Seattle Mariners: 3 mistakes Jerry DiPoto made with M’s player pool
Emerson Hancock, Georgia Bulldogs, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Gamecock Central via Flickr)
Too many kids
Out of the Seattle Mariners top 30 prospects, 23 have received invitations to summer camp. The emphasis is clearly on player development. That’s not a bad thing at all. After all, there is no good reason to leave players who are valuable to the organization out in the cold for the year.
Many of the Mariners prospects will be in residence at the team’s alternate site in Tacoma. The group includes four of the M’s 2020 draft picks and seven players who haven’t played higher the Single-A ball. So off the top, 18 percent of the players in camp have no chance of playing in a meaningful game this year.
Here’s the problem. The M’s are too focused on development. It’s the on-field product that pays the price. As mentioned earlier, 11 players can be deleted from the number of players who will contribute to the Mariners this season. Another nine haven’t played above Double-A. That takes the count to 20, and ups the ratio to one-third of the 60-man player pool have ZERO chance to help the M’s in 2020.
It feels like Seattle threw in the towel before the season even started. DiPoto’s recent comments seem to indicate the Mariners don’t consider themselves as any kind of factor in the American League West.
He held a zoom meeting with reporters last week. Of course, he said the team would work hard and do their best to compete. What else can DiPoto say? “We don’t care if the team wins or loses in 2020; our goal is to develop the kids.” He did, however, find a way to say the same thing without using the direct approach.
“We are entering into this really viewing it as a 17-month process. How are we going to build our pitcher innings over the next 17 months? What does 2020 plus 2021 look like for the Mariners?”
The mistake of this approach lies in the underlying message to the 26-30 players who are on the main roster. Do what you can, but don’t expect much help.
What do you think about the Seattle Mariners 60-man player pool? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.