June 2019

At least one M's farmhand breaks out in 2019
Posted by jemanji on 06/15/19
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. SonicBOOM sez, . I'm really excited to see Jake Fraley in teal. Two more HRs today; five tools. As someone else suggested- I expect that trade (Zunino, Heredia, Plassmeyer) will be forever remembered as "The Fraley Trade".  . At last sight, Fraley was raking AA for a Manny-esque .318/.389/.550 slash line with 11 homers, 16 doubles/triples and 14 stolen bases in a bit more than 1/3 a season.  MLB.com gives Fraley as the M's "breakout prospect" for the 2019 season: . Fraley had trouble staying healthy with the Rays, playing just 30 games in his first full season (2017) and 66 more in 2018,... Read More
re-imagining a lower payroll for 2019
Posted by jemanji on 06/15/19
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. Q.  Is Juan Then valuable? THE GOOD:  Here is Scott Servais on the 19-year-old Then: “Juan is a great kid and his stuff has really jumped, velocity and breaking ball, we really like it,” Servais said. “He has chance to be a starter. He’s a young pitcher that kind of fits in the mix of guys we just drafted. It’s a nice arm to bring back.” THE BAD:  Then was 50% of a trade package to acquire ... Nick Rumbelow.  Yes, the Nick Rumbelow.  The one we just cut.  So it's not like he was on anybody's radar as the next blue-chipper down the pike. THE UGLY:  Then had reasonable stats in rookie ball,... Read More
Dr. D's kind of pitcher at #20 overall
Posted by jemanji on 06/13/19
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. The M's first-round pick this year was George Kirby, a 6-3 205# RHP who fanned 107 men against 6 walks (yes, six) in 88 innings for NCAA Elon.  Talk about your Billy Beane poster boys, what?  Let's getcha a few links on the lad. . At this link rat cheer you can review a video of the young man tossing 92-98 MPH fastballs.  Yes, we say "tossed" because he's got an extreme starter's rhythm.  If Edwin Diaz "max effort" be one end of the dial, this is the far other end.  He's got a loose backstroke, a smooth throughstroke with miles of clearance, and watch how lightly he lands on his front foot... Read More
The M's have attractive trade goods, savvy?
Posted by jemanji on 06/13/19
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. Jim Moore says flatly that Edwin Encarnacion "won't be here next month" and others wonder, can you take him as the M's All-Star rep if that's the case?  If not, he recommends the "lovable lug" Daniel Vogelbach for the game.  That certainly would blow a fresh gust of hype into the "folk hero" status that the beat writers see for him.  Dr. D isn't much into folk heroes like Bucky Git R Done Jacobsen, but he is into DH's who hit .260/.400/.550. 'Bach hasn't slowed down as the season grinds by with the swift excitement of a glacier at high noon.  He was 4-for-5 with a HR and BB on Wednesday and... Read More
deal LeBlanc? Brilliant! :: guinness ::
Posted by jemanji on 06/13/19
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. At this SSI link you can find both part 1 of our noodlings on July 31, and the links to the MyNorthwest articles that index the players for us.  Happy times for all.  Even happier if the M's powerflush half their roster and find they need Jake Fraley to fill in a vacancy in the OF. . DEE GORDON Being "shopped" earnestly by the M's.  Stecker points out that he's still only 31, is a long-time 9-year vet, and with the Mariners has added position versatility to his gold gloves at 2B.  On the other hand, teams will want "proof" that his wrist is sound before giving up hard cash, goods and... Read More
Including Beckham, Gordon, Encarnacion, Healy, many others
Posted by jemanji on 06/06/19
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SonicBOOM sez, How great to visit the site this afternoon, and find all you guys joining in and commenting like it was... 2017? And, like the M's were in a pennant race?! Now, our excitement is all about competing in 2020, or 2021.  But the good (corollary) news is, we have some milb players to get excited about.  . ChicagoMariner sez, So I woke up this morning, read this article (SSI IS always my first stop), checked the Ms score (sigh), and then the mariner minors twitter feed. Kelenik 2 for 5 with a double... . Keep visiting guys!  Just as you checked in Boom, I checked out for several... Read More