Seattle Mariners Farm Teams Had Great Success This Year
All seven teams in the Seattle Mariners minor league system made the playoffs this year.
While the Seattle Mariners big league club has had a roller-coaster season, their minor league system has had tremendous success this year. All seven minor league teams in the Mariners’ organization made the playoffs.
7 for 7 in the playoffs! CONGRATS to @RainiersLand@jacksongenerals@BakoBlaze@LumberKings@EverettAquaSox
AZL Mariners
DSL Mariners— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 2, 2016
The big league club hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001, the longest streak in baseball. They gave their fans hope early in the year when they started out 15-11 and moved into first place on May 3. They kept their first place standings for a few weeks, but were caught by the Rangers at the end of May. After battling with the Astros for second place over the last few months, the Mariners are in the midst of a tough stretch that has dropped them to 12.5 games back of Texas in the AL West.
In the meantime, the Tigers, Royals, and Yankees have moved past them in the Wild Card race. The Mariners currently sit five games out of the second Wild Card, with five teams ahead of them. Unless they can put together a strong stretch run, they’ll once again be watching baseball on TV in October.
When it comes to their farm system, the Mariners were not highly rated in the pre-season. ESPN’s Keith Law had them ranked 28th out of the 30 MLB teams, with just one player in his Top 100 list. That player was outfielder Alex Jackson, ranked 95th. It’s nice that he’s still in the top 100, but he fell from his previous ranking of 20th, so even the good news was bad news.
With that in mind, it’s nice that the Mariners’ minor league teams had success this year, but they are still a team greatly in need of minor league talent.
Here is a glimpse of the Mariners’ playoff-bound minor league teams
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers
79-61, .564, Pacific Coast League Northern Division Winners
The clinching game for the Rainiers was a 14-inning victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Thursday night. They were sixth of 16 teams in runs scored and third in the league in ERA. They take on the El Paso Chihuahuas for game one of a best-of-five Conference Championship series on Wednesday, September 7.
It’s official, the Tacoma Rainiers are 2016 PCL Pacific Northern Division Champions! #WeRThePlayoffs pic.twitter.com/m5vfS6V0xY
— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) September 2, 2016
Players of note:
1B Dan Vogelbach (23 years old, .294/.417/.503)—Before being traded to the Mariners this summer, Vogelbach had been with the Cubs organization since the 2011 draft. He was their second round pick that year out of Bishop Verot High School (Fort Myers, Florida). He’s always been a good hitter, but he still needs work on his fielding and is not fleet of foot on the bases. He reached Triple-A this year and split his time between Iowa with the Cubs and Tacoma with the Mariners.
That trade that brought him to the M’s was a four-player swap. The headliners were Vogelbach coming to Seattle and Mike Montgomery joining the Cubs. Vogelbach was blocked by Anthony Rizzo in Chicago, but has no such impediment in Seattle, where the first base job should be wide open next spring. He just missed the cut for the Cubs’ midseason Top 10 list at Baseball America.
1B D.J. Peterson (24 years old, .253/.307/.438)—Peterson was a top 100 prospect on the Baseball America list prior to the 2014 and 2015 seasons, but an ugly .223/.288/.345 batting line at two levels in 2015 dropped him off the list. He was still #10 on the pre-season Mariners Top 10, but he really needed to bounce back this year. He hit well at Double-A Jackson, then struggled with Tacoma a bit before fracturing his finger in August. It’s not exactly the progress the Mariners were hoping to get from Peterson.
Double-A Jackson Generals
46-24, .657, Southern League North First Half Winners
The Generals ran away with the North division in the first half, beating the next-closest team by 10 games in the standings. They are currently second to the Montgomery Biscuits in the second half of the season with three regular season games still to play. The Generals hitters finished third of 10 teams in runs scored and their pitching staff had the league’s third-best ERA. Their first playoff game will be on Wednesday, September 7.
#SquadGoals pic.twitter.com/28chQA2I4N
— Jackson Generals (@jacksongenerals) June 12, 2016
Players of Note:
OF Tyler O’Neill (21 years old, .295/.376/.512)—The Mariners had one player on the Baseball America mid-season Top 100 update and that player was Tyler O’Neill, outfielder for the Jackson Generals. O’Neill was a third round pick by the Mariners in 2013 out of a British Columbia secondary school. He hit 32 home runs in High-A Bakersfield last year and followed that up with a 24 HR, 101 RBI season in Double-A this year. He’s currently the best prospect in the Mariners’ system.
RHP Andrew Moore (22 years old, 9-3, 3.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 7.1 K/9)—Moore was #8 on the Mariners Baseball America preseason Top 10. He wasn’t the top starting pitcher on the Generals, but he was young for the league. In two minor league seasons, Moore has a career 2.53 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. His 7.9 K/9 is not dazzling, but he makes up for it with a low 1.4 BB/9 walk rate.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
High-A Bakersfield Blaze
39-28, .582, California League North Second Half Winners
The Bakersfield Blaze are second half winners of the California League North Division. They won the second half by a cushy seven games over the Visalia Rawhide. The Blaze scored the fourth-most runs in the league this year while leading the league in ERA. They start the playoffs on Wednesday, hoping to win the league title.
If they do, it will be bittersweet for Blaze fans because the team is ending its 75-year run in Bakersfield. The Blaze and the High Desert Mavericks (Texas Rangers affiliate) will both be ceasing operations at the end of the season.
Players of Note:
SS Drew Jackson (23 years old, .258/.330/.346)—After a strong debut with the Low-A Everett Aquasox in 2015, Drew Jackson was ranked #3 on the Mariners Baseball America preseason Top 10. Jackson stole 47 bases in 59 games with the Aquasox last year, but wasn’t as larcenous this year with the Blaze, stealing just 15 bases in 121 games. He also didn’t hit for much power, slugging six home runs in 579 plate appearances.
OF Braden Bishop (22 years old, .247/.299/.325)—Bishop was a third round pick out of the University of Washington in 2015. He played with Drew Jackson on the Everett Aquasox in 2015, then started this year with the Clinton Lumberkings before moving up to Bakersfield at the end of June. Bishop hasn’t shown much power in his minor league career, but did have a .367 OBP in Low-A and .363 OBP in A ball before struggling (.299 OBP) in 38 games with Bakersfield. He’s young for the league and will likely be back at this level to start next season.
Low-A Clinton Lumberkings
45-22, .672, Midwest League Western Division Second Half Winners
The Lumberkings not only had the best record in the second half of the season, they also had the best overall record in the Midwest League. They were seventh of 16 teams in the league in runs scored and second in ERA. Their 85 wins overall is a new franchise record. They eclipsed the mark set in 1963 by the Clinton C-Sox.
Players of Note:
RHP Nick Neidert (19 years old, 7-3, 2.57 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 6.8 K/9)—Neidert was the Mariners’ second round pick out of Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia in 2015. He had success last year in the Arizona Rookie League and was ranked by Baseball America as the team’s #5 prospect before this year.
LHP Luiz Gohara (19 years old, 4-2, 2.01 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 9.9 K/9)—Gohara was ranked just below Neidert on the BA Mariners Top 10 and he had a good year with the Lumberkings after pitching 15 1/3 innings with the short-season Everett Aquasox to start the year. Gohara was an international free agent signing as a 16-year-old in 2012. He’s a big boy, checking in at 6’3” and 240 pounds.
OF Alex Jackson (20 years old, .242/.329/.408)—Jackson was the Mariners first round pick in the 2014 draft and hit the ground running with a .280/.344/.476 season for the Everett Aquasox of the short-season Northwest League. Prior to the 2015 season, Jackson was ranked the #20 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and #28 by MLB.com. The Mariners moved Jackson to Clinton to start the 2015 season, but he struggled mightily, hitting .157/.240/.213, with 35 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances. That got him a return ticket to Everett, where he regrouped by hitting .239/.365/.466. He was moved up to Clinton for another shot at Low-A this year and had middling results. His prospect status has taken a big hit over the last two seasons, but the physical ability is still there.
Short-Season A Everett Aquasox
25-10, .714, Northwest League North Division Second Half Winners
The Aquasox finished a game out of first in the first half of the season, but handily won the division in the second half, beating out the next-best team by 12 games. Their offense led the Northwest League in runs scored thanks in large part to a league-leading .362 on-base percentage. Their pitchers had the third-best ERA in the league.
Players of Note:
OF Kyle Lewis (20 years old, .299/.385/.530)—Lewis was the Mariners’ first round pick out of Mercer University this year and was off to a terrific professional debut until a horrendous injury in July ended his season. Lewis was injured trying to score when he collided with Tri-Cities catcher Chris Mattison. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament as well as the medial and lateral meniscus in his right knee. The injury is expected to sideline him for 10-12 months. It’s a tough blow for Lewis, who looked ready to be promoted at the time of his injury.
SS Bryson Brigman (21 years old, .263/.375/.295)—Brigman is ranked 16th in the Mariners’ farm system by MLB Pipeline. He was the Mariners’ third round pick in the June draft this year after playing college ball at the University of San Diego. Brigman showed almost no power (.295 slugging), but sported a nice .375 on-base percentage. He stole 16 bases but was also caught 12 times.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona League Mariners
16-12, .571, Arizona League West First Half Winners
The Arizona League Mariners won the first half of the West division and finished a ½ game behind the Arizona Royals with an overall record of 31-25.
Players of Note:
3B Joe Rizzo (18 years old, .291/.355/.392)—Rizzo was the Mariners’ second round pick in June out of Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia. His bat is his calling card. He plays third base, but some scouts question whether he can stay there and he may not be athletic enough to play in the outfield. If he becomes a first baseman, he’ll really need to hit well to be an asset at that position. His 5’9” height makes first base seem like a longshot. He’s ranked the Mariners’ #9 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
SS Christopher Torres (18 years old, .257/.337/.359)—An international signing out of the Dominican Republic, Torres is a smooth-fielding shortstop with above-average speed. He has yet to show much power at all, but does handle the strike zone well for a young player. He has a career 15 percent walk rate in his two professional seasons.
OF Brayan Hernandez (18 years old, .285/.324/.400)—Hernandez played half of the season for the Dominican Summer League Mariners and half with the Arizona League team. He is ranked the #17 prospect in the Mariners system by MLB Pipeline. Hernandez was an international signing out of Venezuela who can flash five tool potential as a switch-hitting outfielder. As he fills out his 6’2, 175 pound frame, he’ll likely hit for more power.
Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
Dominican Summer League Mariners
48-23, .676, Dominican Summer League South Winners
The Dominican Summer League Mariners won the South Division by five games over the Dodgers.
Players of Note:
C Geoandry Montilla (20 years old, .297/.410/.451)—Montilla led the DSL Mariners in batting average and was second on the team in on-base percentage, and slugging percentage (behind Brayan Hernandez, who was mentioned above). At 6’0” and 165 pounds, Montilla will need to fill out to stay at catcher. You don’t see too many 165-pound catchers in the big leagues.
RHP Andres Torres (20 years old, 10-3, 1.26 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 6.3 K/9)—Torres was the staff ace. He led the team in innings pitched, wins, and ERA. This is his third year in the Mariners organization. In 140.3 career innings, he has a 1.80 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.
RHP Anjul Hernandez (20 years old, 4-1, 1.37 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 7.5 K/9)—Hernandez was signed by the Mariners way back in 2013 and has now pitched four seasons in the organization, two in the Venezuela Summer League and two in the Dominican Summer League. He has a 3.12 ERA in 225 career innings.
It’s nice that the Mariners saw all seven of their minor league affiliates make the playoffs, but they would surely give up all seven minor league playoff spots for one spot in the playoffs for the big league team. It’s been a long wait for Mariners fans. Hopefully, some of these players will make a leap forward and help Seattle get to the postseason sometime soon.
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