Arizona bound
Eight of the best Mariner farmhands have reported to Peoria and "Played Ball!" yesterday and will again today, in the Arizona Fall League. Who are they and what do they have? Read on, read on.
Kyle Lewis (of course): Returning from his blown knee, Lewis had what must be called a so-so return. Playing in 49 games overall, 11 in the Arizona Rookie League and 38 in Modesto at A+, Lewis didn't show the booming bat that he had during his rookie campaign, prior to the knee exploding. In A+, he was .257-.329-.412. Despite the knee injury, a .155 ISO in the Cali League isn't much to laud. He K'ed at a 24% rate, not bad, but only hit 10 XB's in 38 A+ games, bad. Let's chalk up this season to injury recovery and look forward to a big bounce in AA next season. Would be great to catch a whiff of that in the AFL. Remember, Lewis is commonly rated as our #1 Prospect. Let's see it.
Braden Bishop: Great CF glove, great wheels....and now a pretty interesting bat, after a swing change. In Modesto, he was .296-.385.-400 last season, before his bump to Arkansas. There he whacked at a .336-.417-.448 pace, All the while he flashes CF leather. Bishop may start the year in Arkansas, but could ST himself into the regular Tacoma CF gig. I would bet dollars to donuts that he gets some Safeco action next season (assuming a MLB injury bug). This guy is right up Dipoto Alley. Great contact (K'ed in just 10% of 145 AA PA's), decent eye (10% BB), can run and can pick it. If his bat doesn't fall backwards, he's a 4th OF, anyway. And he could be a + type guy to have in CF.
Eric Filia: Filia just sort of went nuts last season, getting 105 Modesto starts in RF and a dozen at 1B. Looks like he will get regular 1B time in Peoria. After a rookie season (Everett) of .362-450-.496 (with 39 BB's vs. 19 K's), he hurt Cali League pitching to the tune of .326-.407-.434. OK, that is in the desert, and he only hit 5 HR's, but he had 28 2B's and 65 BB's vs. 45 K's. In 861 professional PA's, he's only K'ed 64 times. And we're talking 2017, not 1917. Guys tend to K now, if you haven't been paying attention. I'm sure that Matt's concern is that MLB flamethrowers will just bust the bat out of his hands, and that's worth being worried about. But I am really eager to see Filia against better pitchers. If the M's are looking to give him more 1B time, then they must think he can carry a 1B bat. Will be watching this kid eagerly. He was a 20th Round pick and could be a huge surprise.
Joe DeCarlo: DeCarlo made the transistion to catcher last season, moving over from 3B. He repeated the Cali League, OPS'ing .762 (down from .833 the year prior). He had never played C in the pros, yet still threw out 25% of baserunners. He's going to get the bump to Arkansas, certainly. I hope he continues to get some 3B/1B time, as I really like the idea of a BU catcher who is flexible enough to help you in the field. Chris Gimenez does that and he's hung around the bigs for 9 seasons. DeCarlo has some pop, he's hit 10, 14 and 13 HR's over the last three seasons. he would be a great story were he to make it to Seattle in a couple of seasons. Have no clue about his pitch framing, but clearly the M's think he has some backstop chops.
Art Warren: Warren was one of the guys we moved from a '16 MiLB starter to reliever, which is where he was in Everett during his '15 rookie season. As a bullpen guy he K'ed 12.9/9 in '15 and 9.3/9 last season. Eveidently he can bring it, especially in shorter stints. He walks guys, 3.7 per, over his professioanal career, but he doesn't let guys go yard on him. He's given up only 7 HR's in 180+ pro innings. 5 of those HR's came in desert launching pads. Will be fun to watch his K rate and HR rate in Arkansas next season. Not a best bet, but sort of interesting.
Max Povse: Povse will certainly be in the mix to be MLB bullpen spaghetti next season. He struggled in brief appearances in Seattle last season, giving up 9 hits in 3.2 innings. In fact, he struggled to some degree in AA and AAA, with a combined 1.43 WHIP. That was a downer after 1.0 AA WHIP in AA the year prior. I thought Povse was sort of a best bet going into '17, but he needs to reestablish himself a bit. Let's see hiim get started in Arizona.
Darin Gillies: Gillies has a decent AA bullpen season, but he didn't match his '16 WHIP of 0.93. He was at 1.29 for Arkansas last season, with 7 K's/9 and nearly 4 BB's. Will bet he starts the seson in Arkansas again. The M's must like him, as he's sort of not one of our great prospects. Not much more to say than that.
Matt Festa: Festa was a 7th round pick in '16 and has had two pretty interesting pro seasons. He has a 1.23 WHIP as a 23-year old in Everett in '16, with 8 K's and 2 BB's per 9. Then last seasons he sort of smoked 'em. He went to the Cali League and had a 1.15 WHIP in 69.2 innings, with 2.5 BB's and 12.8 K's per 9! 12.8, and not in Rookie League. Really! Not kidding.! Festa is the AFL pitcher I am most interested in seeing. Was his '17 a fluke or did he find a wipe-out pitch? Would have to bet that he's in Arkansas with a bullet to Tacoma and points beyond if the wipe-out pitch theory is true.
OK, I know that some of you guys have much clearer views of these guys that I, but I thought a AFL Roster rundown, and some autumnal hope, would be called for right now, as October turns rainy and we once again lick our big league wounds.
I am most interested in watching Filia, Bishop and Festa, in that order. You guys?