Pictured at right, Gutierrez going all out and very nearly derailing JZ's plans for world domination. The centerpiece of the J.J. Putz trade, not to mention, the Mariners' vastly improved team defense and the middle of the Mariner line-up, Franklin Gutierrez has been absolutely critical to the rebuilding plan from day one. Obviously other major decisions have changed the landscape of the Mariner outfield, including the departure of Raul Ibanez, the acquisition of Ryan Langerhans, the drafting of Dustin Ackley, and the trade of Wladimir Balentien.
Much like the bottom of the Mariner rotation and the entire Mariner bullpen, Zduriencik has shown considerable ability to stay flexibile in the outfield, and it's paying immediate dividends other areas.
Center Field (MLB - 2008)
- Jeremy Reed (D)
- Ichiro Suzuki (A)
- Charlton Jimerson (D-)
Center Field (Prospects)
- Michael Saunders (B)
- Prentice Redman (D+)
- Greg Halman (B-)
- Tyson Gillies (C+)
- Dwight Britton (D)
If Ichiro were comfortable in center field (he is not), the Mariners would have nothing at all to worry about. However, given the club’s fears about Saunders not being ready to start the year in the middle of the action and gien the fact that other decent prospects were at least a couple of years away, one could see why the incoming GM might view this position as a liability. My grades here will reflect the reality that Ichiro was never going to be the 2009 CF.
MLB: D
Prospects: C+
Depth: C-
Overall: C-
Corner Outfield (MLB - 2008)
- Ichiro Suzuki (A+)
- Raul Ibanez (B+)
- Wladimir Balentien (D+)
- Mike Morse (D)
Corner Outfield (Prospects)
- Michael Saunders (B)
- Prentice Redman (D+)
- Victor Diaz (C-)
- Michael Wilson (C)
- James McOwen (D+)
- Dennis Raben (B+)
- Denny Almonte (D)
The organization was definitely top-heavy here with Ichiro and Ibanez dominating the outfield and perhaps killing hope and motivation for the guys in the high minors. In terms of prospect depth, there’s not a lot to work with and the club has a big decision looming about whether to sign Ibanez or let him walk.
MLB: A-
Prospects: C-
Depth: C-
Overall: C+
Center Fielders (MLB - 2009)
- Franklin Gutierrez (A-)
- Michael Saunders (C+)
- Ryan Langerhans (C)
Center Fielders (Prospects)
- Jerry Owens (D)
- Prentice Redman (D)
- Greg Halman (B-)
- Tyson Gillies (B)
I got yer cork right here, baby. Gutierrez is having a huge breakout season as the latest in a long tradition of good Mariner center fielders who have built their reputations around great defense. Guti can hit too, and he’s quickly becoming a sensation. But Zduriencik’s work doesn’t stop there…he’s found another guy who can play a solid CF and he’s promoted a third. Saunders’ prospect rating would be just as high as it was last year (B)..his C+ grade reflects his well above average defense and passable bat against righties (I’m projecting a bit obviously) in the here and now. The team not face a game without a good CFer for a long time.
MLB: A-
Prospects: C+
Depth: B
Overall: B+
Corner Outfielders (MLB - 2009)
- Ichiro Suzuki (A+)
- Mike Saunders (C)
- Ryan Langerhans (C-)
- Ken Griffey Jr. (C-)
Corner Outfielders (Prospects)
- Bryan LaHair (D+)
- Prentice Redman (D)
- Zeke Carrera (B-)
- Dustin Ackley* (A-)
- Dennis Raben (B)
- Carlos Peguero (C)
- Michael Wilson (C)
- Denny Almonte (D)
It’s going to be very important to sign Ackley, obviously. Failure to do so will make Zduriencik’s first draft a weak one no matter how the other picks turn out and the Mariners don’t have much in the way of promising talent to fill out their depth chart in the outfield beyond Halmn and Saunders. The club felt it had to cut payroll and the decision to let Ibanez walk certainly hurt them overall in left field for the first half of the ’09 season. This loss will be mitigated if Saunders develops and/or Ackley signs and rises quickly through the Mariner system.
MLB: B
Prospects: B-
Depth: C+
Oveall: B-
To recap, my overall rankings, by position (side by side) from September 2008 to July 2009:
- SP) C+ -> B
- RP) D+ -> B-
- C) C+ -> C
- 1B) F -> B+ (!)
- 2B) C -> C
- 3B) B- -> B-
- SS) D -> C-
- COF) C+ -> B-
- CF) C- -> B+
In 10 months…it does not get much better than that, guys. Seriously…try to capture that in your minds for a minute. We gave a little bit of ground at the catching position and traded some high marks at second from the prospect core to get better depth on the big league roster in other places, but compensated with better short term depth at that position. NOTHING else got noticeably worse on an organizational scale and the starting rotation, the bullpen, first base, and center field got much MUCH better.
There are questions of course. What happens with Adrian Beltre, Jack Wilson, Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Russell Branyan and David Aardsma in the off-season? There are going to be a lot of guys the club has to try to hold onto without spending all of its’ money for fixing other problems. But considering how bad the franchise looked 10 months ago, this is very impressive, at least to me.
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