Future Rattlers Report

Jay at Mariner Minors has his year end report on the Everett Aquasox.

It is quite lengthy and well worth the read. I won't excerpt the whole thing, but a few players that may be of interest to Rattler fans:

To fill Everett’s second baseman role, the Mariners fast-tracked Edilio Colina, who had previously played only one season in the VSL. Though he missed some time in July, Colina managed to hold his own despite being roughly three years younger than his competition. Like many other Latin American players coming in, his offense relies on putting the ball in play, but he has shown some ability to get on base in the past, be it via the walk or taking a hit. Two others, Roberto Mena and Deybis Benitez, saw time at second, but were primarily utility infielders. Neither had much luck on their side as far as hitting and they remained the weakest links on a team that already lacked for offense. Of the two, Benitez seems more likely to stick around longer as he was the superior fielder, is more than two years younger, and can at least draw a base on balls now and then.

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The outfield proved to be more interesting. Top heavy though it was, it actually had some substance to it while the infield the ‘Sox ran out every day mostly lacked. Obviously, the player one would hone in on first is Gregory Halman, the center fielder who was among the league’s leaders in most relevant offensive categories and could’ve had a case for MVP if not for the fact that he played with players that left him with a scant few opportunities for run production. Halman was quite nearly twice the player he was in Wisconsin earlier in the season in most regard and came back to the Northwest League humbled, but capable of impact. Sure enough, he distinctly improved on his previous NWL run. He holds the distinction of being the top slugger in the league for the year, but the word choice there is quite deliberate, as he led the league in strikeouts by a fair margin and his main asset proved to be his capacity to punish a ball, but not his overall hitting ability. Fortunately, he’s still young enough and he displayed the ability to learn from his mistakes and hold off certain pitches that would have baffled him last season, so there are some results to go along with his enormous physical potential.

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In the rotation, Edward Paredes took on the role of staff ace, though he had been used solely in relief the previous year in the DSL. Though he struggled a bit down the stretch after a terrific June, he did finish first in the staff in innings pitched with 85.2, ten more than the runner-up, and had more than two and a half grounders for every fly. The main problem Paredes seems to run into is an inconsistent delivery that saps him of his command on occasion. He probably has the best velocity of any southpaw starter in the low minors outside of Tony Butler, but he’s also slight of build, so it’s not certain yet how he’ll respond to a full year in the rotation.

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The bullpen operated along the same lines as the rotation: a few guys worth keeping an eye on in the future, some contributors, and a few deadweights. Some of the big contributors for the team were a trio of ’07 draft picks, seventh-round pick Nick Hill, ninth-round pick Aaron Brown, and fifteenth-round pick Keith Meyer. Hill fits in the Robert Rohrbaugh-mold of competitive lefties who attack the strike zone, and though he succeeded in relief this year, it’s not unreasonable to think of him in the rotation next year. Brown kept pace with Hill’s incredible strikeout rate, just not the walk rate. He took the ball mostly in the late innings, ending the season two shy of tying the team lead for saves. While Brown is a little bit of a project as power arms go, not quite making good on the potential he showed in high school, Meyer is quite a bit more so, with a walk rate of over six per nine innings. Few hitters made solid contact off of him, but he seems the most likely to regress next season.

There's the taste. Check out the rest.