| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 05-09-2011 |
The Seattle Mariners have called up Mike Wilson from Triple-A Tacoma, and he will be in uniform and available for Tuesday's game versus the Baltimore Orioles. To make room on the roster, Ryan Langerhans was designated for assignment, which isn't the move I would have made, but there's not going to be tears shed for the loss of Langerhans.
He is, however, the better runner and defender, and a similar offensive value to Milton Bradley, but perhaps his left-handedness was the deciding factor as Wilson's arrival is partly due to the fact he could help balance the lineup better.
Bradley was also DFA'd Monday, however, as the club recalled Carlos Peguero. Now that's more like it.
Wilson was drafted in the second round 10 years ago -- yes, you read that right. Wilson was a 2001 draftee out of Booker T. Washington High School in Oklahoma. He passed up football scholarships to take the money and give baseball a shot.
He's put up numbers at most levels, and is tearing up the PCL right now, but he's almost always done it as one of the older players in the circuit.
His bat speed is average, but he's tremendously strong, producing well above-average raw power. He has problems with good velocity, and can't handle fastballs in on him. He likes to extend his arm and has power to left-center, all the way round to right-center.
At times Wilson sits breaking ball and can generally do a good job hitting them hard, but he will chase balls out of the zone, especially down and away.
In a fastball count, he will hit the daylights out of an average heater and hit it a long way, but he's still one to swing and miss and doesn't hit the ball to right field enough to hit for average.
His value in the big leagues is very similar to that of Peguero's; If given enough time, he will hit some shots -- some impressive shots. But he won't likely balance the strikeouts with walks or make enough general contact to warrant playing every day.
And at 27 -- he will be 28 next month -- he is what he is, which is a power bat who will strikeout a lot, walk occasionally and play below average defense. He can throw and run a little bit, however. He's just not a long-term option, especially in the field.
what-to-expect-from-mike-wilson
Comments
The following 67 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: CyFelix on 05-09-2011 13:39:21 " he is what he is, which is a power bat who will strikeout a lot, walk occasionally and play below average defense. He can throw and run a little bit, however." So a less experienced Milton Bradley with better defense and arm? Milton's defense was getting pathetic, so I don't mind this at all. However I'd rather see Halman, but I know he's injured. |
| 2. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 13:47:41 Hard not to like these moves. It's not like the pair of Peguero and Wilson could do much worse than Bradley, and both could potentially help Seattle in 2012-2015. Not a lot to be surprised about. Cust and Saunders have to be looking over their choulders. Saunders is still overmatched. When Guti comes back, it could lead to some interesting choices. |
| 3. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 14:02:44 No problem losing either Bradley or Langerhans - at all. What I do find interesting is that it's pretty overwhelmingly likely that neither of these moves will actually make us better. There's always a sliver of hope that a guy will surprise you when he makes the jump, but neither of these guys look even remotely like everyday options. So I've gotta think this indicates Jack is working the phones and looking for an outfielder. |
| 4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-09-2011 14:03:29 I'm not sure Wilson's defense is better than Bradley's, because while he has better legs and arm, his reads are sometimes as bad as I have ever seen. When FG returns, if they send down Saunders in favor of Peguero, it's a huge mistake. Keep them both up, send Wilson down. This whole need for a right-handed hitting outfielder thing makes me wanna beat the crap out of somebody. If this were July 25 and the M's were in second place and only three out, that's different. But while they are only four out on May 9, they have three teams in front of them and a long way to go show they are some sort of a playoff contender, even in a bad division. |
| 5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-09-2011 14:05:05 I think these moves were more about 1. Time to move on to younger players and 2. Showing the other players that you can make 10 mil but if you don't perform and act like a pro, you are out. |
| 6. By: rjfrik on 05-09-2011 14:05:26 Yeah I like the moves. It's nice that they are going to start letting the kids (although Wilson is hardly a kid) come up and give it a try. I expect Wilson or Kennedy to get their papers in about a month when Ackley arrives. It's about time IMO, time for the veteran placeholders to move on. Let's actually find out what we have with a few of these young guys so we can better gauge 2012. |
| 7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-09-2011 14:10:49 I bet the farm that unless there is a trade involved in shedding a player when Ackley gets called up, Wilson gets the boot before Kennedy. |
| 8. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 14:30:36 What exactly has Saunders done to deserve a spot on the roster? He's got holes in his swing as big as the Grand Canyon, and doesn't appear to be making any progress to resolve them. He's still not getting good swings on pitches over the plate. How much rope does he get? He can work on his swing in Tacoma, without the pressure of trying to produce at the Major League Level. There is no compelling reason that he needs to be in Seattle, other than he's the only real defensive answer in CF, until Guti gets back. I don't buy into the concept that the M's are a proving ground for young kids. Yes, they need to work toward the future. But, they still need to show an effort to win games now. Like it or not, the M's need to also keep fans coming through the gates. They need to at least show that they're trying to be competative. Regardless of if it's Saunders, Wilson, Peguero, et al.....playing time should go to those who earn it. Saunders gets no more rope than they do. The last thing you want is the fans to become use to feeling there is any reason to go to a game. And, a vast majority of those fans, could care less about 2012, at the moment. They want to have a reason to go to a game this year. They're not interested in seeing young kids develope, they're interested in someone producing. That's the harsh reality. You can do both. But the idea that one can exist without the other isn't reasonable. |
| 9. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 14:34:07 And,on Kennedy being cut, I'd be more inclined to believe that Rodriquez would go, before Kennedy. |
| 10. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 14:38:50 "What exactly has Saunders done to deserve a spot on the roster?" For one he might be the best defensive player on the roster. He's the best outfielder by a few miles. |
| 11. By: baseballman on 05-09-2011 14:42:57 Edman, you answered your own question. If Saunders is sent down to Tacoma right now, who plays CF? He deserves playing time because he's the only one who can play CF. There's more to the game than just hitting. |
| 12. By: John_S on 05-09-2011 14:44:20 "I don't buy into the concept that the M's are a proving ground for young kids. Yes, they need to work toward the future. But, they still need to show an effort to win games now." Edman - Who would you bring up instead? What other options internally and externally are there? |
| 13. By: 24fan4life on 05-09-2011 14:48:46 I like these moves! We all know the mariners are lacking pop. They will probably have low averages but atleast they'll hit one out every once in awhile. That's more than anyone not named smoak! |
| 14. By: dawgncarolina on 05-09-2011 14:49:32 "And,on Kennedy being cut, I'd be more inclined to believe that Rodriquez would go, before Kennedy." No idea if you are correct, but that would be tragic if true. |
| 15. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 14:52:40 I said for those of you who missed it, "when Guti comes back". I didn't say send him down now. John S, they don't have any other options. However, they should also consider a trade, if it makes sense. Not just look at promoting from within. I never said that I had the answers, just that Seattle needs to worry about being competative this year, if they can. And no make this a testing ground for 2012. If they can do both, fine. If they can't, look at other options. There are a few guys at AAA who could at least help Seattle through this season. Again, if they can be competative and develop from within, fine. But, they shouldn't confine themselves to only that commitment. |
| 16. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 14:55:06 Brodie, I think Ichiro is still the best defensive outfielder on the team. When Guti returns, you can debate it. But, Saunders is not a better defensive outfielder. |
| 17. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 14:56:36 dawg, exactly what is tragic about Rodriguez being cut? Because of one breakout season in the minor leagues? |
| 18. By: kevin_ess on 05-09-2011 14:59:55 Edman, Because he has proven to be getting more comfortable in the majors and has already positively contributed to our successes this season? |
| 19. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 15:02:38 I'll let Jason settle that dispute, but I think in the early going it's more obvious than ever that Ichiro has lost a step or two. Saunders range is unmatched on the roster, that is certain. |
| 20. By: dawgncarolina on 05-09-2011 15:05:07 "dawg, exactly what is tragic about Rodriguez being cut? Because of one breakout season in the minor leagues?" Because we know Adam Kennedy isn't very good, but Rodriguez at least has the possibility of being good. Because Ackley is terrible against left handed pitchers and Kennedy is a lefty but Rodriguez hits switch, making him a potential platoon partner against tough lefties. Because Kennedy is 35 and Rodriguez is 30. There's just no reason to keep Kennedy over Rodriguez. I highly doubt the team will make that mistake either. |
| 21. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 15:08:10 Guti's not going to be at full strength when he comes back. The team will need someone who can take spot starts at CF, likely for most of the year. |
| 22. By: JD Kickastro on 05-09-2011 15:10:17 Edman, Luis Rodriguez, sadly, probably has the best pop in the infield not named Smoak. He also has solid on-base skills but hasn't really had consistent playing time unlike Wilson and Ryan. I'd honestly prefer a starting line-up of Luis Rodriguez at SS and Adam Kennedy at 2B if you're trying to win, right now. Out of the four middle infielders, Rodriguez and Ryan are probably the only ones who have a future with the club beyond this(SS/Utility). |
| 23. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 15:10:21 Saunders more comfortable at the plate? He showed some hope a few weeks ago, but he's 0 for May, and hit a whopping .225 in April. I could care less about his stats. He's been swinging at bad pitches, and not swinging, or missing pitches over the plate. If that's comfortable, he's doomed. Brodie, it's obvious to whom? Do zone ratings support your theory? Certainly, Saunders is a better option than anyone but Ichiro, defensively. But I think it's a mighty bold step to assume that he's better than a Gold Glove outfielder. |
| 24. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 15:13:01 21. Good point. Also, Saunders and Guti are ideal platoon partners should they go that route (some kind of blurred platoon). |
| 25. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 15:19:19 Edman, the Gold Glove argument? Really? Just watch a game. Ichiro's not getting to balls he used to get to and the Condor is flying around getting to everything. |
| 26. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 15:20:21 Actually, #22, Kennedy has more "pop" than Rodriquez, but not by much. Rodriquez is living off his career year in the minors last year. Sadly, both are horrible options, in the long-term. Rodriquez isn't a young man, either, at 30 years old. Being the best hitting middle infielder on the Mariners, isn't really saying much. |
| 27. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 15:25:11 Perception can be a horrible gauge of effectivity, Brodie. I'm not a big fan of using statistics, but then can help separate fact from fiction. What are their comparative zone ratings so far this season? |
| 28. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 15:34:23 27. Ichiro is well in the negative in RF and Saunders is pretty far positive in CF. The numbers back it up, but it's a tiny sample size so I didn't want to bring it up. |
| 29. By: John_S on 05-09-2011 15:40:16 Edman - A trade is nice, but 1) You have to have a willing trade partner 2) Like you said it needs to make sense 3) I think Jason has mentioned before that teams are more inclined to keep their prospects rather than trading prospect for prospect. This means that the guys who may be available for trade are guys who are on the decline, guys who you have to take salary back or both. The #'s put up by Bradley and Langerhaans are hardly irreplaceable and it's not that far fetched that Wilson and Peguero cannot put up the same #'s or better. This was probably the best option short of keeping keeping Bradley on the team and waiting for that time bomb to completely erupt and Langerhaans giving way below avg offense. |
| 30. By: dawgncarolina on 05-09-2011 15:42:58 Rodriguez has a higher isolated slugging than Kennedy, albeit both sample sizes are pretty insignificant. That said, Kennedy's is uncharacteristically high for him, so I'd expect that to go down. And Rodriguez's babip is freakishly low, particularly on fly balls, so one would expect his to go up. I think the evidence suggests Rodriguez has more pop than Kennedy. It definitely suggests there's more reasons to at least see what Rodriguez can do. We already know what Kennedy can do, which isn't much. |
| 31. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 16:38:37 John, I don't disagree with you at all. I'm not suggesting to swap prospect for prospect. Yes, Seattle might be looking for a one-year fix. But, they need to be open to bringing in a guy stuck at AAA somewhere, who might be able to play CF and offer some offensive improvement. Certainly, I'd rather see Wilson and Peguero, than Bradley and Langerhans. I've never been a fan of either. Even when Dave Cameron was beating the drum for both, I couldn't see enough improvement in either case, to worry about. dawg, Wow, this is really about finding out what Rodriquez can do versus what Kennedy can do? I thought it was about winning games. Neither project as players that likely fill a need for 2012, and certainly both don't project into 2013 and beyond. So, just what are we suppose to find out? I don't see either as more valuable than the other. And, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Rodriquez' major and minor league numbers don't pan out much more than Josh Wilson, with a little more pop. I'm not sure just how valuable that is. Right now, neither of them deserves any more consideration than the other, with the exception of Rodriquez being a RH hitter. It's like getting excited about crappy, instead of really crappy. Not much difference. What is sad is that the team is so bad in regard to middle infielders, that it's even debated. |
| 32. By: rjfrik on 05-09-2011 17:05:44 Completely agree with your statement at number 7 Jason, I think it's Wilson as well. I will also bet the farm. Maybe we can combine our farms and turn our winnings into a high rise downtown. Moving on Up! |
| 33. By: FWBrodie on 05-09-2011 17:05:57 Edman, "one year fix" shouldn't be in the Mariners' vocabulary right now. |
| 34. By: dewey on 05-09-2011 17:20:14 Jason give me your read on Ackleys defense? I watched him the other night for 2 games and he looks to have rough hands and very un -ackward at the position thats just my eyes. |
| 35. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 17:24:10 "Neither project as players that likely fill a need for 2012" That is absolutely false. Rodriguez could very well be a fantastic utility infielder who can play 2B, 3B, and SS, and can hit at about a league average level, and if he pans out he's under club control for several years for fre. You really think a player like that has no value on a winning team? If so, I strongly suggest you go back and take another look at the career of Mark McLemore. "And, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Rodriquez' major and minor league numbers don't pan out much more than Josh Wilson, with a little more pop." Josh Wilson has never had a minor league season as good as Rodriguez's 2010. He also has 1000 PAs worth of proof that he can't hit major league pitching, and most of it's recent. Rodriguez's 2010 season hints at the possibility that he may have taken a substantial step forward. Sure, he may be only a better version of the utility guy we used the last 2 years, but he also may be considerably better than that. Andres Torres has confirmed that late-career breakouts can be very, very real. Rodriguez is a cost-controlled player who actually has a chance to be productive. This season is a great opportunity to find out whether Rodriguez can be that guy for this team for the next few years. Open your eyes, Edman. The teams that win without NY and Boston's payrolls are the teams that experiment by giving chances to unproven players. |
| 36. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 18:09:22 Brodie, "One year fix" is in your vocabulary, but that doesn't mean it should be in the Mariners'. You discard the value of improved attendance, if they find a one year improvement that can provide more productivity than the current boat-anchors taking swings. In a perfect world, maybe so. But, for Jack to keep his job and finish his vision of the Mariners, he has to consider keeping fans coming though the gate. slamcactus, Andres Torres didn't confirm a thing, other than that a handful of late-career breakouts can be real. The Andres Torres example is one of how many tens or hundres of examples of failures? Yes, Dave Cameron used that very example to make his case, but didn't bother to look at the potential for failure. Did he bother to go back and investigate the numerous examples of "career year" minor league success, that never became anything more than a fluke? The "may be considerably better" argument doesn't mean much to me. That applies nearly all AAAA players who could be considerably better than league average. So what? How many actually turn out to be such players? Not many. I have no problem with Rodriguez, but to imply that he's somehow more valuable than Kennedy, on a team starving for offense, is unreasonable to me. And, it's not like Kennedy is dragging down the M's payroll, so lose that part of the argument. On a team where others were holding up the offense, you might have an argument. But, when half of your batting order is scraping to reach .200, it's not quite so simple. |
| 37. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 19:14:35 "Andres Torres didn't confirm a thing, other than that a handful of late-career breakouts can be real. Or in other words...the exact thing I said he confirmed. Show me where I talked about Rodriguez as some sort of guarantee. Obviously he isn't, and I never suggested as much. But he's got some upside. Kennedy's a known mediocrity who works just fine as a stop-gap for a bad team. Rodriguez, on the other hand, has a chance to be a valuable contributor to a good team. Your argument could have been copied and pasted as a reason to keep playing Aaron Rowand over Andres Torres last year. "I have no problem with Rodriguez, but to imply that he's somehow more valuable than Kennedy, on a team starving for offense, is unreasonable to me." And somehow Adam Kennedy and his .685 OPS over the past 5 years is the answer to a team starving for offense? We know exactly what he is, and the chances of him contributing to the next contending Mariners team are nil. Your obsession with "proven guys" is comical. You really don't seem to care what they've proven, so long as they've proven it. This is the Jose Vidro discussion all over again (back when you hilariously opined that moving to DH would somehow magically turn Vidro into Edgar Martinez). When the best you can hope for out of a player is mediocrity and the worst-case scenario is an absolute collapse, that's a very good indication that you should start looking for a better alternative. |
| 38. By: rjfrik on 05-09-2011 19:19:30 One guy isn't going to make the M's fans come back unless that guy is a Strasburg type phenom who is a once in a generation talent. The only way to get the fans back in the stadium is to produce some winning ball clubs and it won't happen over night. It will take 2-3 winning years, with a playoff appearance or two to get the fans in on a regular basis. That time frame is a few years off and I'm sure even the front office cannot be obtuse to that fact. No one man will bring a spike in attendance numbers this year or next. So you might as well find out what you have by playing guys who could or could not make an impact on the 2013 and beyond teams. Kennedy is not that guy at all. Rodriguez could be a player who holds some value to those clubs, but not as a regular, it would be as a utility bench player in my opinion. But I would rather have him play the whole year and find out if he can be that guy rather then Kennedy. We all know what kind of player he is, he has had a ten year career to show us exactly who he is. If Rodriguez holds his own this year given ample playing time he can be the placeholder at 3B until a prospect comes up (hoping that guy is drafted this year). I just don't see Figgins with a future on this team. |
| 39. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 19:24:02 "You discard the value of improved attendance, if they find a one year improvement that can provide more productivity than the current boat-anchors taking swings." Totally. If there's one thing that's putting butts in seats this year, it's Adam Kennedy. Your discussion flat-out assumes Kennedy's some sort of lock to be significantly better than Rodriguez. The gap between Kennedy's line the last 5 years and what Rodriguez has done so far is about 40 points of OPS. 2 additional singles from Rodriguez instead of lineouts/flyouts, and their value would be virtually identical. The whole point is that there's a pretty good chance Rodriguez is a better player than Kennedy, and it's worth it to try and figure that out. "On a team where others were holding up the offense, you might have an argument. But, when half of your batting order is scraping to reach .200, it's not quite so simple." So when your offense is struggling, the answer is to keep plugging with proven mediocre hitters. Got it. You must be seething over letting Milton Bradley go, then. |
| 40. By: slamcactus on 05-09-2011 19:26:19 Question: when DO you give a player a chance to prove he can hit? Seems to me the only blueprint for cracking an Edman-controlled roster is to establish your value with another team first (at which point you become expensive to acquire). God, what a crappy GM you'd be. |
| 41. By: Blowgun7 on 05-09-2011 19:37:15 Jason, are you gonna be doing a chat anytime soon? Lots of interesting stuff going on in the system (probably more negative than positive a month in).. would like to get your thoughts on a numbers of players |
| 42. By: Edman on 05-09-2011 19:54:05 So, when you said "Andres Torres has confirmed that late-career breakouts can be very, very real."....what you really meant was that he could be one of a handful of late-career breakouts that can happen? The over-exaggeration of "very, very" wasn't meant to imply that he could be another Andres Torres, and not the more likely "John Q. Whatshisname"? As for the rest of your childish responses and assumptions, when you actually ask a question, I will answer them. |
| 43. By: dawgncarolina on 05-09-2011 22:59:49 slamcactus is pretty much spot on in this thread. THank you for saving me the effort. |
| 44. By: Jason A. Churchill on 05-09-2011 23:41:19 as a matter of fact, Blowgun, yes. Chat Thursday night. |
| 45. By: micahjr on 05-10-2011 01:11:55 Edman, quit arguing just to argue. You lost this one. Some quick points to sum up: 1. Rodriguez is younger 2. Rodriguez is a switch hitter 3. Rodriguez can play 3b, SS, and 2B 4. Rodriguez has more power, if you've watched both, this is visibly apparent 5. Rodriguez has potential, while you know what Adam Kennedy is 6. Rodriguez is under team control for more than 1 year It's really not all that complicated, you just hate admitting mistakes. Get over it. |
| 46. By: dawgncarolina on 05-10-2011 01:47:07 But Adam Kennedy is PROVEN!!!!!!!!!!! (good post) |
| 47. By: JD Kickastro on 05-10-2011 02:54:54 Luis Rodriguez also walks a ton.. for what that's worth.. His 'MLB Career' BB/K is 101/98.. That's in the majors.. Yeah his career OPS may be terrible, but he's proven that he's at least a disciplined hitter.. He's shown flashes of pop in his bat even in his limited at-bats this year.. Even if his obp is his only skill.. Isn't that all your 9M everyday third baseman and designated hitter provide at the moment? |
| 48. By: JD Kickastro on 05-10-2011 03:04:06 Luis Rodriguez Fun Fact #2: He currently has the fourth highest OPS on the team and has as many XBH as Jack Cust in 77 less plate appearances. |
| 49. By: Edman on 05-10-2011 03:11:07 dawg.....do you have something about adding a ton of extra spaces between your comment.....and "(good point)"? If it's intentional, I find it annoying. I don't know if anyone else does, but it simply wastes space. michahjr, tell me exactly how having an opinion that differs from you, is wrong? Are you saying yours is the only opinion that is correct? This is the most that Luis Rodriquez has been talk about in the last six years. He's this year's Josh Wilson. Buy low and hope for something better. He's new to us, but not to baseball. Doesn't mean he's worth getting excited about. |
| 50. By: acqb1424 on 05-10-2011 08:27:37 Jason, Sorry to be off topic here, but I saw the first couple of paragraphs from your Insider piece on Rendon (I'm not an ESPN Insider so can't read the entire piece) but can you talk about Rendon sliding? Are you starting to sense that the M's may pass on him? If so are we looking at Starling or Lindor? Or a different college arm? Thanks Jason. |
| 51. By: dewey on 05-10-2011 09:02:58 All this talk about L-ROD the one thing that is most crucial for a utility man is defense and this guy has no range at all! To boot he has no foot speed either lets not get worked up over this guy he is a up and down player. |
| 52. By: Jerry on 05-10-2011 09:32:07 Finally, this team is getting a bit more interesting, and giving us something to talk about! One thing to keep in mind is that this is very much a team in transition, and this roster shakeup is only the beginning of what could be a long series of transactions and roster moves. However, I like watching this club because you can see the outline of a good team starting to emerge. Ichiro, Felix, Smoak, and Pineda are cornerstone players. The rest of the season should be devoted to adding to that core of guys. Obviously, this club is starting that process now. And they are starting in the most rational place: internal options. I think the team should give Saunders all the time he needs to figure things out this year. Why not? I think that giving him a long audition is a good idea. And Peguero and Wilson should be given some ABs too. This year should be all about finding out who can play LF for them in the future. Same thing can be said about 2B, SS, and 3B. I think we'll see Ackley soon, which will be another positive step in the right direction. And I wonder how long it will be till Liddi gets a cup of coffee. But I think this is just phase 1. As we get towards July, I think the team will be actively trying to move Wilson, Figgins, and Bedard. Brandon League could probably net them a good piece or two if he keeps this up. I wonder how much Jack will value the closer role if this team is out of legit contention. I think League and Bedard have enough value that they could potentially bring back a good player. This is where Jack can really help the club. If he can orchestrate a great trade or two - something akin to when the Indians fleeced us out of Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin Soo Choo - the M's could really speed up this rebuild. I'd love to see a few smaller trades, perhaps involving the players listed above, that brings back an undervalued player or three (LF, 3B, and SP being the best options). If they could grab a ML ready player who is stuck or struggling - like Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish from Boston, Yonder Alonso, Todd Frazier, or Homer Bailey from the Reds, etc - it would be worth the risk. The M's can afford to give a guy a chance to sink or swim right now. In fact, Saunders is exactly the type of guys the M's should be looking for in other organizations: a guy with talent, but who hasn't put it together yet. We don't have a guy like Cliff Lee to trade this offseason, but we do have a great GM. This year he could really show his quality with a savvy trade or two. Again, I think this is the beginning of a major turnover in the roster. Should be interesting to see this club take form. I don't think we're that far from legit contender status now. |
| 53. By: masonb on 05-10-2011 10:37:55 Jason, How does Bubba Starling compare to say Mike Trout? What are some of his player comparisons? The reason I ask is because I've watched some video on him and to my untrained eye he doesn't seem impressive enough to me to warrant picking him over Rendon or Cole. He seems to somewhat unbalanced while he's swinging, like he's lunging or out front on pitches. It also looks like he's chopping at the ball. I'm not a scout so what is it about him that is so impressive? Thanks |
| 54. By: sexymarinersfan on 05-10-2011 15:08:26 Right now Rendon is still the number one choice and best player in the draft. Gerrit Cole is right behind him and would be a great addition to any organization. If Cole is gone, then you take Rendon as of right now and vice versa. That's all there is too it. |
| 55. By: Edman on 05-10-2011 16:36:51 Assumptions can make an "ass" of "u" and "me". Though hightly likely, I wouldn't profess to know exactly what will be done. |
| 56. By: Marco on 05-10-2011 16:57:46 It seems clubs only now are starting to realize how risky could be Rendon. An ankle injury is not a joke, a second ankle injury in a short while can be a very serious issue, especially if you have to project him for harder challenging professional seasons. I've seen a couple of recent pictures of Rendon sliding home and I did not like at all what I saw, both in mechanics of his slide and his face. Good luck to Rendon and good luck to the team which is going to draft him. |
| 57. By: davelee99 on 05-10-2011 18:07:05 Marco, Where are those recent pictures located? Thanks |
| 58. By: DKulich44 on 05-10-2011 18:39:58 Cue support of Kennedy after that homer in....... And what pictures of some one sliding don't show them with a grimace on their face? Correct me if I'm wrong, but photographs of sliding don't do much for me in terms of scouting injury. All reports on Rendon seem to say the ankles are good to go, were freak accidents, and the shoulder is the concern at this point. Unless this injury is super serious, Seattle probably won't pass on him if he's there. If they are serious, he'll probably drop further than Seattle's pick. |
| 59. By: Edman on 05-10-2011 18:54:08 Let's assume that the shoulder injury is serious enough to make scouts worry that he might not be able to play thirdbase. Is he still more valuable than Starling? That might be the question that has to be answered. |
| 60. By: Juan Valdez on 05-10-2011 19:02:03 I'd like to get some more in-depth info on Starling as well. I realize his timetable in the minors would be longer than Rendon, but from what little I know of him, the kid looks like a potential monster. Hard to pass that up. And Rendon does have that injury history to think about. |
| 61. By: dawgncarolina on 05-10-2011 19:50:06 If Cole is gone and the M's don't want Rendon I still don't think Starling's the guy. I would bet anything the M's would take the next best college SP - whoever they like best of Cole/Hultzen/Bauer/Jungman/whoever. If they go HS I'd bet they'll take Bundy. Starling might have the highest theoretical upside, but he also has one of the lower floors amongst the massive tier 2 (players most agree are in the 3-15 or so range). That low floor, combined with the length of time it will take him to reach the majors, combined with the massive signability concerns (he's going to have to be paid far more than anyone else in this draft thanks to the Nebraska scholly) makes him a guy I just can't see Z taking at #2. I wouldn't take him in the top 7 or 8 of this draft, to be honest. The Starling camp reminds me very strongly of the Cameron Maybin camp back in 05 (of which I was a part of). The consensus was that Maybin had the highest upside after Upton (who had a great upside and much higher floor). Maybin was the guy I desperately wanted the M's to take over Tulo, Zimmerman and Braun. I was clearly wrong about that, and I think the Starling crew is going to be wrong this year. There are just too many significantly safer picks who project to have almost as much top end value. I can't see the M's rolling the dice with this one. |
| 62. By: rjfrik on 05-10-2011 22:00:31 oh Ryan Braun and the M's...what sweet sweet magic they could of made together. sucks monkey dicks |
| 63. By: Marco on 05-11-2011 00:25:04 # 57 Rice University website, game 4 vs. Houston, pics # 17, 18. Both feet high and forward and a worried face even it does not seem a close play at all. I might be wrong of course but my first feeling is that he's not sliding anxiety-free. |
| 64. By: Adam P. Boyd on 05-11-2011 03:37:12 Sheesh! Talk about reading into things a bit too much... |
| 65. By: Marco on 05-11-2011 04:26:48 Of course that's a risk. Perhaps scouts are reading something more through live action if Rendon is slipping downward as reported by JAC article. |
| 66. By: Adam P. Boyd on 05-11-2011 14:06:03 Yeah, they are seeing him hit 4 home runs and slug around .500 as opposed to slugging over .800 last season and mashing 26 bombs. Could be because of the shoulder - Jason wrote up on that today over on ESPN. |
| 67. By: rjfrik on 05-11-2011 14:52:44 Jason, if the rumor about Rendon turns out to be a fact, in your opinion do the M's still pull the trigger? Very curious about this. This is such a big draft pick for our development as a team. ~I'm not going to leak the rumor because Jason posted it on another paid site.~ |
Haven't created a Prospect Insider account yet? Sign up!
|
|
 |
|
|
| Copyright 2010 Prospect Insider | Created by AQ Central Prospect Insider is optimized for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome |