| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 07-08-2011 |
I had a little left over from Wednesday's Prospect Intel and took a trip with Adam Staloch to Triple-A Tacoma to check out the relief arms. We lucked out and saw both Josh Fields and Josh Lueke. More on the two right-handers in a bit.Before we get to the notes, I promised a "what to expect from Kyle Seager," so let's get to that just as he starts Game No.2 of his big league career.
Seager gets unfairly compared to Dustin Ackley because both are caucasians, infielders and left-handed hitters. And while there are some legit similarities in their games, they are far more different than they are the same.
Seager is a little shorter, slightly sturdier in frame, and his stroke at the plate is more designed for contact. His hands and wrists aren't as strong and quick and he also doesn't run as well as his college teammate.
But he does have a better throwing arm and better defensive instincts and will be more than fine playing third base. Judging from what I saw in spring training, I think Seager is a lot like a young Adam Kennedy as a defensive second baseman.
He will drive the ball some and isn't completely without some pop; he'll occasionally get under a ball and pull it out of the ballpark, but that's not what the club wants Seager to do.
He'll spray the ball around and handle pitches away from him. The one weakness he has is on hard stuff in on his hands, and because he doesn't have great bat speed, he can be beat on when he's looking fastball. He could develop 40-45 power (10-12 homers, 25-30 doubles) as he matures and learns to get the bat head out on pitched middle-in, but that's a ways down the road.
He makes good contact and seems to have a knack for when to be patient and when to attack a hittable fastball. He works hard and has tremendous makeup and while I believe it will take a little more -- more than it has Ackley -- I do think he's capable of helping the Mariners at the big-league level this season.
If he plays regularly the second half of the season, I'd expect a .260-.275 batting average with a respectable on-base mark around or above the league average of .322, which makes him among the top five or six bats on the roster. In the end, he's probably best suited at second base where his bat may play as an everyday guy, or as a utility player capable of spelling even at shortstop in short stints.
2010 Draft Looking Good
Not only is Taijuan Walker shining bright a year after being drafted by the M's -- and he tossed six brilliant frames Thursday night, allowing one hit and striking out a career-high 11 against zero bases on ball -- but it appears Marcus Littlewood is starting to figure things out a little bit.
The second-round pick has at least one hit in his past eight starts and is 11-for-35 with five doubles during that span. During the initial homestand of the season it appeared he was drifting out on his front foot early and leaking toward first base as a left-handed batter. I'll head up to see him again next homestand and see if he's made some adjustments or if the recent results are merely a result of better luck.
James Paxton (4th round) is getting better reviews than I expected from scouts, despite a lackluster effort in his first Double-A start earlier this week. "The pure stuff is really good," said one pro scout. "The fastball command needs to get better, but his curveball is biting. The delivery is still a little bit busy for me, but he repeats it."
Paxton will pitch in Sunday's Futures Game.
Jordan Shipers (16th round) has looked better his last three times out, punching out 18 batters in 15 1/3 innings, touching 92 at home this week, but the club is still working with him on his mechanics.
Shipers isn't a big kid so it's that much more imperative for him to create momentum moving toward the plate, which will help him keep the ball down as well as generate plane and a tighter spin on his breaking ball.
Forrest Snow (36th round) has posted a 7.89 ERA in his first four starts in High Desert, but it may be the most impressive near-eight earned run average of all time.
Snow has whiffed 17 in 21 2/3 innings and walked nine, and was strong Thursday, striking out eight in seven strong innings. In the Cal League, it's about staying out of the middle of the plate, and he's done that in three of his four outings for the Mavs.
We talked about Tyler Burgoon (10th round) earlier this week, but he's certainly a part of the shining class of '10, as is Stephen Pryor (5th round). Pryor, however, started off 2011 by issuing 25 walks in 15 1/3 innings, but he seems to have things back in order.
In his past 10 innings, spanning eight appearances, Pryor has walked just one batter while striking out 12. If he continues to prove he can throw strikes, he could see Double-A Jackson later in July or in August.
Checking in on Saunders
Saunders did not start Thursday night but did bat late in the game when Matt Mangini was removed after injuring himself sliding.
Two things were apparent right away once Saunders set up versus lefty Jordan Norberto. Saunders is now starting with his hands a little further away from his body than he was in the big leagues, though he's still holding them low in a better position to hit. He and Matt Tuiasosopo both are a little too patient, as if they are looking for the perfect pitch.
Just Joshin'
Josh Lueke has been solid the past 10 outings, with Thursday being one of two hiccups. The stuff is a little better and the velocity is back, but I think I've gotten to the bottom of the velocity problem.
Lueke was throwing cutters, not four-seam fastballs. "I was," Lueke said, "I was having problems getting the ball in (on right-handed batters). I'm working on some changes that are helping me with that."
Lueke was 91-94 mph Thursday, touching 95 once. But the fastball isn't the only change Lueke has made the past several weeks. He's also changed the grip on his split finger. "I was using a split-change grip, sticking the ball between my fingers a little further, but now I am back to a true split grip." The adjustment added velocity back to the pitch and appeared to help him stay on top of the pitch and avoid leaving it up in the hitting zone.
Lueke's breaking ball has changed, too, but this change may not be for the better. Since the start of the season his slider has turned into a slurvy variety, sitting in the 77-79 mph range, rather than the 80-83 mph slider he threw last year. The good news is he's throwing it with command and confidence.
Right now, neither pitch is a plus offering, though, which probably keeps him out of the big leagues for a bit longer.
Fields looked pretty good Thursday, tossing a perfect innings and striking out two. Fields sat 91-92, touched 93 three times for me, and pitched off his fastball really well. The pitch is somewhat straight unless he pulls through it on the front side of his delivery, when it tails a bit away from right-handed batters.
His curveball -- he only threw three of them -- was 76 mph on a called third strike to end the inning and he also chucked an 80-mph version that he buried in the dirt, inducing a check-swing. Fields actually threw a couple of solid changeups to keep the three batters he faced from sitting fastball and kept them down in the zone or completely out of it.
Staloch, Prospect Insider's Video Analyst, took some shots of both Lueke and Fields.
Josh Lueke
Josh Fields
scouting-notebook:-littlewood,-fields,-lueke
Comments
The following 6 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Lailoken on 07-09-2011 00:54:32 JAC, Do you think Fields stands a good chance of being a successful MLB reliever? That fastball velocity without movement sounds underwhelming. Also, when should we expect word on international free agent signings? |
| 2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 07-09-2011 02:02:25 The M's aren't frontrunners to sign any of the bigger names right now. Their 1 was Martinez and 2 was Sanchez, but there is no news on either front. As for Fields, the movement can be an easy fix, and it hasn't always been as straight. |
| 3. By: safecochatter on 07-09-2011 10:51:44 Thanks for the update Jason. Maybe Paxton will be next years June call up. Got a chance to see Ruben Sierra, Jr. play the other night.(Spokane Indians)Probably not gonna have the power his dad had. But Sr was in the steroid era too. The knock on JR was his plate coverage. But i seen him hit a laser beam off the wall going the other way.. Thinking 184 over all in 09 was a nice pick for the Rangers. Jr also centerfield speed. And sometimes they don't work out.....Also ss Taylor J. Featherston who was drafted by the Rockies in rd 5 this year. He came in batting .093 and is now batting .053 and each ab was so "painful" to watch...totally lost! Everyone was "please,please,take this guy out of the lineup". |
| 4. By: Lantermanc on 07-09-2011 13:49:38 Awesome write-up as usual JAC. With the M's making me think a playoff run is do-able, then continuing to disappoint, tidbits of information about prospects is what gives me hope for next year. |
| 5. By: krob4mvp on 07-09-2011 22:53:42 After watching the Josh Fields video all I kept thinking to myself is how identical his follow through is that of Tim Lincecum's and I liked it! |
| 6. By: 11records on 07-10-2011 10:43:30 HAHAHA. The second warm up pitch in the Fields video is not a great statement on the young man's control. |
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