They were early!

BA.Com released their Top 10 Mariner Prospects yesterday. It wasn't supposed to be until Monday. Oh, well.

The list that was posted yesterday is accurate -- believe it or not. There are a few scouting reports that I'll excerpt in a separate post, but remember that the whole scouting reports are behind the subscriber wall.

First a bit on the overview of the Seattle system by Ask BA columnist Jim Callis:

Bill Bavasi may have helped lay the foundation for a 2002 World Series championship as Angels general manager from 1994-99, but he has struggled in three years at the helm of the Mariners. Bavasi's Seattle clubs have averaged 70 wins per season, a steep drop from the 98 victories the M's averaged in four years under his predecessor, Pat Gillick.
...
The highlight of Bavasi's tenure has been the major league ascendancy of homegrown prospects Yuniesky Betancourt, Felix Hernandez, Jose Lopez and J.J. Putz. But all of them except for Betancourt were signed by the previous front-office regime, as was their latest phenom, outfielder Adam Jones. Bavasi has tried to put his stamp on the club by signing big-ticket free agents Adrian Beltre ($64 million), Richie Sexson ($50 million) and Jarrod Washburn ($37.5 million), but they haven't lived up to their contracts or changed Seattle's fortunes.
...
Most of the Mariners recent top prospects have been the results of their efforts on the international scouting market. Seattle placed a total of 21 players on 10 different World Baseball Classic provisional rosters, and its short-season Everett affiliate featured 13 foreigners from seven different nations. But spanning the globe hasn't been enough to prop up the system—or, by extension, the big league club.

Emphasis is mine to show you what might be ahead for the Rattlers in 2007.

BA also did a Best Tools in the system list. Of note:

Best strike zone discipline -- Brent Johnson
Best fastball -- Brandon Morrow
Best curveball -- Tony Butler
Best defensive catcher -- Rob Johnson
Best defensive infielder -- Oswaldo Navarro

According to BA, Jeff Clement has the best power and Yung Chi Chen is the best hitter for average.