M's future looks bright ... really!
So what do you think of Sam Delaplane?
I’m guessing it’s not too much.
Or too often.
No less than 692 players were chosen ahead of Delaplane in the 2017 MLB draft.
The Mariners took a flyer on Delaplane as a 23rd-round pick out of Eastern Michigan, where he’d been a four-year reliever — and so far they’ve been pleasantly surprised.
Startled, even.
It turns out, at least to this point, that Delaplane can miss bats in pro ball just as he did in college.
In 2018, he struck out 15.1 batters per 9 innings in the Low-A Midwest League, and this summer he’s pitched at High-A Modesto, was promoted to AA Arkansas — and he’s been every bit as good.
Even better news from most scouts, Sam generally works the top of the strike zone with his fastball, and that’s where hitters are now vulnerable because of the huge new emphasis on upward swing planes.
We need to know this stuff, because…
While Delaplane may or may not be the Mariners’ closer of the future, keeping track of minor leaguers’ successes and failures is critical to GM Jerry Dipoto’s plan to build a contender for 2021 or 2022.
And our tweaking of it.
YES, THERE’S been a lot made of the talent Seattle received from the Mets and Yankees in the two massive trades Dipoto engineered after last season.
The M’s No. 1 and No. 2 prospects, 19-year-old outfielder Jarred Kelenic and right-handed starter Justin Dunn, arrived in the deal that saw Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz head to the Mets.
Dipoto may even have wound up a winner in his exchange with Tampa Bay.
Mallex Smith might not be the answer, but under-the-radar addition Jake Fraley has been spectacular.
Fraley has raked the ball in the Texas League, and now he’s doing it at Tacoma (20 homers overall) while looking good in the outfield and stealing 16 bases.
We could see Fraley in Seattle this September.
Even with these excellent trades, the Mariners can’t really improve without some serious success in the draft.
The bottom line is that if you’re going to tear down a team — the famous “step-back” plan — you need to find bona fide talent to move upward.
I’m going to crawl out on a limb here, but I think the M’s have put together the right combination of scouts, instructors, personnel evaluators and analytics experts — they’re the people who worry about spin rates and so forth, and suggested grabbing reliever Brandon Brennan because of the vertical drop angle on his change-up.
In other words, despite what a lot of you may think, I trust this club to get it right.
They have the makings of a future starting rotation already, and very few teams can say that.
I’M NOT joking about this coming crop of pitchers, either — to the point that I suspect the M’s will be fine with (or without) Marco Gonzales and Yusei Kikuchi.
I still feel good about Kikuchi, though, because Asian transplants generally take a year to adjust, both on and off the field.
Barring injuries, Dunn will make the rotation in the majors, and so will the Mariners’ last two No. 1 draft choices, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby.
Both are big guys (6-6 and 6-4, each 225 pounds) with outstanding stuff and an almost magical ability to throw strikes.
Gilbert has pitched his way from Single-A to Arkansas this year, and in 85 innings, he’s struck out 109 against just 18 walks — with a WHIP of 0.93.
Meanwhile, Kirby is just starting his pro career after pitching at Elon College, where his stats were just absurd.
Kirby struck out nearly 18 batters for every walk he issued as a college junior. He totaled 107 strikeouts and six walks in 88 1/3 innings.
“It kind of punches you in the face when you look at it,” Seattle scouting director Scott Hunter told Baseball America.
“You have to ask if it’s real.”
NO MENTION yet of Justus Sheffield, you’ll notice, the much-hyped kid who came from the Yanks and could be a superstar if he can handle his command — or Sam Carlson, another big (6-4) Mariners draftee from 2017 who had successful Tommy John surgery and is just now starting as a pro.
Yes, you’re right, my emphasis here has been on pitching.
It has to be that way, because great teams are built on getting outs.
But the Mariners have some exciting non-pitchers, as well.
Besides Kelenic and Fraley, watch for first baseman Evan White (he’ll be in Seattle next year), outfielder Kyle Lewis and switch-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh, among others.
If I were a betting man (and I am, in fact), I’d throw some silver down on the Mariners pulling off this construction project.
And hey, if there are some spots they somehow don’t properly fill through trades and draft picks, well…
We’ll just ask owner John Stanton to reach in the petty cash drawer.
Folks, I think we’ve done it — with a little help from Jerry and his crew.
We’re bringing the Mariners’ dark days to an end.
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.
Email: scameron@cdapress.com