Category Archives: Mariners Minors

tragedy beyond the diamond . . .

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So young, so promising, so sad beyond belief 😩

 

the story from various perspectives . . .

Mariners prospect Sanchez dies in Venezuela | Greg Johns

Mariners prospect hit by boat dies at age 20 | Ryan Divish

M’s Move Forward on Tragic Weekend | Mike Curto

Mariners Pitching Prospect Victor Sanchez dies | Shannon Drayer

 

tweets of love and remembrance . . .

 

News, Notes and Quotes on an off-day . . .

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the best Mariners news . . .
Eric will return to the dugout tomorrow night!

podcast: Skip talks about his experience and recoop with Brock and Danny

the most surprising Mariners news . . .
and I say that just because it was unexpected, not because I don’t think it should have happened
Jack Z through 2014 | Shannon Drayer

the scariest Mariners news . . .
D.J. Peterson hit in the face by a pitch | Ryan Divish

Minor League news . . . 
* Jesus Scure was optioned to AAA after completing his regab assignment with AZL
* Ji-Man Choi (who began the year in Class A High Desert, was promoted from AA Jackson to AAA Tacoma on Saturday

MLB News . . .
Instant replay expansion | Greg Johns

Local News . . . 

Futures Game

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US 4 | World 2

g89 | Whoa! O

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Mariners 11 | Red Sox 4

Talk about a COMPLETE win!
Felix wasn’t perfect (it happens 😉 ) but he was certainly good enough and the bats really came through for him. There was only ONE Mariner without a hit, only TWO that didn’t score at least one run and only THREE w/o at least one RBI . . . Seattle, we have “O”! As mentioned more than once on the recent road trip, it’s SO good to see the kids coming through (I mean we all love Raul but, he is not the future of this franchise though, his worth to the kids in work ethic and mentorship is truly invaluable).

ON THE MOUND
Happy, Happy Felix Day!
Felix had to work a bit in this one, with runners on base in each of the first FIVE innings. The only one that was really trouble was the 5th when the RS scored their first TWO runs via a lead off HBP, a couple of singles and a strikeout on a WP that got away from Mike Z. He finished strong though, retiring the Sox in order in the 6th and 7th so he could sit an await his 9th win to be bestowed.

} Ollie was a little uncharacteristically sloppy, allowing THREE hits and TWO runs in his single inning – guess he’s not used to pitching with such a big lead 😉
} Yoervis faired a bit better but, did allow a hit and hit a batter before retiring the Sox for good

AT THE PLATE
Alrighty then!
We’ll take FIFTEEN hits (‘specially when nearly half are for extra bases) and ELEVEN runs every day of the week and twice on Sunday!

M’s batters made Lester throw 39 pitches in the 4th when they scored their first two runs . . .
Justin with an RBI double and Michael S with a bases-loaded walk and the M’s were up 2-0

But, THAT was just the beginning of the Red Sox “double trouble” ~ in total, the M’s recorded SIX doubles . . .
~ Michael S 2 doubles (3RBI), Justin 2 doubles (2RBI), Nick 1 double (1RBI), Kendrys 1 double

Justin - doubles crazy | Ted S. Warren, AP

Justin – doubles crazy | Ted S. Warren, AP

~Rauuuuuuul hit his 22nd homer in the 5th (solo shot) and added another RBI (his 51st) on a 6th inning single
~ Brad’s FIRST major league RBI via a hit on his 7th inning single
~ Mike Z had TWO hits, and a FC for an RBI in the 8th

IN THE FIELD
* Mike with a passed ball with a man on at 3B = bad news
* Brad with a couple of web gems (both to get Pedroia)
* only ONE DP (Brad-Nick-Justin) in the 1st inning

 

quote of the game . . . 

“Whenever we get on the board for FiFi, good things are going to happen for us.”
—Justin Smoak

 

tweets of the game . . . 

 

NOTE:
Prior to the game it was announced that the Mariners have DFA’d Jeremy Bonderman and recalled Lucas Luetge from AAA Tacoma. Good luck where ever you land, Jeremy – it’s a pretty gutsy adventure you are on – I hope it ends well for you. (speculation is that Erasmo will be called up prior to Thursday, which would have been Jeremy’s turn)
On a lighter note, here’s Lucas’s fortune from the other night . . .

 

AND, good things down I-5 tonight . . .

 

AND a bit  f u r t h e r  south on the farm . . .

 

Ups, Downs, all-arounds . . .

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Just catching up on some of the movement of late.

Brad Miller’s call up set off some dominoes . . .
Reporting to AAA Tacoma were IF Carlos Triufel (optioned to make room on the 25-man roster) and RP Josh Kinney (out-righted, to make room on the 40-man roster) and 3B Ty Kelly (received in a trade from Baltimore for OF Eric Thames) and 1B Alex Liddi was designated for assignment.

Minor League Recognition . . .

M*A*S*H
* Guti back to the 15-day DL (hamstring) after only playing 1.5 games back from his last stint
* Michael M (strained quad) is getting close to being sent to Tacoma for a rehab assignment
* Jesus Montero scheduled to DH tomorrow in AZ (will be limited to DH/1B for the remainder of the year)
* Danny Hultzen was scratched a couple of nights ago from only his second start in Tacoma since coming off the DL – tests revealed no structural damage but, he’ll have 10-14 days before throwing again.

International Free Agents . . .
M’s sign 16-yr old Venezuelan OF, Greifer Andrade
Top-30 and where they’ve signed

 

 

big happenings on an “off-night” . . .

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Apparently, Tacoma is where the action is ~ the Rainiers weren’t off tonight, far from it!

They posted a 2-0 victory tonight behind the pitching of Danny Hultzen, fresh off the DL, and pretty darned impressive ~ SIX innings ~ TWO hits ~ ZERO runs ~ ONE walk ~ SIX strikeouts

some other stats re: Danny’s outing . . . 

Way to go, Danny!

Now, there’s another interesting tid-bit from this game . . .

Brad Miller extended his hitting streak to TWENTY-TWO with a home run in the 6th inning to give the Rainiers a 2-0 lead at the time that would be the eventual final score. According to Mike Curto, the Rainiers all-time hit streak is 26 games, set in 1965. Brad, however, won’t be able to continue to seek that streak, as he’s got a much bigger quest calling him up I-5 . . .

He’s been called up to the bigs! 

It just so happens I’ll be at The Safe for the M’s / Cubs game tomorrow night . . .

It would be awesome to see Brad’s big league debut ~ though I’ve read some speculative tweets that it’s not likely due to the fact that there’s a tough lefty starting for the Cubs.

I’ve also seen some analysis that, while Brad’s bat has been shining bright, his defense still needs a little polishing. Here’s hoping that Brendan is willing to be a mentor ~ what a great opportunity this could be for Brad to learn tips and tricks from one of the best defensive shortstops in the game!

Congrats and Good Luck, Brad!

Brad Miller | Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Brad Miller | Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Ryan Divish | News Tribune

“I didn’t even know what to say, honestly,” he said. “They pulled me in and told me. Still I don’t think it has set in yet. I’m just so thankful and excited.”

Miller will be at Safeco Field and likely in the starting line-up when Seattle opens a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.

“I’m on cloud nine,” Stearns said. “I got to tell him that he was going to the big leagues for the first time. It brings tears to your eyes, that’s how good it is. He was crying, and it was a sensational moment. You get a few of those moments in your lifetime.  I was able to tell David Wright that he was going to the big leagues for the first time when I was working for New York, and this was every bit as good or better than that: Brad Miller.”

Taijuan’s Tacoma debut and other news and notes

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Taijuan Walker made his AAA debut for the Rainiers last night in Tacoma ~ the youngest Rainier (20) since Felix (19) in 2005. By all accounts, things went well . . .

SIX innings ~ THREE hits ~ ZERO runs ~ TWO walks ~ FOUR strikeouts

  • totals: 87 pitches / 57 strikes
  • by inning: 18, 11, 14, 13, 14, 17
  • speeds: fastball 92-97, cutter 89-92, curve 69-72 mph, change-up: 85-85

 

 

 

oh yeah ~ and the Rainiers won the game! 1-0 (on a home run by Abraham Almonte)

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the bad news . . .

Franklin Gutierrez is back on the DL after coming up w/ a hamstring strain in his second game back from the DL

 

But, Dustin Ackley is back and, presumably, ready to play the outfield

 

Impressive “farmers”

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How cool is this???
The Mariners NINE affiliates combined to go 496-406 for a .500 winning percentage – leading all Major League farm systems for 2012 AND setting a record for most wins in a single season for a Major League farm system.

Mariners twitter

Not only that but, some of the stellar play down on the farm will continue to play as SIX of the NINE teams made it to their respective post season!

AND, Mariners farm system now ranks number one in the majors!

Some other fun farm facts…

EVERETT
Patrick Kivlehan = Northwest League MVP
Mike Zunino and Taylor Ard = Northwest League All Stars

HIGH DESERT
Mavericks led the California League in: AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, RBI, HITS, RUNS and total bases
Leon Landry = Cal League Batting Champ (.341)

CLINTON
Lumberkings set the all time wins record for a half-season (45)
Brandon Mauer = Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher

JACKSON
Brandon Mauer, Jesus Sucre and Carter Capps = Southern League Postseason All-Stars
Jesus Sucre = first qualifying Southern League catcher to go an entire season without an error

ARIZONA
EIGHT players selected to play in Arizona Fall League: Logan Bowcom, LaFromboise, James Paxton, Carson Smith, Mike Zunino, Vinnie Catricala, Nick Franklin, Stefen Romero

g138 | 67 wins may not seem like a lot, but…

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Mariners 2 | Red Sox 1

Considering it was their win total for ALL of LAST season and they still have 24 games to play THIS season, it’s a pretty significant number.

I tweeted after the game last night that 3 of Kevin’s 5 wins have come in the last game of a series…
seems he stayed true to form #GoodLongLooks

and, the bullpen, once again, was great – only TWO hits in THREE scoreless

 

g128 | of falderal and rain delays and some fun in Everett

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Mariners 3 | White Sox 4

‘t was raining cats and dogs in ChiTown…
So what else is new? I swear it rains more there than in Seattle – get a friggin’ roof!

Anyhoo, the M’s took an early lead on a Jesus Montero infield single (four words not often written consecutively) in the first inning. Then they lost the lead. Then it rained. Then they took the lead again on a Casper Wells 2-run home run. Then it rained some more – enough for a 6 minute delay. Then the WS took the lead. Then it rained a lot more – enough for a nearly 2 hour delay, after which the game was finally called. buuuuu-mmer.

Meanwhile, I had fun in Everett…
Aqua Sox 5 | Bears 2

Free program and reusable bag!
the lineup
Everett Memorial Baseball Stadium
really yummy dog!
daughter and dad 🙂
view from our “over the dugout” seats!
Oh say can you see?
Unsworth earned his 7th victory
Unsworth after his last inning
Littlewood right before hit hit a 2-run shot to put the Sox up 3-2

 

Frogs Win!!!
Cool touch at the headquarters