But, in the end, the Ms haven't actually developed a "decent" hitter completely from scratch since about AROD.
For all the optimism and enthusiasm - there was LOTS of optimism about Adam Jones, and Clement, too.
That's a great point, and a good reminder as to why the national bias exists against the Mariners.
Adam Jones did, in fact, turn out to be a top prospect, by the way: he's an everyday player in the big leagues at a premium position, and has growth left. You don't have to be an MVP to prove that an org #1 was an accurate ranking.
Jose Lopez is a decent hitter. Yuniesky Betancourt put up OPS+'s in the 80's and, at SS, that's a "decent" hitter. Adam Jones is more than decent. Michael Saunders is a "decent" hitter and just getting started.
Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera are decent hitters, I'd say. Seattle developed those two. Raul Ibanez was developed by Seattle. I'm sure there are other trades I'm forgetting about.
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But, yes, the fact that the Mariners' lineup has no homegrown All-Stars in it, probably does account for the fact that most pundits underrate the current system.
No doubt, if Choo and Cabrera were hitting 3 and 4 in Seattle, their farm system would rank higher.