Prospect Insider - Banner day in M's system

Banner day in M's system

By Jason A. Churchill

By 05-15-2011

This isn't normally my thing, but a rundown of what the M's prospects did Sunday is a fun one, starting with Dustin Ackley's 4-hit day that included three hits and a double.

Mike Carp, not a prospect by definition, belted three homers among his four hits, and is now up to .303/.362/.606 with 10 long balls. There may come a time when Carp might actually be useful in a part-time role. He's still just 24.

Dan Cortes tossed a flawless ninth inning to close out the win, though it was anything but a high-leverage appearance as the Rainiers won 18-6.

Alex Liddi had two hits and two walks and Matt Tuiasosopo singled and drew three walks as Tacoma's lineup took advantage -- and scored against -- all four of New Orleans' pitchers.

The Double-A Jackson Generals plated 15 runs of their own, though our buddy Carlos Triunfel went 0-for-4 with two errors. He did draw a walk, however.

Kyle Seager doubled and homered and continues to defy the scouting eye. It doesn't look like Seager can do anything more than hit for gap power. But he has four long balls and 14 doubles and his OPS climbed over .850 this weekend.

Outfielder Jake Schaffer, 23, is starting to turn a few heads, though more on a "useful player" scale than a potential future regular. He's up to .338 after Sunday's game and has a little pop, but he's a free swinger, albeit from the left side.

The prospect of the day, despite Ackley's day, was right-hander Taijuan Walker, who fanned 11 without a walk, and have up just two hits in six shutout innings. He went 6 1/3 but Wisconsin got to him in the seventh.

Walker was mostly in the 93-96 mph range but kept the ball down and got some sink on his fastball, inducing eight ground balls outs against zero of the fly ball route.

Typically a G/F rate plus the pitcher's strikeout totals leaves some room for pop outs and line drives, but that didn't happen today. Every single out Walker recorded was a strikeout or a ground out. Pretty impressive.

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Comments
The following 16 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: dawgncarolina on 05-15-2011 18:04:50
Well Tai Walker appears to be emerging as the answer "which M's prospect will rank #3 on the M's list behind the #2 pick and Franklin heading into next season". What a stud he's turning out to be. He's up to a 20:5 k:bb ratio and 7.5:1 gb:fb ratio. Beast.

2. By: zackr on 05-15-2011 18:14:53
Hey Jason,

It looks like his early season tail-spin at the plate has subsided. Is that due to approach, or improved mechanics?

3. By: zackr on 05-15-2011 18:16:16
Referring to Liddi in post #2. Not sure what happened with the first sentence...

4. By: carstensm on 05-15-2011 18:25:01
Jason,
Is it possible that Carp's combined part of his old patient approach with his new swing-out-of-his-pants approach? Encouraged to see that OBP up at .385.

5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-15-2011 18:25:38
He's actually just shaken the early-season blues. His prospect status for me has not changed one single bit.

It could still, in either direction, but it hasn't.

6. By: CyFelix on 05-15-2011 18:28:13
I think Walker could pass Franklin TBH. Walker will turn 19 in August and Franklin isn't showing power early on in HD. Although Franklin being a SS doesn't hurt.

7. By: VanillaGorilla on 05-15-2011 18:29:56
Ackley got his OPS up to 800 today with his 4-6 today. his start this year is eerily similar to last year. From the BA handbook "He got off to a rocky start at Double-A West Tennessee, batting just .139 through May 3rd, but he hit .301 in the next two months." Well after starting May 1 for his first 14 his average fell to .193 and since then he is hitting .328 and OPSing well over 1.000.

So moral of the story we need Ackley to sit out until May 4th and then he is a stud

8. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-15-2011 18:35:53
Or we need to realize this happens. To a lot of players.

9. By: CyFelix on 05-15-2011 18:43:57
Weren't you guys going to do a chat on Friday?

10. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-15-2011 19:00:04
It was going to be last week -- I announced a cancellation. Too busy.

Will probably do one this week. Depends on my schedule.

11. By: Gustafson on 05-15-2011 19:52:02
Jason, is Catricala at all interesting? His numbers are big (though it is in High D so...)

I'm stoked about Walker. That type of velocity, with no walks at 18 years old.... Huge.

12. By: johnburkland on 05-15-2011 20:19:38
Jason-

At what point do we need to start looking at Seager as more than a nice utility infielder? He killed the ball last year, but that was high desert and everybody rakes down there. But the numbers are good in Jackson again, and it's moving away from small sample size theater... What does Seager need to do for us to start thinking about him as a potential future starter?

13. By: danviens on 05-15-2011 20:44:29
Jason, do you see Seagar as a potential every day major league 2B? If so, could Ackley play LF? I remember the first scouting reports I ever read on the guy when we were approaching that draft were something like "will be an all-star if he's moved to CF." But I also recall reading some reports that his arm is below average.

14. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-15-2011 23:00:11
Catricala is not a player I have seen much of, but word is he's not a prospect so I have never paid attention much. He's a good minor league player and hits a lot of fly balls with a big swing, which explains some of his success, and failures, in the Cal League.

As for Seager, he's not a great athlete; 45-50 arm, avg bat speed, avg runner, but covers the plate, uses the whole field and makes good contact. His best attribute is his ability to recognize pitches and his willingness to hit with two strikes (which allows him to work deep counts and draw walks).

Defensively, he is fringy at second, has the range to play third but not the ideal arm.

Because he possesses fringy power, Seager's chances to play everyday really depend on the positives from above. How good can his plate skills get? How much better with the glove can he get?

For me, his status hasn't changed since the winter, despite his strong start, because he needed to do this to keep his status as a potential 25-man roster guy. And when I say that, I always assume a solid, competitive roster, not the 25-man list from a 90-100 loss club.

15. By: Boy9988 on 05-16-2011 00:44:01
Jason, does your wife really answer some of the questions in the chat or were you just messin' with Abker? And if she does, does she like baseball as much as you or has just heard you ramble on to her so much that she knows everything you do?

16. By: short on 05-16-2011 14:02:11
This is probably a stupid question, but what is the deal with Johan Limonta? He's shown good patience and high average since his time in high A ball, but looks to be light on power. Is he limited by not having enough power for where he sits on the defensive spectrum?

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