SSI CRUNCH: Don't oversell the first 200 games' worth of travail at the plate.  Noriega needs more of a chance to show what he can do.

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 What the early disappointment does suggest, though, is that Noriega may be 26 or 28 before he contributes with the bat.  That was the case with Omar Vizquel himself.

Youngsters may only remember Vizquel as a leadoff hitter for playoff teams.  But in Seattle Little O was wayyyyyyyy overmatched in the bigs, despite being there for his glove, slugging in the 200's for quite a few seasons.  He only figured out a way to contribute at about age 28 or so.

Ozzie Smith was similar case:  younger fans remember the player who eventually figured out a .300, 50-SB game.  Dr. D's impression is of the 26-year-old who slugged .256 and who was the kind of guy you'd bat 9th with the pitcher 8th.  Dr. D never did spit out the early impression of Ozzie, or Omar for that matter, being abused by gleeful NL pitchers...

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There are a lot more of these SS's than fans realize, guys who come up and glue the defense .... second pitchers, almost, guys there just for their run prevention.  A lot of them learn to hit only in their late 20's.

If Noriega falls into this template, he'll be nothing unusual.  

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SSI Sez:  

Point is:  Noriega may give the Mariners a SS in the Little O / Ozzie cutout template, and he won't have to hit to do so.

Are you, as an M's fan, down with the idea of a Little-O type in the M's talent pipeline?  

Dr. D is "eeehhhhhhh" about it; I wouldn't be enthused if everything broke right for Noriega.  But it's part of the five-finger spadework that every GM puts in.

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Two Thumbs Up / Down:  Mildly down.  Noriega isn't my kind of player, though objectively speaking he is a prospect, and is probably being undersold right now by the public.

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