The Core of the Mariners. 10 Players the team is building around and what that means now and in the future for the team.

The Mariners have traditionally built through their farm system and trades, seldom relying on Free Agency for anything more than 40 man roster depth or role players. The result with this is a pretty big core. In this case 10 players that this blog cannot see the team moving anytime soon. Without further ado, here is the Mariners core in a top 10 list.

drum roll………………

#10 SP Billy Traber

Acuirred from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim back in 2006, Traber is one of the veterans of a young Mariners franchise at age 31. The lefty has been a steady if unspectacular starter for the M’s with a career 70-67 record and an ERA of 4.30. What makes Traber so valuable and a part of the core despite his league average stats? It is the 868.2 IP in the last 4 years, which translates out to 6.7 IP per start. The man takes the ball and keeps the team in the game for 6-7 innings almost every time out. As one rival scout put it, “Traber isn’t an elite pitcher he is just a grinder. He is great in the middle of the rotation in the 3rd or 4th spot, saving the bullpen and keeping the team in games. “

#9 1B Bryan LaHair

BL isn’t flashy, he just is a solid big league player who does a few things very well that the Mariners love. The team has an irrational love of 1B who hit left-handed. Call it the infatuation of Olerud, but the team just likes 1B who hit from the left side. In two plus season LaHair has been a steady contributor to the team posting .278/.371./.441 stats while cranking out 106 EBH’s (35.9% of hits). A rival scout says: “LaHair isn’t spectacular but he is a gamer, he works the count, makes consistent contact, is an above average defensive player, and his knack for finding gaps works well in SafeCo Field, especially as a lefty pull hitter.”

#8 SP Ryan Rodriquez

A young lefty in the Billy Traber mold, Rodriquez has excellent movement on his array of pitches which include a low 90s tailing fastball, a biting curve, a changeup, and an improving splitter. Entering his 3rd big league season he has posted a record of 16-19 and an era of 4.66 while learning on the job. A Mariner’s scout filed this report this offseason on the 26 year old lefty: “great movement, definitely Plus movement, both vertically and horizontally on all 4 pitches. Doesn’t have great pure stuff/velocity, but the junk moves all over the place and he has adequate control. Needs to improve velocity and endurance to become a consistent top half of the rotation SP, but the ability is there if he can overcome some durability issues.”

#7 RP Cesar Jimenez

For years the Mariners have relied on a strong back of the bullpen to maintain leads. CJ has been an integral part of that equation posting a 24-11 record and 3.34 era in 207 appearances the last 4 years. Jimenez did struggle last year posting a career worst era of 5.01. A divisional foes Assistant GM didn’t read much into last years results saying, “Look it that guy could close for most teams in the league and be an All Star Closer, that is how good of an arm and makeup he has. So the Mariners have a real luxury in using him a setup guy, and even more-so when you factor in that he is left-handed. I would expect him to have an era around 3 and be a bridge to their closer who is also an elite guy.”

#6 2b Howie Kendrick

It is unbelievable that Kendrick doesn’t crack the top 5 as he is one of the premier offensive 2B in the game. A career .283/.327.445 hitter with plus power (111 HR’s in 5 seasons). At one point Kendrick looked like the next big thing in baseball posting consecutive 30+ HR, 100+ RBI, 100+ R campaigns but has fallen back a little bit the last couple of years. An NL scout who’s team plays in the Cactus league with the M’s has the following to say on Howie: “The guy is an excellent offensive player, but that park up in Seattle doesn’t really help him out a lot. If he was in a hitter’s park we would be talking about him as one of the true offensive stars in the game. He isn’t a great defender and has a mediocre at best approach at the plate, but he can flat out rake and is always dangerous at the plate.” The scout continues, “He is real similar to the other hitters the M’s are building around, guys who make a lot of contact, hit a lot of balls into the gap and generally have average or better eyes.”

#5 OF Michael Wilson

Wilson has been a steady and perhaps nationally under-appreciated player the last several seasons for the Mariners averaging .282/.384/.481/.865 23 HR 29 2B 93 RBI and 91 R per season. A Mariner’s scout gave this assessment: ” Michael is just a worker for us. THe kid is plus across the board, except he tends to strikeout a lot, which we can live with and he is only an average defensive RF, which we are hopefull he can improve. What we love is that he is a Switch hitter we can hit 2-7 in the lineup and he will produce for us.”

#4 CL Miquel Gonzalez

Miggy has been the consummate closer for the Mariners for the last 4+ seasons recording 165 saves in that time and a 2.55 ERA. His career WHIP is 1.07 and he averages 10.96 K/9 for his career. A rival scout in the AL West summed up Gonzo: “The guy just thrives under pressure. Their setup guy actually has better stuff, but this kid just dominates people with his mound presence and moxie. Every team would love to have a closer like this for the end of games, we are just glad the M’s didn’t make him a starter when he first came up like they thought about doing, talk about a beast.”

#3 C Darby Mallory

This kid is quickly become a fan favorite in Seattle. Darby is coming off a rookie year in which he hit .291/.376/.389 with 4 HR and 39 RBI’s in 75 games for the M’s and helped lead the team to the Wild Card. An AL Scout said the following: This kid is the real deal at 23. First off, he is a great defensive C, who calls a smart game and has a plus arm. On top of that he has a chance to be an excellent hitter and fits the mold the Mariners like for their hitters, could contact, gap power and eye. He works counts like a 10 year veteran and has only played half a season!

#2 OF Brian Pettway

It took Pettway a little longer to make the Majors than many though but he has really come of age in Seattle. Last year, in just his 2nd full season in the Majors, BP hit .315/.398/.516 with 23 HR 38 2B, 8 3B, 120 RBI, and 111 R. A divisional manager said: “This guy is one of the most complete hitters in the game and he is just starting to figure it all out. A couple years ago the M’s thought about giving this guy away and we wished we had jumped on him when we had the chance, because he is untouchable now.”

#1 SP Johnny Cueto

The young, talented and oft injured. That in a nutshell describes Johnny Cueto. Since being acquired in a trade from the Reds, Cueto has gone 14-5 with an era of 2.82 in parts of two seasons with the Mariners. He missed almost a full year with back spasms and then had a few minor setbacks upon returning, but the team is optimistic in his future: “Johnny has a chance to be our number 1, our ace” says GM mgcoug2. “The kids abilities and talent are unbelievable and he has wicked stuff and plus control to go with above average movement. If he can stay healthy we feel like that makes us a competitor for the playoffs next year.”

Conclusion:

The team is loaded with talented players and is following a pretty basic blueprint. A large assortment of quality hitters with an emphasis on Contact/Eye/Gap Power, a tough as nails back of the bullpen, and quality SP. The team has been very successful in putting together a lineup and a bullpen, but needs work on the SP. One more mid rotation RHP would really balance out this teams rotation and make the team that much more formidable.

The next blog entry will take a look at the Mariners farm system and what that means for the teams future.