| By Chris Crawford |  | By 10-23-2010 |
The short-season leagues are tough to get too excited about for the average fan, but there is plenty of talent -- albeit raw talent -- to see. Here's a look at the good, bad and ugly from the 2010 Mariner affiliates: short-season style.
The Good
Lots of good stuff to talk about, especially from the 2010 draft class. Mickey Wiswall showed power from the left-side of the plate and wasn't totally lost at third base (still not his likely position). Stephen Pryor wasn't in Everett for long, but his 26 strikeouts in 18 innings compared with only 7 hits and a 0.49 era was all that was needed to be seen.
There were good things to see in Pulaski as well. George Mieses impressed scouts with his sink and control for his age, and though the K's were low, the arm is live. Ramon Morla was the real star in Virginia though, putting up a .610 showing plus powers and unreal wrists. I saw both Mieses and Morla in person this year, and there's reason for excitement in both. A long way to go for sure, but some real raw potential.
And in the AZL, you have to mention the season Ji-Man Choi put together. Choi's numbers show only two home runs on the season, but he had 19 extra-base hits in 178 at-bats, and the doubles will turn into bombs as he develops. There is a debate over whether Choi is going to be a catcher or first-basemen, but the bat plays wherever he ends up. Add that with the 10 stolen bases and the plus ability to get on base and that at 19 years old the M's though enough of him to promote him to High Desert, and you get one of our favorite prospects in the system.
The Bad
Even though it seems like Julio Morban has been in the system since 1998, he's still only 18 years old. Unfortunately, it was a lost year for the left-handed outfielder, accruing only 29 plate appearances. Jarett Burgess -- the Mariners sixth round pick in 2008 -- wasn't able to get anything going, and at this point is a throw away. Nolan Diaz showed some promise in 2009, but was a lost cause in 2010, a 6.39 ERA and the strikeout rates off from the season before. Not a lot of bad stuff to say about 17 to 19 year old kids, so doing an ugly would seem impossible. Accept, this guy exists
The Ugly
I fully expect to get a 15 yard penalty for piling on after the play, but Steven Baron's year can not qualify as anything but ugly. He improved on his numbers in Clinton, but improving from a .450 to .660 OPS isn't exactly the improvement the team had in mind when they demoted him to Everett. If Steven Baron would've been the fourth round pick or some catcher the team made a deal with below slot, he's not mentioned in the ugly section. That's the not the case, so that's where Steven Baron is. Don't shoot the messenger.
gbu----minor-league-edition-two:-short-season
Comments
The following 21 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Missthosepilots on 10-23-2010 15:40:06 Thanks Chris. Is there anything pretty about the young catcher of does the future really look all baron? Sorry! A catcher out of HS is a long term project in most cases. But in this case, shame we can't get a mulligan. The boos could be heard several states over when Baron and Franklin were drafted. At last NF has created some smiles! |
| 2. By: Edman on 10-23-2010 16:24:29 Nope, you get two 15 yard penalties. It's time to start letting go of the by now worn out Baron chew-toy. Stop whining about how much money he got or where he was drafted. There will always be failures in the first round of the draft. Honestly, to what end does this take anyone, other than continued whining about something that can't be undone? Is more whining going to influence how Jack or the Mariners operate in the future? Nope. So, write off the money and where he was drafted, since in your mind he was a wasted pick. View him as if he was taken in the 50th round and stop crying over spilled milk. I really get tired of concentrating on the same old things that bother some people. I see it as a wash, because Franklin turned out better than most expected. It's going to happen in every draft. Why not bring up other failures like Nanni, Campbell, Christenson......the list goes on. Let's hope that we aren't talking of Baron still, three years from now....unless somehow he develops into a better player than we see at the moment. Anything's possible. |
| 3. By: Lailoken on 10-23-2010 16:54:31 Clinton is going to be a fun club to follow next year. Plenty of intriguing talent, a lot of variety too. International signings, power bats (Morla, Blash, Wiswall, & maybe Pimintel) & some guys that barely played after signing or injury (Walker, Burgoon, & Morban). Chances are Noriega & Martinez repeat the level too. Seco really missed a lot of bats. A lefty with good stuff & command issues at a young age holds some promise. Burgoon only pitched a bit but reports on his velocity were positive. He could be a serious prospect. Walker sure had an impressive, & small, seven innings in his debut season as a professional. Glad that Pimentel showed some of his power early even with the troublesome strikeouts. Happens when young kids are rushed stateside though. He was only 17. After a rough, brief July Blash really busted out in August with a .959 OPS for the month while pulling a reverse split. Chances are he'll hit lefties better after some adjustment as he likely hadn't seen too many good ones in JC ball. I'm really curious to see what he does in Clinton next year. |
| 4. By: Lailoken on 10-23-2010 16:58:41 Oh, & to me the ugly with Baron is the passed balls. He was sold as a gold glove caliber defender but his offensive struggles carried over to his defense too. |
| 5. By: Slack on 10-23-2010 17:33:06 Where is Jordan Shipers going to start the year next year? Will he be in Clinton, too? I hadn't heard of Seco before. The stats look good but what about the tools? He's 22 and in short season ball which is a concern for me but I don't know much about him. |
| 6. By: rjfrik on 10-23-2010 17:40:31 Edman, About Baron. I think the reason it's continued to be brought up is not because he was a waste of a 1st round pick (which he was). Yes there have been others. But because he is arguably the worst 1st round pick in Seattle Mariners history. I'm sure in 2 more years after he's played A ball for the third time without posting over a .700 OPS and is no longer with the organization it he will have that official label. (my opinion of course) The other reason he is being brought up is because he is apropos for the ugly section in this thread. He is the only ugly thing about Seattle Mariners Short Season. One last thing before I put he Baron thing to bed, for a team that is literally desperate for position players that can HIT this was the worst possible draft selection. A catcher that can't hit and never was projected to hit, but hey at least he could receive well. The mariners were in the same position they are in now during that draft. They needed guys that could hit the ball. They drafted one HS position player in the 1st round. Why not take a flyer on an older college bat that could possibly be in a position to be knocking on the door by 2012. Every one knew Baron was a LOOONG term project. It's really not even about Baron anymore, it's about a wasted pick. And you are right Edman, it's time to move on. I look at that draft like we had one first round pick that year and drafted a brilliant player with it. Baron is non existent to me anymore. After this post you will never read another thing about him from me. He is nothing. About Pryor, Morla and Choi. Man am I excited about these kids. I really hope Morla becomes the big thunder bat in our system over the next few years. We haven't had one of those come up through the system in a long long time and I think Choi is going to be really good. Going to be fun to follow them over the next few years. |
| 7. By: Edman on 10-24-2010 03:27:25 I will have to disagree, Tito Nanni was the worse Mariner draft pick ever. Read this quote..... Alan Schwarz, special reporter to ESPN.com, rated Nanni as the sixth worst baseball draft pick of all-time |
| 8. By: subterranean on 10-24-2010 09:44:23 Calling Baron's season ugly ain't whining, it's calling it what it is. Maybe Nanni was an even uglier pick but this is just the 2010 short season ugly. |
| 9. By: Rudolf on 10-24-2010 10:22:29 As ugly as Baron's season was... And as questionable the draft pick was... He IS a long term project just finishing his first full season of pro-ball. We knew his bat would take some time to develop. Walker is a project. Will everyone freak out if he gets bombed next year? And what's the difference between the two? Is it that the scouts has less to say about Walker, so it's easier to preserve hope for his future? Baron was an all*star because of his defense. I think it's way too soon to call the kid a bust. |
| 10. By: wcs425 on 10-24-2010 13:57:23 Too bad about baron. I loved the article, but you have at least 10 writing errors, it makes the article hard to read. |
| 11. By: wcs425 on 10-24-2010 13:57:23 Too bad about baron. I loved the article, but you have at least 10 writing errors, it makes the article hard to read. |
| 12. By: Edman on 10-24-2010 18:45:54 #8, I wasn't the one who claimed that was the worse 1st round draft pick ever. I simply showed that statement was wrong. In regard to him being the ugly of short season baseball, I have to disagree as well. I will say that his year wasn't memorable, but it wasn't horrible either. I suggest forgetting he exists for the time being, and in two or three years, let's see where he is. Nobody's going to know how he rates as a draft pick, until all hope is lost. |
| 13. By: Edman on 10-24-2010 18:50:26 #10, I got through it, and I write for a living. I suggest that if you want to talk grammar, there are lots of places on the web that deal with that subject. He got the baseball part right. |
| 14. By: Lailoken on 10-25-2010 13:39:20 Slack, Seco missed most of two of his previous five seasons with injury (inflammation but no major surgery in 2006 & 2008). Considering those were short seasons he is pretty raw still. He throws in the low 90s & has a big curveball that he showed he could get over the plate more often this season. In honor of Felix, Seco donned a jersey with 34 on the back. Physically Seco does resemble Felix at around 6'3 & lanky. He could add some muscle still. Being a left-hander with two legitimate pitches whose inexperience may be the central roadblock to finding command he's interesting even if he turned 22 during the season. |
| 15. By: slamcactus on 10-26-2010 16:41:49 "And what's the difference between [Baron and Walker]?" In a word: upside. High-risk, high-reward is totally understandable. Picking in the 40s, it's a completely defensible strategy and it's very easy to see how a scout could fall in love with Walker's high ceiling. Baron's not high risk, high reward. He's high risk, low to medium reward. On draft day, he was an extremely raw player whose perfect world projection was as a plus defensive catcher with double-digit home run power. Someone like the bad version of Ryan Doumit. When that's a player's upside and he has a way higher than normal bust potential, that's a shitty selection at #33 overall. I'm not too broken up over Baron. The Ms' crew bucked the scouting consensus with Franklin as well, and that seems to be working out pretty well so far. There will be other good draft picks and other bad draft picks. There's no way to pretend his selection wasn't awful, though. Drafting is always about balancing risk, reward, and cost. Baron was a horrible balance for his draft position. |
| 16. By: Rudolf on 10-27-2010 11:30:09 Well put, Slamcactus. You may be selling Baron a little bit short with your "perfect world projection", but what you say makes sense. However, my main point was that it seems as if many fans are writing him off at age 19. Perhaps this is because the scouting reports tend to focus on what he has failed to do thusfar vs. what he can become. In Walker's case we focus on his easy fastball and a curve that once had potential and hope he will turn out alright with proper coaching. In Baron's case we focus not on his stellar D and potential double digit power, but on his meager hit tool. It's as if we expect coaching and experience to have no effect. This is all regardless of draft position. I would love a .250/15 hr catcher with strong defense right about now. In our current situation, I believe that's worth hoping for, even if it's back-burner hoping. |
| 17. By: slamcactus on 10-27-2010 12:44:07 Nobody's "anti-hope," Rudolf. If Baron came out swinging next year and showed the makings of a major league hitter, you wouldn't see anyone who's been blasting the pick come out and root against him. I'd be 100%, non-grudgingly enthusiastic. It's just really, really, really unlikely. And from the reports we've heard, it sounds like the defense hasn't really shown up either, which is profoundly disappointing. There's no real point in being upset that Baron's in the system. He's here, he's young so has some theoretical chance at making a breakthrough, and we all have to just deal with him. The hope, though, is that the organization learned a valuable lesson from their misstep with Baron. I have no problems with a team trusting its scouts if they like a guy's talent more than the scouting consensus does. Nick Franklin was a guy like that. They believed he was one of the best players available at #27. Ditto Littlewood, who was a talent rather than a signability pick even though the Ms drafted him higher than many other teams would have. With Baron, though, I don't believe the team thought it was drafting anything even remotely resembling the best player available. It seems to me that one or two area scouts liked Baron a bit more than the general consensus, which had him as an ~3rd-5th round talent, and the team jumped on that and reached for him at 33 hoping to save some money. Unless the team plans to go after multiple late-round guys with high 6-figure or low-7 figure bonuses, I really disagree with that draft philosophy, and I hope the Ms never use it again. |
| 18. By: Edman on 10-27-2010 20:27:25 slam, a misstep? Never judge a draft choice, especially one that's just 19 straight out of High School, until they're through with his developmental plan. It's all conjecture as to why they drafted him. Nobody knows, but lots of people assume. You assume what their draft philosophy was. The one or two area scouts thing doesn't hold water. They cross-check several times before drafting a player in the upper rounds of the draft. To imply that they "took the word" of a couple of scouts before drafting him, is very simplistic. You really think that they're going to simply take a couple scouting reports on face value? Can't sell me on that one. Not with six and seven figure signing bonus' on the line. You disagree with a draft philosophy that you conjured up? I agree, if true, it would be a horrible way to draft players. Mariner fans need to find a way to justify what they believe is a bad pick. He just might suck thoughout his career. But, right or wrong, maybe the M's scouts saw something valuable and projectable five or so years down the line. I could go along with the M's having a pre-draft deal worked out that later he defaulted on. I'm sure they talk money. But, that doesn't mean they didn't see him as a late first round to early second round pick. None of us will know anything for another five years. |
| 19. By: RaiderJohn81 on 10-28-2010 14:15:07 Even if Baron does go bust, I look at the farm system and the condition that it's in now and I'm willing to let this one slide. There's still the chance that Baron has an "a-ha" moment and becomes a decent catcher. Also-#10/11- Ironic that you called out the writing errors as one could make the argument that you should have ended the second sentence after "writing errors." Instead you throw in a comma. My 2 cents. |
| 20. By: slamcactus on 10-29-2010 16:25:07 "You disagree with a draft philosophy that you conjured up? I agree, if true, it would be a horrible way to draft players. " Nobody ever said anything about Baron being the best talent on the board at 33. Not even anyone in the amateur scouting department. There's not even a reasonable argument to be made that someone could see him as that kind of talent even if they squinted. Either the Ms knew they were reaching with the Baron pick, or their amateur scouting department is incompetent. I don't believe the latter is true. |
| 21. By: Edman on 10-29-2010 16:52:01 Nobody? You have access to the M's scouting reports to know what their amature scouting department recommended? Don't most teams "reach" when drafting? Isn't that what speculating is about, reaching for someone who might not have refined skills at the moment, but has the tools to one day be successful? So now you do think that the scouts are competent, where as you posted that the M's brass must have drafted him based on a couple amature scouting reports that weren't accurate? I'm confused. Because they didn't draft a guy that you and others don't agree with, doesn't mean that they didn't have their own criteria for selecting him. I don't really know, and neither do you. I'm at least willing to give Baron some time before I conclude anything. Certainly the M's knew it wasn't going to happen overnight. Catchers have a lot to learn. They concentrate on defense and calling a game initially. As far as his bat, he's young enough to have his swing tweeked. It may take a few years, but at least he is under the guidance of the M's minor league system. Give him a few years, then judge him. |
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