Prospect Insider - Player of the Year

Player of the Year

By Jason A. Churchill

By 11-25-2008

For a system so shallow with high-reward, high-probability, near-ready prospects of any kind, it’s no wonder that a risky, yet toolsy 21-year-old is their prospect of the year.

The Seattle Mariners began the year with more likely candidates than center fielder Greg Halman, namely outfielder Wladimir Balentien, catcher Jeff Clement and shortstop Carlos Triunfel, the club’s top talent.

But Triunfel, 18, started his season off quicker with his mouth than with his bat, serving two suspensions before returning and catching fire at the plate. Clement was well on his way a circuit MVP award in the Pacific Coast League before being called up for good, and Balentien joined him.

Halman beat out catcher Adam Moore, who is capable defensively and potentially above-average at the plate, taking steps forward in all areas in 2008, a season he spent with Double-A West Tennessee. The 24-year-old hit .319/.396/.506 with 34 doubles and 14 long balls.

But Halman, also the Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year, hit .272/.326/.528 with 29 home runs, 29 doubles, five triples and 31 steals in 38 attempts in 128 games split between Advanced-A High Desert and Double-A West Tennessee.

As a prospect, Halman, a right-handed hitter, has major hurdles to climb, mainly his contact rates that stem from below average pitch recognition and overall plate discipline, and his tendencies to work himself into pitcher’s counts. But his 2008 season was as good as anyone could have expected.

Photo of Greg Halman by Mike Andruski

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Comments
The following 7 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: StandinPat on 11-25-2008 22:43:01
Jason, What's your opinion of Halman's raw power and how it equates to the majors? I know for many prospects their contact rates and extra base totals are very much tied to each other, but Halman seems like a guy who could hit .230-.240 and still wind up going yard 25-30 times. Thoughts?

2. By: Blowgun7 on 11-25-2008 23:05:47
Jason, I see you evaluate Moore as potentially being above average behind the dish, yet USSM I believe came to the conclusion that he may not even be average defensively

3. By: Jason A. Churchill on 11-25-2008 23:18:05
I'm sure the difference is in the wording. I'm saying he's potentially average to above-average defensively, meaning he has the tools, raw skills and work ethic to get there, and USSM, whether it's Dave or whoever, is projecting.

Right now, compared to the starters in MLB, Moore is below average, but the difference isn't light years. It's visible, but it's not a large gap.

It's easy to sit back and say that a prospect isn't something when the odds are obviously stacked against every talent in the game to be what their tools suggest they COULD be. I'm merely talking about the "could" part, which is why you will read the terms "probability" a lot in the handbook.

4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 11-26-2008 15:18:38
re: Halman's power
Sure, he's that kind of hitter right now. Hopefully he can get better in the contact department without sacrificing too much power.

5. By: Walrus on 11-27-2008 02:03:21
Jason, Happy Turkey Day. Just out of curiousity, IF the Mariners told San Diego that they would take on all of Peavy's contract, provided that San Diego take Washburn at half his contract...what more would it take to get Peavy? Is it more than RRS, Lopez, Halman or Saunders, R.Johnson or Moore? Just curious...because that would be one strong starting staff.

6. By: jgstecker on 11-27-2008 11:49:11
Re: the Ibanez sidebar: Do the Phillies not factor in at all? Minaya had some interesting comments in the Daily news this morning: "Minaya also confirmed the Mets' widely reported interest in free agent outfielder Raul Ibañez, although the GM noted that pitching is the priority for now. "Minaya acknowledged trying to acquire Ibañez from the Mariners last July. "Last year we did talk to them during the trading deadline about him," Minaya said. "Unfortunately, we were not able to get a trade done. We've heard very good reports about him - not only as a player, but as a person. I understand the Phillies, they're one of the teams that's considering him. We are also keeping an eye on that situation, even though we're focusing right now on pitching primarily. But he is a good player."

7. By: rturk89 on 11-27-2008 15:32:28
Jason, I believe the Mets have the 25th pick and the Cubs have the 32nd pick. At least that's what it says on Baseball America. This is based on if the M's don't sign Fields. If they do sign him then the Mets have the 24th and the Cubs have the 31st. The Yankees recieved compensation for not signing Gerrit Cole which right now is the 29th pick.

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