The Mariners announced today that they optioned top OF prospect Wladimir Balentien to Triple-A Tacoma. Balentien certainly didn’t fail to impress the Mariners with his stellar spring. He went 15 of 47 (.319) with 9 RBI and a team-leading 3 HR. When discussing why the Mariners decided to demote Balentien rather than keep him with the big league club, skipper John McLaren compared his situation to that of top catching prospect Jeff Clement:
“We don’t want those guys sitting around as extra players. We want them playing on a regular basis.”
With his impressive spring, though, it might not be long before Balentien is getting regular playing time at the big league level. Keep an eye on this talented young OF.
While both Balentien and Clement have impressed all this spring, it is another young Mariners prospect that all the scouts are raving about, Carlos Triunfel. The 18-year-old has everyone who sees him calling him a future superstar. While he’s an adequate SS right now, most feel he’ll end up at 3B. And as Larry Stone of The Seattle Times speculates in his article, Triunfel could end up being the long-term replacement for Adrian Beltre as the Mariners 3B when Beltre leaves after 2009.Here’s a quick scouting report from ESPN’s Keith Law, who is very impressed with the Mariners ability to scout internationally:
“He’s an offensive shortstop who is strong and getting stronger, with more room to fill out in the future, as he turned 18 just last month. A right-handed hitter, he puts great backspin on the ball and wears out the right-center gap with searing line drives. His bat speed is plus and he keeps his hip rotation timed with his swing; he transfers his weight a little early, and might need to correct that to reach his maximum power output. His pitch recognition needs work, but the M’s have pushed him up the ladder and he hasn’t stumbled.”
Today is a big day for prospects. Many of the questions we’ve been asking about who will make the big league clubs come season start will be answered today. When a player is sent down to the minors there is a 10 day non-recall period. Many teams will cut players who are on the fringe of making the big league club 10 days before the season starts so they still have the option of bringing them back up should any injuries create holes in the roster. That’s why we’re seeing many of the bigger name prospects getting cut today, as opposed to at the end of camp.
One such prospect is the Mariners’ super catching prospect, Jeff Clement. As noted in this The News Tribune article by Ryan Divish, Mariners manager John McLaren has said since the start of spring that the only way Clement would make the roster is as a starter. The Mariners do not want their stud catching prospect to stunt his development with a lack of playing time. And it’s not like Clement was tearing it up this spring; he only had 3 hits in 19 AB (.158) with 2 RBI. It’s going to be interesting to see how Clement’s career develops. He’s got Kenji Johjima blocking him in Seattle at the backstop position. Clement’s bat could be used at DH, currently occupied by Jose Vidro, but I would suspect that the Mariners would prefer to avoid this so Clement can continue to develop as a catcher.
Earlier this week we listed the top prospects getting cut from the Rays, Indians, Pirates, Nationals, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins, Angels, and Orioles. We’ve listed below a handful of prospects who have been cut since then.
MLB.com reports Angel’s 3B Brandon Wood hit a solo shot in the 5th inning off the White Sox’s Lance Broadway on Tuesday. Broadway gave up a total of zero home runs with a 0.87 ERA in four major league appearances last year. A good sign for Wood, who has had some injury concerns, although his .154 OBP so far this spring is a little disconcerting.
Jim Street of MLB.com writes that Phillippe Aumont was very effective in his first game against professional hitters. The 6′ 7″ 220 pound Quebec native retired 3 of the 4 hitters he faced on Wednesday, yielding only an infield single, and featured a 95 mph fastball with impressive movement. Aumont has not pitched in a real game since November, when he played for Team Canada in the World Cup in Taiwan.
The Rockies 3B prospect, Ian Stewart, continues to struggle a bit with the transition to 2B. He’ll need to figure this transition out if he plans to make it in Denver any time soon; Atkins has 3B nailed down for the foreseeable future, as does Tulo at SS.
Max Scherzer, The DBacks top draft pick in 2007, pitched two innings today and gave up a monster bomb to Joe Crede. But, it was the only hit he gave up.
Mariners’ OF prospect Wladimir Balentien had quite a game today. He hit 2 HR with 3 RBI. In the same game, Padres 3B/OF prospect Chase Headley hit a 2-run HR with 4 RBI.
Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times reports that Mariner’s Manager John McLaren would like to start top prospect Jeff Clement at catcher… in Class AAA Tacoma. The Mariner’s are coddling the 3rd overall pick in the 2005 draft, at least until Kenji Johjima’s contract expires after this season. However, the door is open for Clement to DH this year if Jose Vidro gets injured/keeps sucking.
