Game 56, Mariners at Marlins
RHP Ryan Franklin v RHP Brian “Scuffy” Moehler.
No matter which way Hargrove goes with the lineup tonight (sitting Ibanez or Winn or someone else) it seems certain that during this roadtrip to NL parks we’ll likely see both sit at least once, leaving the consecutive game demolition derby to Ichiro! (who rocks) and Boone (who does not).
Jeff Clement
Here’s a rundown on the Mariners first round selection Jeff Clement.
6’1, 210 lbs, bats left, throws right, catcher, University of Southern California
Tools Ratings (20-80 scale)
Hitting for Average: 50 (present), 60 (future)
Hitting for Power: 70 (present), 80 (future)
Throwing: 50 (present), 65 (future)
Fielding: 40 (present), 60 (future)
Running: 35 (present), 35 (future)
Strengths:
Extremely strong, powerful hitter with serious longball potential. Has a great eye and an approach at the plate. Can hit in the major leagues very soon. Improved defensively this year. Works hard. Smart kid.
Weaknesses:
Can be too selective at the plate. Isn’t extremely agile. Just average release. Not a great athlete. Doesn’t cover the entire plate as well as he could.
Overall:
If all goes well, he’s a middle of the order masher, Jason Varitek with more power offensively. The comparisons to Piazza are over the top, as baseball’s never had a catcher hit like Piazza in the history of the game. He’s not considered a great defensive catcher, but most people expect him to be able to stick behind the plate. Catchers are high risk selections, but the payoff could be huge. It’s a high risk, high reward selection, but the M’s have to be hoping that Clement is fighting for the team’s starting catching job by spring of 2007.
Draft Coverage
The M’s will be selecting in approximately three hours, so this post will be continuously updated throughout the day as we hear things.
1:08 pm
Jeff Clement is the M’s pick.
1:08 pm
Gordon to KC. Darn.
1:07 pm
Upton #1 to Arizona.
12:30 pm eastern
At this point, all indications lead to the first two picks being Justin Upton and Alex Gordon, with the M’s then choosing between Jeff Clement or Troy Tulowitzki with the third pick.
10:30 am eastern
Having talked with two members of the Diamondbacks organization and getting input from several others who have as well, there seems to be almost no chance that Arizona passes on Justin Upton. He’s a pretty near lock to go #1.
9:45 am eastern
Baseball America has projected the M’s to select Jeff Clement, a catcher from USC, with the third selection, after Justin Upton and Alex Gordon go #1 and #2 overall. Clement has gotten a lot of late buzz, as the M’s ideally would love to have a power hitting left-handed catcher, and Clement’s power is nearly on par with that of Gordon’s. However, there is wide disagreement in the game as who the third best player in this draft is, and the M’s have certainly not locked themselves into Clement. They’re hoping and praying that Upton or Gordon fall, but it appears that Clement has an edge over Tulowitzki as the consolation prize. Nothing is concrete at the moment. No one is certain what Arizona or KC are going to do, and there’s still a non-zero chance that the M’s get one of the two highest ranked players on their board.
Oh, good
Interleague play is back. When did that happen?
Draft coverage from the News Tribune
The Tacoma News Tribune’s got a nice Corey Brock piece up on the draft worth checking out.
Scouting
Jon Paul Morosi has some good stuff in the P-I this morning. I especially recommend his piece on Grady Fuson, who I’ve said a number of good things about on the blog over the years. Fuson should absolutely be running an organization right now, and I’d be thrilled if it was ours.
The Attrition War, Braves
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Braves.
Diamondbacks to pass on Upton, Gordon?
Both Tracy Ringolsby and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jim Salisbury say that the Diamondbacks are likely to take a college pitcher instead of Justin Upton or Alex Gordon. The reasoning goes that the Snakes intend to keep the recently-signed Stephen Drew at shortstop, making another blue-chip young shortstop redundant.
From Ringolsby: [Registration: westsmith1@comcast.net, x223344]
With [Stephen] Drew under contract, however, and new ownership having a valid concern about the lack of depth in the Diamondbacks’ farm system, particularly with pitching, scouting director Mike Rizzo apparently has been directed to pursue a college pitcher.
This is good and bad news for Mariner fans coveting either Upton or Gordon. It’s obviously good if these guys are right, since both project the M’s to take Upton. The flip side is that the Royals are apparently locked in on Gordon, financial worries be damned. If the Diamondbacks do take Upton — which a New York Times article indicates is still a strong possibility — then the M’s would miss out.
I also have to quote this from Ringolsby, just because he calls Bavasi “Billy.”
Upton figures to wind up going No. 3 to Seattle, where current general manager Billy Bavasi and former general manager-turned-special-assistant Pat Gillick long have expressed desires to take high-reward draft choices.
The speculation ends soon enough.
Game 55, Devil Rays at Mariners
RHP Hideo Nomo v LHP Jamie Moyer. 1:05, FSNW (“Where Northwest fans come first in ads aired on this channel”)
So something else to watch for — the Mariners, in their game notes all season, have been making subtle arguments that Bret Boone’s a future Hall of Famer. They’re providing “of all second basemen, he’s 5th overall in home runs” and so on.
I don’t think he is, clearly, but it’s been interesting to see this. There’s a general belief based on things that’ve happened in the last few years that the Mariners tend to prep the community for players leaving by trying to seed the dandelions of discontent* well in advance of the departure. But Boone’s would seem to pretty clearly headed elsewhere after this year, and the publicity guys are pumping up his historic achievements? It’s odd.
* sorry, been weeding this morning
The Attrition War, Blue Jays
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Blue Jays.