Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners.
Evan White, Seattle Mariners.
Opening Day almost here. The Seattle Mariners begin the 2020 season on Friday in Houston. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Major League Baseball and it’s Players Association failing to agree on almost anything, it’s taken nearly four months to get to this point.
In preparation for a 60-game schedule, the Mariners have been working out at T-Mobile park for the past few weeks. It’s been a time of preparation and intrasquad contests. Everyone is looking forward to playing games that count. Leading up to Opening Day, Pacific Northwest Sports will be running a series of countdown articles to get fans ready for action.
The Seattle Mariners General Manager said he considers the 2020 and 2021 seasons as one long development cycle. In English, the Seattle Mariners are rebuilding. They are an inexperienced team, playing a shortened schedule. Our goal is to get the young guys ready to compete at a Major League level for the next several seasons.
Because the M’s are so young, many rookies will see action this year. Aside from holding rookie status, several other factors went into ranking these players. The first was talent. After that came a player’s opportunity to get in games. The final element was once the player was in, what position would he be in (i.e., batting order slot or spot in the rotation/bullpen) to make things happen during games.
Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners.
There are a pair of elephants in the room to get out of the way first.
Logan Gilbert – The Seattle Mariners 2017 first-round draft pick has a live arm. At three different levels last year, Gilbert had 165 strikeouts in 135.1 innings. He doesn’t do it with straight heat, either. His talent lies in the variety of pitches he can throw for strikes. Gilbert mixes them well and can work all parts of the zone to get hitters out.
A future staff ace, Gilbert has not pitched higher than Double-A ball. He may get an opportunity to start a game this year so the brass can get a look at him against Major League hitters. At this point, there are other pitchers in the organization ahead of him. He’s far too inexperienced to count on at the Major league level.
Jarred Kelenic – When he finally arrives as a full-time MLB player, Kelenic will be lots of fun to watch. He possesses all the tools needed to be a superstar. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old phenom isn’t there yet. But he is close.
Ideally, the Mariners’ top prospect would have begun the season at Double-A Arkansas before hopefully earning his way to Triple-A Tacoma, and possibly a September call up. Kelenic has played well at Summer Camp, almost forcing the Seattle Mariners’ hand to make him part of the opening day 30-man roster.
However, if he isn’t going to play regularly, Kelenic should get the attention he needs at the team’s alternate location than to ride the pine with the big league team. Expect him to get a “cup of coffee” with the M’s at the end of the year.
Jake Fraley, Seattle Mariners.
Tim Lopes – The career minor leaguer finally got his call up last season. An infielder by trade, Lopes had the first outfield action of his professional career when Mariners manager Scott Servais put him in left field on August 6. His versatility will keep him on the roster, but if he shines at the plate as he did last year (.270 average, .359 on-base percentage), Lopes will also see action as a DH against lefties.
Jake Fraley (and his wooly beard) is the primary beneficiary of Mitch Haniger‘s absence. After rupturing a testicle last June and several accompanying conditions, Haniger won’t be ready for some time. One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. Fraley gets his shot.
Acquired along with Mallex Smith from Tampa Bay in the Mike Zunino trade, Fraley continued his minor league dominance last year, first at Arkansas, then at Tacoma. A strong hitter, he finished 2019 with 19 home runs, 22 stolen bases, and .910 OPS. That was good enough to get him 40 Major League at-bats in September.
Fraley wasn’t quite as successful during his Seattle debut, batting a humbling .150 in the bigs. He did, however, lay a solid foundation for 2020. Bet on him being more like the hitter that succeeded in the minors rather than the one that failed in his brief MLB audition. Unless Fraley struggles mightily this year, he’ll be in left field every day.
Justin Dunn, Seattle Mariners.
Unless Kelenic is a bust or Justin Dunn becomes the next Felix Hernandez, he’ll always be known as the other guy GM Jerry DiPoto got from the Mets in the Edwin Diaz/Robinson Cano trade. That’s a shame, Dunn has the makings of a good Major League pitcher. The former 2016 first-round draft pick, has made quick and steady progress through the minors, culminating in four late-2019 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners.
Dunn has four pitches he can throw effectively. His fastball tops out in the mid-90s with good movement. The slider is Dunn’s out pitch; it generates plenty of swings and misses. Scouts have always liked the “how and when” he throws it.
Although he has a decent curve, it’s used more for an occasional change of pace. To be an effective pitcher at the next level, Dunn needs to develop his changeup more. If he can be consistent with it, the fastball and slider will be much more effective.
Due to a lack of time to get ready for Opening Day, the Seattle Mariners will open the season with six starting pitchers. Dunn begins the year as number six. It will be up to him to keep a spot on the team when the roster gets trimmed to 28 players on August 7. He certainly has the necessary tools to stick around.
Justus Sheffield, Seattle Mariners.
Justus Sheffield has several things going for him. First, Sheffield is left-handed in a game that favors lefties. Next, he is only 24-years-old with a live arm. Also, the 2014 first-round pick has a nasty slider with a penchant for avoiding lumber. All the above puts him in a position to be a Seattle Mariners mainstay this season.
Among the rookie hurlers, Sheffield has the best opportunity to make an impact. He pitched well enough in spring training to claim the fourth spot in Servais’ rotation. At summer camp, Sheffield has been equally as good if not better. Unless the lefty gets hurt, or bombs horrendously, he’ll be on the mound every fifth (or sixth) day.
Not the fastest pitcher on the team, his fastball regularly clocks in the low- 90s. Now and then, Sheffield gets a little extra on it. His lively slider, as mentioned earlier, is more than MLB ready. Sheffield needs to do a better job with his control, as he can get wild. In 2019 he made eight appearances, yielding 18 walks in 36 innings. That won’t cut it in the bigs.
What will help Sheffield more than anything this season is an improved changeup. He has to throw it with confidence to keep hitters off balance. Confidence is the right word to use. The more trust Sheffield has in his abilities, the more effective he becomes.
Evan White, Seattle Mariners.
How much do the Seattle Mariners love Evan White? So much that they took the virtually unprecedented step of signing him to a six-year, $24M contract extension last November. It’s good money for a guy who hasn’t played higher than Double-A ball and 30 months earlier was at the University of Kentucky.
Now that White has big money, he needs to prove he’s worth it. In the wake of Daniel Vogelbach’s 2019 second-half free fall into obscurity, Seattle handed White the starting first base job in spring training. Between his performance in March, and what he’s done so far in Summer camp, no one has been disappointed with the decision.
White already has a Major League glove. He may be the Mariners best defensive first baseman since John Olerud had the job from 2000–2004. No Seattle player is ever likely to match Ken Griffey Jr.’s 10 gold gloves. It’s not a stretch to believe White has the potential to at least match Olerud’s three at first base during his career.
While White’s defense has never been an issue, his bat has. Scouts always questioned whether or not he would be able to hit consistently in the big leagues. During his two minor league seasons, White put up a career slash line of .294/.361/.471/.832. At this point, the 24-year-old projects as a .250 or so batter with a better than average on-base percentage. White has enough pop be a solid doubles hitter with the potential to hit 15–20 dingers per year. Overall, he has an excellent package of skills and will get his chance to impact the team by playing almost every day this year.
Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Paul Hamaker CC, BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=82750176)
At 6-4, 205 pounds, Kyle Lewis cuts an imposing figure in a locker room full of professional athletes. Even though he is the seventh or eighth-ranked prospect in the organization (depending on who is doing the evaluations), Lewis is the real deal. The Seattle Mariners’ 2016 first-round round draft pick (11th overall) had to overcome a serious knee injury suffered during his first season in pro ball to get to where he is today. He worked hard to come back and has steadily improved each year.
Lewis played almost the entire 2019 season at Double-A Arkansas in 2019. He hit .260 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI in 457 at-bats. Unlike White, Lewis got a chance to show what he could do in the Majors last September. He put on a show during his 18 game call up.
When a team is as far out of the running as the Seattle Mariners were last September, it can be challenging to get fans excited about anything. Lewis had the M’s faithful out of their seats with six home runs in 71 at-bats, including some mammoth shots.
Like many power bats, Lewis tends to be a free swinger. Although he averaged one home run every 12 at-bats during his September recall, Lewis also struck out 29 times against only three walks. For him to be a successful Major League hitter, White must become more selective at the plate, especially since he won’t get as many fastballs to sit on this year.
Finally, Lewis can more than hold his own in the outfield. He covers his share of ground in right field, has a good glove, and an above-average arm.
Stay with PNWS, as we will have part three of our countdown to opening day series, tomorrow.
How do you feel about the Seattle Mariners 2020 rookie class? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.