotation. DivishLaRue has the story at histhe TNT blog.
Whether Morrow can learn how to be an effective starter or not is still up for grabs, but I’m glad to see him try.
Welcome To Seattle, Kyle
The M’s final selection of the day is Kyle Seager, a left-handed hitting 3B/2B from North Carolina. Ackley’s teammate, Seager is another pick that I’m going to like more than most. His lack of power will be cited by people too stuck on traditional roles, but he’s a nice all-around player – good approach at the plate, line drive swing, and quality defense at third with a chance to move to second. Definitely a guy who gets more production out of his ability than his raw tools would indicate.
There’s a clear theme with the M’s picks today – they’re all strong fundamental position players with an understanding of the strike zone. Of the five, Poythress is the only one with a plus power tool, as the M’s continue to value all around players over sluggers. Its the right strategy, I think.
Overall, I’m pleased with day one. I know a lot of you will be upset that the M’s passed on the big name pitchers, but this is one of those situations where the team had significantly more knowledge about the players than we did. They got the #2 pick right, and I like the group they took at #27/#33/#51/#82. I’ll call it a successful first day.
Welcome To Seattle, Rich
Do you want a guy who can hit the ball over the wall? Meet Rich Poythress, a prodigious power hitter who can really whack the baseball. He’s right-handed and a 1B/DH type, which is why he fell to the second round, but the guy can really turn on a fastball. He had a monster year in the SEC, and as late as a few weeks ago was looked at as a mid-first round guy.
This is a nice value in the second round, even though he might not be a great fit for Safeco. I wouldn’t be surprised if he developed fairly quickly and was used as a trade chip to get something else that might fit the M’s needs next year or the year after.
Welcome to Seattle, Steven
We told you guys this was happening – the M’s cut a pre-draft deal with Baron last week. He’s going to sign for below slot, as on talent, he’s more in the 50-100 range.
In case you’ve forgotten, Baron’s a catcher with great defensive tools and a questionable bat. The M’s think there’s more offense in there, and he could be a Yadier Molina type long term. I know, it’s not that exciting, especially considering some of the names that were on the board, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. We knew this was coming.
Will be interesting to see what the M’s do at #51 now. They’ve saved money at both #27 and #33, so I’d expect them to be aggressive with their next two picks.
Welcome to Seattle, Nick
I’m not worried about you – you’ll sign.
I like the Nick Franklin pick for the M’s (and, tooting my own horn here, I believe I’m the first one who put the M’s on him last week) as a switch-hitting shortstop with average tools across the board, giving him the ability to stay at shortstop long term and provide some nice offensive abilities. He might not be a super high upside guy, but he’s got a good approach at the plate, he’s strong fundamentally, and he’s got a chance to be an above average major league shortstop. As the current roster shows you, having a switch-hitting middle infielder who can play defense and not be a black hole can be a hugely valuable thing.
Good job, fellows. I like both picks so far.
Welcome To Seattle, Dustin
Now please sign.
For those of you wondering what to make of Ackley, the best comparison is probably early career Darin Erstad. Like with Erstad, he’s a small-ish left-handed hitter with great contact skills, plus speed, a good approach at the plate, power that’s more suited to the gaps than driving the ball over the wall, and the ability to play first base or the outfield. The bat is likely to be good rather than great, though Ackley could have a season or two similar to Erstad’s 2000 season, where his .355/.409/.541 line made him a legitimate MVP candidate.
The questions about Ackley really revolve around his defense. He has the athleticism and speed to cover center field, but Tommy John surgery has kept him at first base for most of the year, so he doesn’t have a ton of experience in the outfield. Erstad, interestingly, was one of the best defensive outfielders of his generation despite moving back and forth between 1B and CF/LF, so just because Ackley hasn’t played there doesn’t mean he won’t be able to excel. If he turns into a plus plus defender, he’s a legitimate franchise player. If the arm doesn’t come back and he ends up as just a guy with good range and a weak arm, he’ll be more of a good player than a great one.
That said, the M’s should be extremely excited to have Ackley in the system. He’s easily the organization’s number one prospect as soon as he signs, and he could be in the M’s starting line-up to begin the 2011 season. As a quality left-handed bat with the ability to offer value on offense and defense, he’s a great building block for the future. He might not have Strasburg’s upside, but there’s a pretty decent chance that he’s going to be the best player drafted today.
The M’s needed a guy like this, and while he’s not as sexy as Strasburg, we should be thrilled that the team had the opportunity to add Dustin Ackley to the organization. He’s probably going to be a USSM favorite for a long time.
Draft Reaction Thread
Okay, so this is our thread for the first three rounds of the draft, which will take place starting at 3 pm today. Remember, please be nice to our servers. You guys shut us down every year on draft day, so let’s not do that for a change, okay? If you’re going to leave a comment, make it insightful. “Ackley!!! WOO!” isn’t going to do anything other than put a strain on our server for no real reason. If your comment is less than a sentence or two, consider not posting it. If the server load gets too tough, we’ll have to shut comments off to keep the site alive. Be nice to us. Also, remember, no game thread tonight.
Okay, with that out of the way, here’s the latest about an hour before the thing kicks off.
Everyone thinks the M’s are taking Dustin Ackley #2 overall. Hooray.
#27 is getting interesting. Outside of the M’s, no one really knows how much money the team is willing to throw at the player they select there. If the rumors of a pre-draft deal with Steven Baron at #33 are true, they could have the resources to take a pitcher like Aaron Crow, Tanner Scheppers, or Kyle Gibson at #27. All three could fall to that spot, and the M’s are considered a potential landing spot for each of them.
If they don’t want to go over slot for the 27th pick, high school shortstop Nick Franklin and outfielder Max Walla are both being attached to the M’s. Franklin’s a switch-hitting guy with with some offensive ability and the defensive chops to stay at short. Walla is a hitter, through and through. Conor Glassey wrote him up for Baseball America yesterday.
I still expect the M’s to take Baron at #33. With the way players are falling due to signability, the M’s look pretty smart for working out a pre-draft deal before all the high school kids started demanding seven figure bonuses. Even if they don’t take one of the name guys at #27, having Baron signed for less than slot at #33 will allow them to be aggressive at #51 and #82, and given the way the draft is falling, there’s a pretty good chance that one of the sure fire first rounders falls to them in the second round, if they’re looking to go over slot at some point today.
Should be interesting.