For those of us that are fans of the minor leagues and player development, the Seattle Mariners have recently started something that has upped the intrigue exponentially.  According to Mariner beat writer Kirby Arnold writing for the Kitsap Sun, GM Jack Zduriencik and company have contracted Dr. Marcus Elliot to work with most of the team’s more promising minor leaguers.

G-Moneyball and Jay Yencich have already have everything that needs to be said, so check out those writeups.  Jay sums up the pure awesomeness of this nicely:  

Another interesting detail that comes out in the articles is that the M’s have brought in Dr. Marcus Elliott to work with their minor leaguers during this span. Perhaps you haven’t heard of him. I hadn’t really heard of him before reading this either. Elliott is a Harvard-educated physician, specializing in biomechanics, physiology, and injury prevention. His credits include a research institute he founded several years ago, the Peak Performance Project (P3), and training work for U.S. Olympic teams and at the national sports institutes of Australia and South Africa. He was also the physiologist for the New England Patriots during their Super Bowl runs. Elliott develops training regimens designed on an individual basis for each athlete he works with. The Mariners are bringing him in to work with their minor leaguers. Pause on that for a second.

Dr. Elliot is world renowned for his specialized workout plans, and he’s working with Seattle’s prospects.  Make sure you check out G’s post.  He’s been tracking Dr. Elliot long before his affiliation with Seattle and is able to describe more precisely what Dr. Elliot does and the effect he can have on the ballplayers.

The Mariners brought in safety blanket players during last summer’s draft.  That is, players with lower ceilings but higher floors.  It will be interesting to see if some of the Kyle Seagers of the draft class can turn into more than “average” players under Elliot’s direction.

I’m excited to see the end results!  Read G and Jay’s posts.