Seattle Sports Insider

Mariners Minor League Game Action Recap for August 27

Strange Times: K-Pax ... Zunino/Sucre ... Rivers ... and ... Johermyn Chavez, RHP?

Posted by

8/28/13

AAA -- Tacoma 7, Salt Lake 1 -- Box

KKKKKKK-Pax! Just when you think James Paxton (Talk40 #3) will never quite get his marvelous stuff totally dialed in, there it is again:

8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Will he always be "just about to make that big leap forward"? Guess we'll be here to find out.

And ... look who was behind the plate!

Mike Zunino (Talk40 #1) ... at least for the first five innings, when he was replaced by Jesus Sucre (Watch List). Just like old times!

Zunino had a triple (yes!) and a walk.

And ...

Slap those thunderstix, Korean Peninsula! Our man Ji-Man Choi (Talk40 #19) isn't lost in AAA after all (he just had a lousy BABIP for awhile). He had his second homer in two days, plus two singles. That's 18 dingers to go with his 34 doubles and 60 walks for the season as a whole. I've said it before, but my "Korean Olerud" tag may have underestimated him.

And ... Rich Poythress (26intheMix) (15th) and Carlos Peguero (Watch List) (19th) went deep as well.

AA -- Jackson 4, Chattanooga 1 -- Box

The Generals got all four runs in the 6th, via a long rally of singles and walks, plus a wild pitch.

James Jones (Watch List) led the way with a double, two singles and a walk.

Cameron Hobson had a strong start: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.

High-A -- Rancho Cucamonga 7, High Desert 5 -- Box

It happens that the first real article we did for this site was about Kevin Rivers. Back before we were part of the "official staff."

Back then, he had come from nowhere and was kicking some backside for Everett. After that, he stalled out at Clinton and dropped off our list.

Now he's back on the booty-kicking side of the equation, but -- as a 24-year-old at High Desert -- he's not going to make a bunch of ripples in the rankings. But it's always good to see him do well.

Tuesday: 3-for-4, HR, two doubles.

Season: .293/.376/.513.

Low-A -- Beloit 2, Clinton 0 -- Box

The Snapper pitchers pretty much elminated the "Lumber" part of the LumberKings moniker.

Clinton got only two extra-base hits, and both were doubles coming off the bat of newly promoted Luis Caballero. This one Caballero is playing third in the absence of D.J. Peterson.

Rookie -- Kingsport 5, Pulaski 3 -- Box

Kristian Brito (Watch List) got his 10th homer of the year, but it wasn't enough to get Pulaski over the top.

Brito, the big (6-foot-5, 240) 18-year-old, is hitting .259/.301/.478. That's progress from last year, when he slugged .266 and struck out 37 times in 29 games.

AZL Rookie -- Cubs 8, Mariners 3 -- Box

Huh. This is weird. I just mentioned Johermyn Chavez in my Peoria Javelina preview (as a guy who hit like mad at High Desert and went on to flop).

Then I see that he's in Tuesday's box score ... as the winning pitcher! Yes, same guy. There's not lots of guys named "Johermyn" (although there is more than one Guillermo Pimentel in the minors).

As it turns out, Chavez went bust as a hitter so the Cubs have converted him to the mound. Apparently he throws mid-90s. Tuesday was his fifth appearance, and his best. He went 2.0 IP and didn't give up any hits or runs.

He did better than one of our emerging favorites -- Paul Fry -- who had a "mulligan" outing (0.2 IP, 5 ER).

Looking Ahead

Victor Sanchez (Talk40 #12) is scheduled to go for Clinton.

Blog:

Mariners Prospect Talk

Comments

Choi is in AAA before he even reached 1000 PAs

Just for fun:
Adam Jones - 1274 PAs before AAA
Mike Zunino - 983 PAs (including college)
Kyle Seager - 1991 PAs (college too)
Choi is moving FAST, especially for a foreign teen-signee fo relatively few dollars who's dealt with some serious injuries. The Ms are moving him along like he's a first-round draftpick and pushing him hard.
Another reason that I find it weird he doesn't appear on many other site's top-10 hitters in the system. He's #2 on mine behind Peterson, and that's only because DJ is still playing 3rd base with a similar bat.
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Still waiting for Paxton to leap the consistency plateau already, but when he does it'll be a bonanza. Somebody just make that happen soon, K?
~G

Choi has never not hit

Do you buy into the power spike, G?
Going from .160 ISO to .245 while rapidly climbing levels?
And even if you throw out High Desert ... his Jackson/Tacoma ISO is .215 (269 PAs).
Was recovery from the back injury masking his real power potential last year?
And yes I have him neck-and-neck with D.J. for top hitter too.
Let the other blogs underrate him.

Why can't Choi play outfield or something?

Choi is listed at 6 foot 1 and 195 lbs. He has 34 doubles, and six triples on the year. This does not appear to be Pablo Sandoval territory (although he only has two steals on the year). Left and right field is wide open with the current ball club. How hard can left field be, and why isn't Choi learning to man it?
Is he slow?
Does he have a noodle arm?
Can he not catch?
Whats the sitch? Inquiring minds want to know.

Gordon ...

I think Gordon's seen him play in Arizona, so maybe he has thoughts.
What I know:
Choi has played the occasional third, but the original plan was to convert him to catcher.
His serious back injury and surgery ended the catching experiment, plus they have Zunino and other guys there now.
Given that he's played third and catcher, I don't think they're worried about arm strength ... it must be a matter of mobility and injury risk.
Your overall point -- we are short on outfielders and the best guys coming up don't seem to be aimed there -- is an excellent one of course.
[Related to which, I was very hopeful that Dan Paolini would show some stuff while playing OF in Jackson. Of course, right after I did a big write-up to that effect, he's done a face-plant instead. And with Choi promoted, he's played mostly 1b.]