The casual fan doesn’t realize this but the Mariners farm system has been one of the weakest farm systems in baseball over the past 5 and even 10 years. Yes there have been some good players to come through the system such as Felix Hernandez, Adam Jones (with the Orioles), Shin-Soo Choo (with the Indians), Brandon Morrow (with the Blue Jays)…. I’m sure you get the idea. However, up until last year when Ackley, Pineda, Seager and others made there impact on the major league club, the farm system hadn’t produced much for the M’s.
Things have changed, and is largely due to the hard work and the plan set forth by Jack Zduriencik. Now I’m not saying Z is the greatest General Manager of all time but what he has done with a completely empty farm system has been impressive and the Baseball America top 100 is a great example of that.
Number six on the overall list is Jesus Montero, who Z was able to acquire in the Michael Pineda trade. A lot of people say the Yankees got a steal in this deal but I think there are two big reasons why that isn’t really the case. The first reason is because of a few of the names that you will see on this list below, and the second reason simply is, if he can hit the ball then that is a huge improvement over everyone on the team the last two years it seams like.
Number 20 and 21 on the list are Taijaun Walker and Danny Hultzen respectively. Walker is a young right hander with a cannon for an arm. Hultzen, however, is a smooth polished lefty. Both of these guys could partner up to be the foundation of a great Mariners rotation in just a few short years and are a big reason as to why Z was willing to trade Pineda for anyone who could hit the ball.
At number 52 is another pitcher, James Paxton. Paxton is a tall lefty that may end up being the number 3 or 4 in the rotation simply by default of having King Felix, Walker and Hultzen all in front of him.
At 77 the M’s actually have a position player that is drawing some attention in Nick Franklin. Franklin had a really weird year with injuries and illnesses but if he can bounce back don’t be surprised to see him on the fast track to the major league level some time in 2013.
Having five players in the top 100 is a strong statement to just how far the Mariners farm system has come along, but to have 3 in the top 25 is just impressive. There are teams that don’t even have 1 prospect in the top 25, so this is a very good sign. Now one thing that everyone needs to realize is that prospects aren’t for sure bets to be great and even if they are it will take a few years for them to be ready for the big leagues. That is why I’m willing to watch a team this year that isn’t going to win a World Series, or even make the playoffs, because I believe that in a few short years I may get to watch a team that is able to compete for those things because of what has been done in the farm system these past 3 years.