Bo Jackson.
That's who Greg Halman is, Doc. If he can work it out, that could be fun to watch. It's a low percentage change, IMO, but I can understand the drool factor of watching Bo Jackson attempting to make his way through your minor leagues.
I'm a big Gillies fan. I don't think he'll ever have power, but he can do everything else. He also stands on the plate and takes his pitches off the ribs to get on base. No problem taking one for the team there. He turned 21 on Halloween though, and still has AA to survive. His best track for contributing is 2011, and we'd have to move Gutierrez to do it. I like him as a replacement option if he keeps tracking the way he is, but with Saunders and Ackley (and even Zeke Carrera) also angling for a shot at CF we'll see what we do. It's a nice problem to have.
Truinfel taking care of his diet and trying not to out-eat his infield positions is good news. Him taking his career path seriously is good news. If he can be an Asdrubal Cabrera for us I'd be happy to see it. His getting injured this year was massively unfortunate, and could lead us to make several other moves (Wilson Extension, figuring out Jose's position with us) that we might not otherwise have made. But Carlos still has to prove he's a player - all he's done thus far is prove he has talent that isn't showing up in the box score.
Like you said, a very interesting list. Lookin forward to seeing Nick Hill as part of the 2010 Ms, though - that kid's a keeper.
~G
.
BTW, it was interesting too, hearing Capt Jack say of Saunders, Moore and Tui, that “When you’re putting your team together in the offseason, you don’t count on them, you consider them potential big league players."
Which, if this attitude means an Adam Dunn hauled in this winter, that's okay with me :- ) but how literally could Capt Jack mean it? I'm not sure it's much of an option to not count on Adam Moore, is it?
....
Phillippe Aumont. Just saying his name is melancholy for me, a #8 overall pick blown on a setup reliever.
Still, Grifol points out that if Aumont came to camp and hit spots in the strike zone, he would be ready to dominate in the majors right then and there.
The M's have funnelled huge, huge resources into bullpen inventory. :shrug: you'd think that pretty soon here, the Aumont-Fields era would start providing some consolation for what might have been.
....
Nick Hill. Here's a non-heralded guy who is getting the kind of consistent attention that Doug Fister did right before he was thrown into the Safeco rotation from out of nowhere.
Grifol's thing is that if you can retire lefties consistently, you've got a job in the majors. It so happens that the Mariners need this very thing. So Hill's probably one of the safest bets for a "surprise" job next year.
...
Tyson Gillies. Wow. You wonder if you read them right.
Saunders ain't guaranteed a job, and if the 20-year-old Gillies shows Mark McLemore-type OBP toughness, well, "His defense is special" per Wakamatsu.
Saunders in LF is exciting, but if Gillies were ready to do a Brett Butler trick, a .360+ OBP with tons of SB's and the fleet CF glove, that would be interesting too.
I'm not super high on Gillies, 'cause not sure yet that his skills translate higher up the ladder, but Wak is. So, huh.
...
Carlos Triunfel. Not likely to make the Mariners out of camp but, per Grifol, could be called up to Safeco during the 2010 season.
Has "taken ownership of his career" at 19. In director-speak that means "carries himself like a major leaguer right now, and I could see him in the clubhouse any time."
Hired a nutritionist :- ) and, as we've talked about, the Mariners apparently are still looking at him for SS.
Called up to the Mariners when, IceX? About the time that Wilson misses his 40th game?
...
Ezequiel Carrera, Matty's adopt-a-player. Here's a guy I really wonder whether his skills will translate even at the next level, much less MLB. We'll see.
He's credited with "spectacular" defense and small-ball skills. That doesn't do a lot for me, but here they are talking about him competing to make the M's next year, so okay.
...
Of course, they coulda just been rattling off some names of players they like. But the context is pretty clearly, which guys are the Mariners going to be watching in Arizona in March 2010, and the names that get mentioned here are the guys with the inside tracks.
I was very interested to hear Tyson Gillies in there. That's a guy I could see.
Cheers,
Dr D
Comments
I would enjoy seeing Nick Hill fill the the one major need of ours in the pen (lefty-killer). We lost several games in 2009 specifically because we did not have a pitcher you could count on to get lefties out in the 7th and 8th innings.
So when's that Tour de France thang for Halman...
n/m
BTW, who is being used as a late-inning lefty specialist (so far, anyway) in the VWL?
Mauricio Robles.
I think the fallback for him is a minaturized version of Arthur Rhodes.
is more for motivation than reality. Both for those longshots put on ("hey, dude, the brass says you're close") and those who are closer but were left off ("I'll show them . . . ").
I'm not buying that Gillies or Triunfel will sniff the bigs in the short term. I think it's just a shout-out. If not for Trinufel's broken ankle, then sure, but not now. He missed all of 2009, and his comback in the AFL? 2-for-18 with 1 BB, 6 Ks, 0 xbh.
Aumont can go to the bigs once he sorts things out, and maybe it will be soon. But maybe not. So I guess that's fair, but it's a big if. I suspect they want to keep him pumped up because he's struggled in the AFL.
Carrera's season looks awesome on paper, but doesn't really hold up under the scope. But he's ticketed for 4th/5th OF anyway, so, sure, he could fill that role quickly, as if he were a "Rule 5 kid." I suppose Gillies could, too, but Carrera has a full season of AA under his belt.
Lt. Hill, I've already said, can quickly jump over French, Olson and Vargas, and I don't doubt he'll be in the pen sometime in 10. But I'll put my money that it will be French coming out of spring training.
I actually think the two rookies most likely to be on the 25-man in the spring are Varvaro and Fields. Batista is gone and White is coming off injury and they never had much faith in Jaku. But neither one pops up on this list.
Has "taken ownership of his career" at 19."
From what I understand, the leg break may have been the best thing to ever happen to him, speaking long term.He'd been lagging behind in his studies and suspended for disciplinary reasons. In Baker's interview with Carlos, he revealed that he had a moment where he was certain he'd never play baseball again, go home and do...what?
Then he healed. Now he's working his patootie off. Not coincidence. He just added work ethic to his toolbox and that'll be what puts him in the realm of baseball star if he makes it there.
-Majic
And I noticed, too, the absence of Fields on the list. As in, you held out, and you think you're hot stuff, but yer gonna have to prove it and leapfrog some other candidates, rook. : )
The other thing I was thinking, if you take the list at face value... These are players that *could* be special... if they reach max potential, they have all-star caliber talent or tools. And that means a mindset in management that is targeting and working to develop an elite, world-beating team. Now that sort of thing, a fan could get excited about.