The New Bats in Seattle

Following this week’s departure of Ichiro Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners were left with a bit of an identity crisis. King Felix Hernandez still pitches for Seattle, but a guy who appears once every five games cannot be the face of the franchise. If an owner is going to put butts in the seats everyday, he needs at least one exciting bat. The problem is, the Marines have exactly zero exciting bats. None.

Seattle ranks dead last in team batting average, team on-base percentage and team slugging percentage. If the abysmal numbers and the endless rain have you down, I present to you four young position players the Mariners believe could develop into the new face of the franchise.

Kyle Seager, Third Base

The 24-year-old Seager is putting together a respectable rookie campaign. Seager has 11 home runs and a team-leading 60 RBI. His .240 batting average leaves something to be desired but the University of North Carolina product is batting .303 against fastballs this season. Seager burned through the Seattle farm system in two-and-a-half seasons and hit .333 in 2011 against AA and AAA pitching over 416 plate appearances. If he can learn to read the big league curveball (.176 against), Seager could develop into a reliable middle of the order bat.

Michael Saunders, Center Field

The 25-year-old Saunders leads Seattle with a .262 average. The Victoria, British Columbia, Canada native has not hit for great power (.428 SLG%) in his first season as an everyday player, but has swiped 14 bags this year.  Drafted in the 11th round of the 2004 MLB draft by Seattle, Saunders broke into the bigs at 22. His 2.4 WAR leads the team.

Jesus Montero, Catcher

The 22-year-old catcher joined the Mariners in the trade that sent starting pitcher Miguel Pineda to the New York Yankees. Montero’s rookie year stats do not pop off the page, but his .258 average and 9 home runs is solid for a freshman catcher. The reason for excitement with Montero is his potential. At 18-years old, Montero hit .326 with 17 home runs and 87 RBI in A ball. He followed that next year with .337, 17 home runs and 70 RBI A+ and AA. The Yankees kept Montero in AAA for his 20 and 21-year-old seasons where he compiled 39 home runs, 53 doubles, 142 RBI and 82 walks over 967 plate appearances. Montero has the potential to become an annual All-Star.

Dustin Ackley, Second Base

A second-half call-up last season, Ackley hit .273 in 2011. In his first full big league season, Ackley is experiencing a setback. The left-handed hitter in only hitting .220 and slugging .316. Also a UNC product, Ackley played 200 minor league games in the Seattle farm system before earning a call-up. Ackley hit .267 in AA and AAA with 7 home runs and 51 RBI as a 22-year-old. At 23, he hit .303 with a .421 OBP in AAA. Ackley is a highly regarded prospect and at 24 still has potential for growth. Expect for Ackley to bounce back next season.

The Big Guy

 

Ichiro Highlights with the Mairners

Look At Me Now!!!

  Lets meet the newly acquired New York Yankee, Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro is currently in his 12th season in the MLB, and has finally left Seattle after 11 great seasons. The veteran hopes to add to an already loaded Yankees lineup. Ichiro was certainly a fan favorite in Seattle, and hopes to be the same in the big apple.

 Over Ichiro’s 11 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro compiled 2533 hits including having 10 seasons in a row to start his career with at least 200 hits. Ichiro led the league in hits in 2001(242), 2004(262), 2006(224), 2007(238), 2008(213), 2009(225), and 2010(214). Along with his incredible hitting the 11 year veteran has also won 10 gold gloves from 2001-2010. Ichiro is one of the leagues best hitters of all time, and no one ever thought he’d leave Seattle.

  So what do the Yankee’s get?

•    Bat- Ichiro is .261 with a 105 hits, 15 doubles, 5 triples, 4 homers, and 28 RBIs on the season. Ichiro’s numbers are down, but much of that could be from playing on one of the worst teams in baseball for the past 3 seasons. Ichiro has a career .322 batting average, and look for his average to spike once a Yankee, especially using the short porch in right with Ichiro’s swing.
• Glove- Known to be one of the best right fielders in the game, Ichiro will do nothing but improve the Yankees on the field. Ichiro has one of the strongest arms in the game with 3 assists this season and 100 over his career. Ichiro has only 33 errors in 11 seasons played.

This could be Ichiro’s final chance to get a World Series ring, and a trade like this could really change around his season. Ichiro went from a team with a record of 43-56 and last in their division, to a team with the record of 58-39, 1st in their division and in the middle of the A.L. East race. Ichiro could end up being a key piece to what the Yankees need to go all the way this season.

 

Coach Tom