2017 Seattle Mariners

C – Joe DeCarlo – R/R – HiA Modesto 

1B – Onil Pena – R/R – SS Everett

2B – Joseph Rosa – B/R – SS Everett/LoA Clinton/AA Arkansas/AAA Tacoma

3B – Ryan Costello – L/R – AZL 

SS – Luis Rengifo – B/R – LoA Clinton/(finished season with LoA Bowling Green after trade with Tampa Bay) 

LF – DeAires Moses – L/L – AZL 

CF – Luis Liberato – L/L – LoA Clinton/HiA Modesto 

RF – Eric Filia – L/R – HiA Modesto –  (Despite his age/level ratio, there’s nothing not to like about a guy who  has a .422 on-base percentage and has walked 41 times more than he’s struck out in 197 minor league games.) 

 

 

Top 5 Starting Pitchers – (Factor Score) / Highest Level Attained

 

1. RHP Ljay Newsome – (15) / LoA Clinton

2. RHP Nathan Bannister – (14.5) / AAA Tacoma

**A 28th round draft pick in 2016, Bannister did not see any action that season due to injury. The right-hander, who will be 23-years old during the whole 2018 season, posted a 7.3 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 rates in 23 HiA Modesto starts in 2017 which earned a look at Triple-A Tacoma. The 17 home runs surrendered in 120.2 IP is somewhat scary, but granted it was his debut season at an advanced level.

 

3. RHP Reggie McClain – (13.5) / HiA Modesto

4. LHP Danny Garcia – (12) / LoA Clinton

5. RHP Andres Torres – (11) / S-S Everett

 

Trade Impacts: The Mariners stripped the UTR cupboard with a whole host of trade moves in 2017. Three of the “would be” top 5 UTR-OAS were traded off to the Miami Marlins in two separate moves. In July, Seattle traded #2 Pablo Lopez (16) and #5 Brandon Miller (13.5) to Miami for David Phelps. Miller was my 2017 “One to Watch” prior to the 2017 season. The biggest UTR departure was #1 Nick Neidert to the Marlins in the deal for Dee Gordon. Neidert would have earned the “Legit UTR” tag with his back-to-back UTR-OAS appearance. Also included in that trade was Robert Dugger, who initially would have not ranked in the Top 5 above, but could have been in consideration for the “One to Watch” for the Mariners in 2018. We will have to wait and see where he will fall within the Marlins system. Another trade sent Juan Then to the New York Yankees for Nick Rumbelow in November.