Tag Archives: Seattle Mariners

Minor League Baseball News

Seattle Mariners Prospect Vinnie Catricala May Be The Best Player You’ve Never Heard Of

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He was not a Seattle Mariners Top 15 Organizational Prospect to begin the season, but what Vinnie Catricala has become is perhaps the most under the radar prospect currently at the Double-A or Triple-A level. The numbers he has put up between the High-A High Desert Mavericks and the Double-A Jackson Generals in 2011 are eye popping. The 22 year old is hitting a combined .348 with 46 Doubles, 4 Triples, 22 Home Runs, 101 RBI’s, and 16 Stolen Bases. The most impressive thing is Catricala has hit for a higher slugging percentage after leaving the hitter friendly California League and moving to the Southern League which houses some of the best pitching prospects in the game. In the story link below you will find an in depth interview with Catricala conducted by Rick Randall, a must follow on twitter @RandallBall. In the piece Catricala talks about flying under the radar in high school, playing for the University of Hawaii, learning to play the outfield after being a corner infielder most of his playing career, his hitting approach, and much more. It’s an outstanding read that will introduce you to a must watch prospect heading into the 2012 season.

SeattleClubhouse Q&A: Vinnie Catricala — Seattle Clubhouse

Minor League Baseball News

Phillies Pitching Prospect Phillippe Aumont Starting To Live Up To His 1st Round Pick Expectations

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Ever since the Seattle Mariners drafted him with the 11th overall pick of the 2007 draft, Phillippe Aumont has had high expectations placed on him. When he was one of the key components in the the Cliff Lee to Seattle deal made with the Philadelphia Phillies, the expectations continued to climb. However up until the 2011 season, the expectations had always outweighed Aumont’s performance. After a 2010 season that saw the 6’7″ righthander struggle to a combined 3-11 record with a 5.68ERA with 80 walks in 122 innings between the High-A Clearwater Threshers and Double-A Reading, 2011 brought with it a move to the bullpen and a chance to flourish. Aumont has responded to the new role going a combined 1-5 with 7 saves and a 2.61ERA in 48.1 innings between Reading and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He is currently holding opposing hitters to a career low .220 batting average against. In the story which is a very solid read, Aumont talks about dealing with the lofty expectations that were put on him, finding confidence for the first time in a long time, and the impact working in the off season with Phillies sports psychologist Dr. Jack Curtis.

Aumont bouncing back from brutal 2010 season — Fox43.com

Minor League Baseball News

Mariners Rookie Kyle Seager Talks About His Ventricular Septal Defect Which Led To Open Heart Surgery As An Infant

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This is a fascinating story by Seattle Times columnist Geoff Baker who is a must follow on twitter @GBakerMariners. Kyle Seager was born with a heart defect called Ventricular Septal Defect or VSD. When he was an infant Seager underwent open heart surgery to correct the problem and was told later in life he would be unable to play contact sports. The Seattle Mariners rookie went out of his way to hide the condition, only letting people know about it when he absolutely had to. That is until this summer when the Jackson Generals had an 11 year old boy with the same condition throw out the first pitch prior to Seager’s game with the Mariners Double-A affiliate. It’s a must read feel good story.

Mariners’ Kyle Seager overcame open-heart surgery as infant. Infielder reached out to a young fan last month with the same condition, Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). — Seattle Times

Minor League Baseball News

Mariners Farmhand David Colvin Offers A Look Into The Life Of A Rookie League Player

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Drafted in the 27th round out of Division III Pamona-Pitzer Collge in California, pitcher David Colvin signed almost immediately after being drafted and headed out to Seattle’s rookie league affiliate in Pulaski, Virginia. The 22 year old offers and inside look into life in the low minors, and the daily grind he and his teammates face on a daily basis. In the story, Colvin talks about the differences between college and pro baseball, being converted from a starter to a reliever, playing on a rookie league team with half of its players from non-english speaking countries, and his goal of getting out of Pulaski. It’s a cool read.

Mill Valley pitcher Colvin off to hot start for Mariners’ rookie league team in Virginia

Minor League Baseball News

Northwoods League Manager Donnie Scott Doesn’t Quite Have The Art Of Base Throwing Down Pat

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Lou Piniella is arguably major league baseball’s first ballot hall of famer of base tossing. Phillip Wellman and Joe Mikulik have mastered the art at the Minor League level during classic tirades. Former Rangers, Mariners, and Reds catcher Donnie Scott, currently the manager of the Battle Creek Bombers of the Northwoods League, tried to duplicate the feat after being ejected a couple of weeks ago, but sadly lacks the distance needed to join the base throwing elite.

Major League Baseball News, Trade Deadline Deals

Prospect Breakdown: Dodgers Trade Trayvon Robinson To Mariners For Tim Federowicz, Stephen Fife, and Juan Rodriguez and Seattle Also Gets Chih Hsien Chiang From Boston

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The Seattle Mariners have traded Erik Bedard and pitching prospect Josh Fields to the Boston Red Sox in a 3 way deal that sends Tim Federowicz, Juan Rodriguez, Stephen Fife, and Chih-Hsien Chiang to the Mariners who then flipped Federowicz, Fife, and Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Trayvon Robinson. The 23 year old Robinson has been one of baseball’s breakout prospects in 2011. He’s hit .293 with 9 Doubles, 6 Triples, 26 Home Runs, and 71 RBI’s for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isatopes. In 2010 the 5’10” centerfielder hit .300 with 23 Doubles, 5 Triples, 9 Home Runs, and 57 RBI’s for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts. Robinson was a 10th round pick of the Dodgers in the 2005 draft. In the deal, Los Angeles gets the soon to be 24 year old catcher Federowicz who is currently batting .275 with 20 Doubles, 7 Home Runs, and 50 RBI’s for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Last season for the High-A Salem Red Sox he hit .253 with 34 Doubles and 4 Home Runs. Federowicz is a U.S. National team alum. The Red Sox drafted him the seventh round of the 2008 draft out of the University of North Carolina. The 22 year old Rodriguez is currently 2-4 with a 5.19ERA in 32 appearances for High-A Salem. He has 88 strikeouts in 59 innings. He pitched in the Gulf Coast League in 2010 going 5-1 with a 3.51ERA. Rodriguez was signed by the Red Sox as a non drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2008. The 24 year old Fife is 11-4 with a 3.66ERA in 18 starts for Portland. He’s repeating Double-A this season after going 8-6 with a 4.75ERA for the Sea Dogs in 2010. Fife was a third round pick of the Red Sox in the 2008 draft out of the University of Utah. Additionally in the deal, the Mariners received and are keeping Chih-Hsien Chiang from Boston. The 23 year old Chiang is currently hitting .338 with 36 Doubles, 4 Triples, 18 Home Runs, and 76 RBI’s at Portland. The native of Taiwan is repeating Double-A and has vastly improved upon the .260, 35 Double, 11 Home Run, 65 RBI season he had with the Seadogs in 2010. Chiang was signed by the Red Sox as a non drafted free agent in 2005. Boston acquires Fields who is 1-2 with a 3.92ERA and 3 saves in a combined 39 innings out of the bullpen for the Double-A Jackson Generals and Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Fields was the 20th overall pick of the 2008 draft out of the University of Georgia.

Major League Baseball News, Trade Deadline Deals

Prospect Breakdown: Mariners Trade Doug Fister & David Pauley to Detroit For Francisco Martinez, Charlie Furbush, & Casper Wells

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The Seattle Mariners have traded pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells and Francisco Martinez. The 20 year old Martinez is one of the top prospects in the Tigers organization. The third baseman is one of the youngest players in the Double-A Eastern League and is holding his own at the level batting .282 with 14 Doubles, 4 Triples, 7 Home Runs, and 46 RBI’s this season. He played in the 2011 Futures Game. Martinez has been fast tracked through the organization since signing with the Tigers as a non drafted free agent out of Venezuela back in 2007. Last season in High-A, Martinez hit Florida State League pitching to the tune of .271 with 17 Doubles and 3 Home Runs. He is a steal for the Mariners in this trade and has serious big league potential in the future. The 26 year old Wells has bounced between Detroit and the Triple-A Toledo Mudhens the past two seasons. In 64 games in Detroit in 2011, Wells batted .257 with 10 Doubles, 4 Home Runs, and 12 RBI’s. He was sent down to Toledo on July 22nd and was hitting .370 in Triple-A prior to the trade. Wells batted .233 for Toledo in 2010 before a big league call up that saw him hit at a .323 clip in 36 games late last season for the Tigers. Wells was a 14th round pick by Detroit in the 2005 draft. Furbush made his major league debut earlier this season for Detroit and was 1-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings of work. He walked 14 and struck out 26 over 32.1 innings of work with opponents hitting .302 against him. In Triple-A the 24 year old The 25 year old was 5-3 with a 3.17ERA in Toledo this year and had 61 strikeouts in 54 innings with opposing hitters batting just .180 against him. In 2010 Furbush was one of the breakout pitchers in minor league baseball finishing with 183 strikeouts across stints with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Double-A Erie Seawolves, and the Triple-A Mudhens. The 6’5″ lefty was a fourth round pick of the Tigers out of LSU in the 2007 draft.

Minor League Baseball News

Day In The Life Of Longtime Seattle Mariners Minor League Scout Steve Pope

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Outstanding story taking a look at the daily life of Seattle Mariners scout Steve Pope. Pope has been in the business for the past 20 years, scouting minor league games for the Mariners since 1991. In the story, Pope talks about his job, breaking down the finite details of the game, creating detailed reports for his bosses, what scouts look for at the Class-A level, and being embarrassed by not liking Dustin Pedroia when he scouted him years ago.

Asheville’s Steve Pope sees a much different game than fans
 — Citizen-Times.com

Minor League Baseball News

Venezuelan Prospects In The Toronto Blue Jays System Adjust To Life In The United States

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This is an article from 2009, but a pretty cool read when you see that it focuses on current Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Henderson Alvarez and Seattle Mariners prospect Johermyn Chavez and their struggles with the language barrier during their first taste of pro ball. The in depth article follows Alvarez, Chavez, and then Lansing Lugnuts teammates Jonas Cuotto and Balbino Fuenmayor as they go through the Toronto Blue Jays mandatory language classes, live with host families, and work to apply the lessons learned to real world experiences. It’s a fascinating look at the social challenges faced by many Latin prospects as they begin their journey to the major leagues.

Venezuelans practice twice as hard off field — Lansing State Journal