Mariner Top 10 in BA

It's late on here. But, Baseball America released their list of the Top 10 Prospects in the Seattle Mariner system yesterday. The 10 are below. I have bolded the ex-Rattlers on the list.

1. Greg Halman, of
2. Michael Saunders, of
3. Phillipe Aumont, rhp
4. Carlos Triunfel, ss/2b
5. Juan Ramirez, rhp
6. Adam Moore, c
7. Mario Martinez, 3b
8. Jharmidy DeJesus, 3b
9. Dennis Raben, of
10. Michael Pineda, rhp

If you are a subscriber you can get the to the scouting reports on the Top 10. I'll just give you a taste of #1:

After an encouraging U.S. debut in 2005, he played just 28 games in 2006 because he broke his right hand in an on-field brawl. He voiced his displeasure with a 2007 Opening Day assignment to low Class A Wisconsin, thinking he had played well enough in a few big league spring-training games to move further up the system. Instead of making a case for promotion, he sulked and hit just .182 before earning a demotion to short-season Everett in June. Humbled by experiencing failure for the first time, he led the short-season Northwest League in slugging (.597) while finishing second in homers (16)—and strikeouts (85). Halman started putting it all together in 2008, hitting .272/.326/.528 and advancing to Double-A West Tenn, where at age 20 he was the Southern League's youngest regular position player. Halman hit 29 home runs and stole 31 bases, narrowly missing becoming the minors' only 30-30 player since Terry Evans in 2006.

A few pulls from the Q & A Chat with Matt Eddy:

Q: Jon from Peoria asks:
Hi Matt: Did Danny Carroll come close to being on this list? Also, has Alex Liddi made much progress where he can be projected as a future big leaguer?

A:
Matt Eddy: Carroll, the club's third-rounder in '07, finished outside the top 20, but the organization remains high on him. He showed grittiness in playing through two broken bones in his hand (the result of an HBP) during the season which curtailed -- no, eliminated -- his offensive production. Still have to really like the speed (look at those SB attempts), the range in center and the throwing arm. If his bat recovers, he's a big leaguer, possibly in a reserve role.

Q: Ben from Leland Grove asks:
Alex Liddi - prospect or suspect?

A:
Matt Eddy: Prospect ... for one more year, at least. Barring future offseason acquisitions, Liddi has a spot in the 30 because of his wiry strength, feel for hitting and strong work ethic. He's also shown second-half improvement in both of his years in the Midwest League. If he breaks camp in the Cal League (a tough proposition with all the third basemen in the system), we may see him begin to tap into a bit of his opposite field power.

Q: JAYPERS from IL asks:
With Martinez and DeJesus ahead of him on your list, what does the future hold for Tuiasosopo? Is he still residing anywhere on your Top 30?

A:
Matt Eddy: Sure, Matt Tuiasosopo retained a top 30 spot. But your point still holds. If Triunfel, Martinez and DeJesus all develop as third basemen, then that leaves Tuiasosopo a narrow window to establish himself in the bigs. Despite an encouraging second half (.303/.380/.538), evaluators still were not 100 percent sold on his viability as a regular. While he's reasonably well-rounded, he just doesn't do any one thing well enough to guarantee regular playing time.
Q: Troy from Fort Worth asks:
Matt, Looking back on this list in 5 years, who do you think will have become a star or on the verge of becoming one?

A:
Matt Eddy: I'd go with Juan Ramirez. His future is brighter than most give him credit for. He's got 93 mph gas and he does it easy and with movement. And if he finds consistency with his breaking ball, he could be really special.

Q: Tod from Portland asks:
Denny Almonte or Danny Carroll? Will either develop enough bat to matter? What do you think of the Mariner strategy of grabbing fast, limited-power centerfielders? It feels so 1980s to me?

A:
Matt Eddy: Almoted has impressive power potential; it's just that he strikes out ... a lot. He's still ironing out his lefthanded swing, though, so wait a few years on him. But with Carroll, Tyson Gillies and Jarrett Burgess ... yes, they're speed- and defense-first center fielders. It's not a terrible proposition because it adds org depth and does help the pitching staff.

Matt Eddy: But you have no reason for concern. Seattle has enough OF power options elsewhere, in Halman, Saunders, Raben, Peguero, Wilson and potentially Julio Morban.

Q: Paul from Spokane asks:
Does Nathan Adcock finally break the top 30 after being left out the past two years? He strikes out a fair number of batters, but i've never seen a scouting report. Low 90's fastball, plus-curve?

A:
Matt Eddy: Yes, Adcock ranked this year. The M's 5th-rounder from a Kentucky HS in 2006, he sits at 88-92 mph and relies on a sharp, downer curveball for strikeouts. An elbow injury cut short his season, but he was a key part of Wisconsin's prospect-laden rotation, which also included Aumont, Ramirez, Pineda and Edward Paredes.

That's enough.