Ackley ready for M's debut

By TIM BOOTH

AP sports writer

SEATTLE - It was always a matter of when Dustin Ackley would finally get the call and make the trek up Interstate 5 as the prized prospect of the Seattle Mariners farm system.

Few thought it would come at a time when the Mariners are legitimately hanging around the fringes of the AL West lead.

Ackley will likely make his major league debut tonight as the Mariners host Philadelphia to begin a three-game series featuring one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, led by Seattle's Felix Hernandez, facing the best team in the bigs.

For Seattle fans, the matchup will initially take a back seat to Ackley's debut, which has been anticipated since the sweet-swinging second baseman was snagged No. 2 overall in the 2009 baseball draft, taken only after Washington scooped up pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg.

ACKLEY

from B1

The transaction adding Ackley to the roster and optioning Luis Rodriguez to Triple-A Tacoma took place on Thursday.

The addition of Ackley is just another step in the Mariners' movement toward the future. This was expected to be a transition year, but the Mariners weren't expected to be sitting one game over .500 at this point and nipping at the Texas Rangers for the division lead.

The Mariners already cut ties with Milton Bradley in favor of using rookies Carlos Peguero, Mike Carp and Greg Halman in the outfield. On the mound, Michael Pineda is among the top candidates for AL rookie of the year as the midpoint of the season nears, thanks to his 6-4 start, 2.72 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings.

And now comes the arrival of the Mariners' future second baseman, a position Ackley has put in countless hours learning the past two seasons. He's likely the final piece of the youth influx for now.

But he forces the Mariners to face a delicate balance. While the previous moves dislodged some veterans, Ackley's presence will undoubtedly create changes.

Ackley hit .303 in 66 games at Triple-A Tacoma this spring. He raised that average more than 80 points in the last five weeks after hitting just .211 on May 5. He's got 13 doubles, six homers and 23 RBIs during that hot stretch.

Adam Kennedy isn't likely to be pulled from the lineup after being the Mariners' most consistent hitter for much of the season, hitting .275 entering the weekend. But Kennedy has played 33 of his 51 games this season at second base and keeping his bat in the lineup on a regular basis means either a move to designated hitter - where Jack Cust has underperformed - or another spot in the infield.

Kennedy was taking ground balls at third base before Wednesday's game against the Angels, although Wedge blew it off as just something Kennedy does. Kennedy did start 82 games at third base for Oakland in 2009.

A move like that would potentially bump another veteran, Chone Figgins, from the lineup. Figgins has been maligned by fans since his arrival before last season, is hitting just .192 and has committed eight errors this season after committing a career-high 19 last year at second base.