Infielders

The Seattle Mariners farm system has produced a steady stream of big league infielders in recent years, though most have developed elsewhere.  Before the 2002 season, Ramon Vazquez was dealt to the San Diego Padres after his big league debut as part of the package that landed the Mariners catcher Ben Davis, providing teams with a solid utility player throughout his career.  Carlos Guillen was decent enough for a couple seasons in Seattle but was dealt to the Detroit Tigers before the 2004 season where he immediately blossomed into a minor star. In a 2006 desperation move the Mariners acquired Eduardo Perez from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for top prospect Asdrubal Cabrera, who just put up a 3 WAR season in his first full campaign with the Tribe.  Luis Valbuena, who hasn’t gotten his feet under him but has a good chance at being a solid second baseman, was also dealt to the Indians, but before the 2009 season and in a much more favorable move for the Mariners.  Of course, there was also Yuniesky Betancourt, who looked like the next big thing before his attitude and conditioning took him from premium defender to worst player in baseball.  The Mariners have only managed to get use out of Jose Lopez, who has turned into a solid big league regular.  Hopefully the Mariners can retain the next crop of good young infielders (or at least get fair value for them in trade).

Previously in the series: Catchers, First Basemen

Note: Dustin Ackley will be included with the outfielders until we better know how the second base experiment is going.

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1.	Carlos Triunfel, INF 02/27/90 (19) West Tenn-Tacoma

Signed as an amateur free agent for $1.3M on 9/23/06. Listed at 5’11/175. Bats right. Triunfel lost most of 2009 after breaking his leg early, but was able to get into a few games late and participated in the Arizona Fall League. He gained a lot of bad weight while injured (getting up to around 190-200), but displayed a great work ethic upon returning. His overall boost of maturity coming back from the injury was great to see, as makeup issues raised a red flag coming into the year. Triunfel’s offensive game may profile similarly to that of Miguel Tejada (free swinger, great contact ability, lines drives all over the place, some speed), but he’s starting to look more like Adrian Beltre physically, hinting at the possibility of more raw power. The power hasn’t arrived on the stat sheet yet, but he’s got great bat control and has shown flashes down the stretch in 2008– it’ll come. He is expected to be a middle of the order bat in the big leagues. Triunfel will take his hacks, but has shown just enough plate discipline (especially late in counts) that he shouldn’t kill you, and he can square the ball up out of the zone anyway (this is important). Defensively his best position is said to be third base, followed by shortstop and second base. Right field is another possibility for him down the road as he has one of the best throwing arms in affiliated baseball. It remains to be seen how Triunfel fits into GM Zduriencik’s plans with Chone Figgins blocking an infield spot for four seasons, Ackley moving to second base and Jack Wilson signing up for two years at shortstop. Triunfel should see the big leagues in 2010, though it may be in another team’s uniform as he’s a prime candidate to be traded for a bat.  Video: Double, AFL 2008

2.	Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B 05/10/86 (23) Tacoma-Seattle

Drafted in the 3rd round (#93 overall) in the 2004 amateur draft. Listed at 6’2/225. Bats right. I believe Tui’s been slightly underrated due to poor performances under Bill Bavasi’s aggressive promotions, but while that may not have been best for his development, it certainly showed us that he can keep his head up through some serious adversity. Like other top prospects Triunfel and Dennis Raben, Tui lost much of his ’09 season to injury. A bum elbow that required surgery knocked him out for about half the year, but there was a silver lining. During rehab he whipped himself into outstanding shape, enough that he managed to play 21 games at 2B down the stretch and in Seattle during his callup. The move probably doesn’t help him much long term though. I doubt he keeps the weight off, and while he showed enough range to play 2B he doesn’t appear to have quick enough feet to make the DP turn consistently. He’s also said to really dislike the position, for what that’s worth. 3B is his position, and right now he’s still trying to prove that he can handle it on either side of the ball. Defensively he’s shown some serious improvement, but more is needed. Some question his reaction time at the hot corner. Offensively, he has a good approach at the plate, has displayed good pitch recognition skills and will use the whole field on occasion. His physical tools suggest there is some good natural power in there, and he has displayed legit pull power at times. He’s cleaned up his timing mechanism a bit, which is helpful, but his load is still a little messy, which will not help contact rates. Overall, I think Tui has a decent chance at being an average third baseman, though I believe he has some upside offensively. At worst, Tui can be a 3B/1B/OF/2B-in-a-pinch bench player with some pop, which has plenty of value.  Video: First MLB home run

3.	Gabriel Noriega, SS 09/13/90 (19) Everett

Signed as an amateur free agent for $800k on 7/2/07. Listed at 6’2/170. Bats both. Noriega is most known for his good instincts and abilities on defense. There’s a chance that he can be good enough that he won’t have to be much of an offensive player, but he’s got a shot to be more than a one dimensional defender. The switch hitting teenager surprised with an .816 OPS in his sophomore season, showing improvement in his walk rates and power. The swing still needs work from both sides, especially the right side, but you have to like what Noriega is doing at a young age. If he can shorten up his swings and continue to hone in his pitch recognition,he’ll limit the strikeouts and become a legit big league starting prospect.  His lanky frame suggests there is at least average power there, too.    Video: Hitting off a tee, 2009

4.	Nick Franklin, SS 03/02/91 (18) Pulaski

Drafted in the first round (#27 overall) in the 2009 amateur draft.  Listed at 6’1/170. Bats both.  Franklin is a very balanced player with no outstanding tools or skills and no glaring weaknesses either. While that isn’t sexy, that is certainly valuable. He should hit enough that his ability to start should come down to his defense.  Scouting reports vary (as they often do with defense) but he has good actions and footwork and is at least an average defender going forward.  Franklin is another “great feel for the game” guy who is going to be a grinder and a hard worker, helping to maximize his overall average tools. A  switch hitter, his swing and approach are much more refined than you might expect out of a high schooler.   Video: Fielding and BP, 2008

5.	Mario Martinez, 3B 11/13/89 (20) Clinton-High Desert

Signed as an amateur free agent for $600k on 7/3/06.  Listed at 6’3/170. Bats right. Martinez possesses average or better physical tools across the board but none that stand out above the others. He has a decent approach at the plate and recognizes the breaking ball well enough, though is often fooled by speed. Martinez is caught out in front often, which is acceptable at this point as long as he’s not swinging wildly at pitches way out of the zone. It doesn’t take long to see his passion and leadership on the field. He’s said to be very receptive to instruction. All of these intangibles will help him max out his overall average tools. Defensively he’s shown big improvement but is still a bit of a work in progress. He has the agility and arm to stick there with some more work. If it doesn’t work out, I think he can make it as an outfielder. He had a rough landing in Clinton last season and had to be bumped back down to Everett.  Video: Single, 2009

6.	Alex Liddi, 3B/1B 08/14/88 (21) West Tenn

Signed as an amateur free agent on 9/5/05.  Listed at 6’4/176 (though that was the weight he was listed at when he signed as a 17 year old.  He’s 210 at the very least).  Bats right.  A lot of people are jumping on the Alex Liddi bandwagon after his breakout 2009 campaign. The Italian hit .345/.411/.594 with 23 homers and 104 RBI in 129 games with High Desert. An impressive season indeed, and one that earned him the California League MVP. But while some of the improvement was real, I remain skeptical. As you know, High Desert is widely known as one of the (if not the) greatest hitter’s parks in all of affiliated baseball. To no surprise, Liddi’s home/road splits were dramatic. His ISO at home was .309, but .193 on the road. His walks were way up at home, meaning pitchers were pitching around him and not that he has seen big improvement with regards to his batting eye. His LD/GB/FB numbers also ranged drastically, as he was apparently trying to pop the ball up into the jet stream while at home. Most players are going to try and take advantage of their environment so that is no knock on him, but it paints a different picture than his slash line. I don’t like his swing mechanics, bat speed or defensive prospects either. I think West Tenn will be a major test for him as he inevitably falls back down to earth. If he continues to put up good numbers or show improvement I’ll eat my words, but right now I’m not a Liddi believer.  Video: Double, fall 2009

7.	Kyle Seager, 2B/3B 11/3/87 (22) High Desert-West Tenn

Drafted in the 3rd round (#82 overall) of the 2009 amateur draft.  Listed at 5’10/175. Bats left.  Seager is another low risk/low-medium upside player. He isn’t likely to be a star, but there is a good chance that he becomes a solid second baseman or utility infielder at the big league level. He split time between 3B and 2B in college, but should be sticking to 2B as a pro as that is where his bat profiles. He had a solid debut, hitting .275/.360/.346 in 41 games for Clinton. Seager will put together smart at bats, working the counts and drawing walks while limiting the strikeouts. He didn’t show much power with Clinton, but he might come up with some decent gap power as he progresses. Nice level swing.  Video: Draft scouting report

8.	Juan Diaz, SS 12/12/88 (21) West Tenn

Signed as an amateur free agent on 4/20/06.  Listed at 6’4/170.  Bats both.  Diaz has the reputation as a defensive whiz, though in actuality he may not be good enough to justify his lack of offense. The switch hitter had a breakout offensive season in High Desert, posting a .311/.356/.446 line in 84 ballgames. Still, that line was helped by a BABIP about 100 points above his career average and while the numbers look good, it wasn’t much more than average for the hitter friendly league. Diaz has improved his plate coverage but his groundball swing does not rate well long term. Diaz is likely a utility infielder.  Video: Taking grounders, fall 2009

Who needs nice round numbers?  No need to highlight more than eight infielders in this system.

Watch List - Matt Mangini: I’ve long given up on Mangini, but I’ll give him one final courtesy mention. Terrible uppercut swing and resistance to coaching have doomed him thus far, but someone may have changed as his numbers picked up a bit down the stretch. Brandon Haveman: He’s tiny but he hits and hits and hits.  Being moved from the OF to 2B this offseason, hopefully it works out. Vinnie Catricala: Some intriguing tools and power potential. Good debut in Pulaski. Will likely struggle against better breaking balls.   Pedro Okuda: Half Brazilian, half Japanese, played Japanese high school ball. Passed up in Japan’s draft.  Some say because of racism, some because of skill. Seems like an interesting blend of tools and polish, but he’s being described as a “middling prospect.”

The disclaimer: I do these reports and rankings as part of my own baseball education, and figure that some people will enjoy the information and opinions I’ve compiled.  I am by no means an expert evaluator of minor league talent, so all views and rankings should be taken with a grain of salt and are very much up for discussion.  It is a hobby, but something that I am relatively new at.  I am inexperienced enough that I don’t have much of a track record in terms of predicting the outcomes of prospects, but hopefully these types of posts will allow me to look back in a few years and see what I got right and all I got wrong.