The Mavericks had their fair share of highly touted Mariners prospects come through Adelanto for at least part of last season.
Shortstop Nick Franklin, pitcher Mauricio Robles, outfielder James Jones, third/first baseman Vinnie Catricala and reliever Stephen Pryor all were in John Sickels’ top 20 Mariners prospects entering last season while Franklin and Robles were in Baseball America’s top 10 Mariners prospects.
But that was last year.
The 2012 Top Prospect lists have all been released now by (in my opinion) the three major prospect ranking sources: Baseball America, Sickels’ Minor League Ball and MLB.com.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the Mariners top prospects that could or should be playing in High Desert at some point this upcoming season.
(Note: I’m only considering the ones who have not reached High-A yet).
Taijuan Walker, RHP — Walker is ranked as the Mariners No. 2 prospect by Sickels, No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 3 prospect by MLB.com. He is also ranked the No. 11 pitching prospect and No. 18 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com. He would have been the team’s top-ranked prospect by Sickels and Baseball America before the Mariners traded for catcher prospect Jesus Montero.
Baseball America said he is the best athlete in the entire Mariners’ system and possesses the best fastball.
Sickels says he’s “A future number one starter…combination of stuff, athleticism and better-than-expected polish makes him special in my view.” MLB.com says that he has three above average pitches, including a fastball that runs up to 98 mph.
Walker was drafted 43rd overall in 2010 (nine spots after Barstow graduate Aaron Sanchez) out of Yucaipa High, only about an hour away from Adelanto.
He dominated in his first full season in the minors at Single-A Clinton, going 6-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings as an 18-year old.
The next logical step would be for him to start next season here in High Desert.
As we’ve seen before, though, teams sometimes skip their top pitching prospects over High Desert because they don’t want their confidence to get ruined pitching in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the country.
However, Walker will be 19 on opening day next year, a bit too young to start him in Double-A. (The youngest pitcher to even throw an inning at Double-A Jackson last year was 21.)
So the Mariners have a dilemma. Do they risk rushing Walker to Double-A, or do they risk sending him to Stater Bros. Stadium?
My prediction: Walker will start in the High Desert and get promoted to Jackson after the first half no matter what his numbers are.
Danny Hultzen, LHP — Hultzen is another top-flight arm in the Mariners’ system. Minor League Ball has him ranked third among Mariners prospects (behind Walker), MLB.com has him ranked second among Mariners prospects and No. 16 in all of baseball (two spots ahead of Walker), and BA has him ranked third as well.
Hultzen was drafted second overall in the 2011 Draft after a standout career at the University of Virginia. He set school records for wins and strikeouts, was the ACC Pitcher of the Year twice, an All-American and a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award his final year.
Hultzen signed just before the deadline last year and as a result did not pitch during the regular season. However, in 19 1-3 innings in the Arizona Fall League, he held hitters to a .225 batting average and averaged 8.38 strikeouts per nine innings.
Sickels said Hultzen projects as a number two starter that won’t need long in the minors, while MLB.com notes his fastball can touch 95 mph and he has a strong changeup. Baseball America says he has the best changeup and best control in the system.
Hultzen is a bit of a different animal than Walker considering his college success and the fact he is already 22 and considered very polished.
If he does come to High Desert, it probably won’t be for very long. I could see the Mariners starting him in Hi-A to get some minor league innings under his belt and quickly promoting him. Arizona placed No. 3 overall pick Trevor Bauer in Visalia for three starts before moving him to Double-A last year. Something like that could be done with Hultzen as well.
However, the Mariners could very well decide to skip him right to Double-A if he impresses in spring training.
So it’s a bit of a toss-up whether he ever comes to Adelanto, but if he does, make sure and buy tickets in the first few weeks of the season.
Phillips Castillo, OF – Ranked No. 9 Mariners prospect by Sickels who described him as a “high-ceiling bat, needs to improve plate discipline…Could be best hitting prospect in the system a year from now.” Baseball America ranked him tenth.
Castillo is extremely young and inexperienced.He will be 18 on opening day, and has only 194 at-bats in the Arizona Rookie League so far in his career.
He posted a .300/.366/.482 line in Arizona with a 18 doubles, five triples and a home run in those 194 at-bats.
For all his potential, Castillo still has a lot more to show before he comes to High Desert. He will likely start at Rookie League Pulaski or Low-A Everett.
A similar prospect, Alfredo Morales, did get eight at-bats at High Desert as an 18-year old last year, and that’s about the most that should be expected from Castillo.
That said, he could very well be in the Mavericks lineup in 2013.
Brad Miller, SS – Ranked the No. 10 Mariners prospect by Sickels, who says “Hitting style is unusual but he raked in college, controls the zone well, gets on base, runs well, and looked great with the bat in brief Midwest League debut. Lots of questions about his erratic glove, may end up at second but would be blocked there by Dustin Ackley.”
Miller was the Mariners’ second round draft pick in 2011, taken 62nd overall out of Clemson.
A fair share of touted middle infield prospects have made their way through Adelanto the last few years (Franklin, Noriega, Kyle Seager) and Miller seems next in line.
He hit .415/.458/.528 with five extra-base hits in 59 at-bats at Clinton last season, but did commit four errors in 14 games as shortstop with an atrocious .905 fielding percentage.
There is a chance the Mariners could start him back at Clinton to work on his glove and get some more at-bats under his belt, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is the opening day shortstop in Adelanto.
Guillermo Pimentel, OF – Ranked No. 12 Mariners prospect by Sickels, who writes “Enormous raw power but with terrible plate discipline, young enough to improve. Like Castillo, he could rank much higher next year if he polishes his approach.”
Pimentel hit .265/.308/.441 at Rookie League Pulaski last season with 11 home runs and 46 RBI in only 65 games. However, he struck out 73 times and walked only 15, which was an improvement from 2010 when he struck out 58 times and compared to five walks in 51 games.
Even though he is a year older and has a year more of experience than Castillo, Pimentel is in the same boat. He could maybe see a cup of coffee here in the High Desert if there are some injuries, but it’s likely he’ll spend the year between Pulaski, Everett and maybe Clinton.
Martin Peguero, SS – Ranked No. 14 by Sickels, who writes “Big bonus guy out of the Dominican, didn’t really live up to expectations in Arizona Rookie League but was just 17. Very erratic defense.”
Peguero hit .279/.309/.382 in the Arizona League while committing 20 errors in 40 games for an .894 fielding percentage.
With so little experience, its slim to none he plays for High Desert this season.
Tyler Marlette, C — Ranked No. 16 by Sickels, who writes “Talented, if somewhat raw, defender with a chance to hit if he can resolve some swing/discipline issues.”
Marlette was drafted in the fifth round in 2011 out of Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida. In a brief stint after signing, he went 7-for-45 for a .156 batting average at Pulaski.
He will likely be spending this season in Pulaski/Everett/Clinton but if injuries hit there is a chance he could get a brief stint in High Desert. Doubtful, but possible.
Stefen Romero, 2B-OF – Ranked No. 17 by Sickels, who writes that he “has a decent chance to keep hitting in my opinion, will have to see about glove.”
Romero was drafted out of Oregon State in the 12th round in 2010, but didn’t play that year. In his first year at Clinton, he hit .280/.342/.462 with a16 home runs, 65 RBI and 16 steals. He was iffy but not awful at second base, recording a .965 fielding percentage. He also played some third base and outfield.
It’s likely that Romero will be the opening day second baseman at High Desert, teaming up with Miller as the middle infield combo.
Carter Capps, RHP – Ranked No. 18 by Sickels, who describes him as a “High-ceiling arm from 2011 draft, mechanical questions will likely make him a reliever but he has the stuff to move quickly.”
Capps was drafted as a supplemental third rounder in 2011 out of Mount Olive College in North Carolina, an NCAA Division II program. He helped lead the team a game away from reaching the Div. II title game as the ace of the staff.
He went 14-1 with a 1.75 ERA, held opponents to a .191 batting average and had 199 strikeouts and only 18 walks in 118 innings last year in college, earning a wide array of awards.
Capps was assigned to Clinton after signing, where he went 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts. Some of that performance can probably be chalked up to the fact he was probably exhausted after already throwing so many college innings the previous few months. Still, he struck out 21 batters in 18 innings at Clinton.
The Mariners could choose to get him some more innings at Clinton, but I would be very surprised if he doesn’t come to High Desert at the some point this season, if not to start the season.
Jabari Blash – Ranked No. 20 by Sickels, who writes “Has excellent raw power, draws walks, but strikes out a lot and is unpolished for a 22-year-old. He’s got upside though.”
Blash was taken in the 8th round of the 2010 draft out of Miami Dade South CC.
Last year he split time between Everett and Clinton hitting a combined .263/.396/.486 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI.
His batting average dropped 74 points and his slugging percentage dropped 234 points after his promotion, but his on-base percentage actually rose nine points.
He also struck out 108 times in only 99 games, but walked 66 times.
Blash will be 22 on opening day and will turn 23 during the season. He’ll need to work on his strikeouts and the Mariners may keep him in Clinton to begin, but he likely will be in High Desert to stay at some point during the season, whether it be opening day, after the All-Star Break or sometime else.
