Published: Wednesday, August 4, 2010
MARINERS MINOR LEAGUE REPORT: Chavez impresses in High Desert
Outfielder acquired last year doing well in Class A
Johermyn Chavez was the "other" guy involved last December in the trade of the two Brandons between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Mariners sent Brandon Morrow to Toronto in exchange for Brandon League on Dec. 23 and, while Morrow appears to have settled in as a starter (8-6, 4.79 ERA and a league-best 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 21 starts), League has been up and down (8-6, 3.33).
Down in the Mariners' minor league system, however, Chavez has given the organization hope that the trade brought them a corner outfielder with a big-league future.
Chavez, 21, went into Tuesday's game batting .314 for the Class A High Desert Mavericks, and was second in the league with 27 home runs and fifth with 76 runs batted in.
It's shaping up to be the best of his five minor league seasons after he batted .283 with 21 homers and 89 RBI last year with the Blue Jays' Class A team in Lansing, Mich.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Chavez had a .488 average with four homers and 10 RBI in a 10-game stretch entering Tuesday. The Mariners believe it's evidence that some changes to his swing are taking hold after considerable work with High Desert hitting coach Tommy Cruz and minor league hitting coordinators Jose Castro and Phil Plantier.
"He's a big strong kid with a lot of tools," said Pedro Grifol, the Mariners' minor league director. "He had a slight uppercut swing, but Phil Plantier, Jose Castro and Tommy Cruz have revamped this kid's swing and approach."
Chavez had a .383 on-base percentage, .586 slugging percentage and .969 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and his 41 walks already were the most in his pro career. He went into Tuesday with a 22-game hitting streak.
"He's turning himself into a heck of a prospect," Grifol said.
And, to those who say everyone's hitting numbers are better in the dry air and hard infields of the California League, the Mariners are high on Chavez defensively as well, especially his arm. He had six errors, seven assists and a .973 fielding percentage.
"If it's not the best throwing arm from the outfield in the organization, it's one of the best," Grifol said. "And he can run. He's got everything to be a pure right fielder. There's a lot of work to be done, but the kid's got a lot of talent."
A look around the Mariners' minor league system (excluding the Class A Everett AquaSox, whose reports run daily in the sports section):
Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers
Outfielder David Winfree, signed early this summer after the Yankees released him, was batting .336/.352/.578/.930 with six homer sand 23 RBI. Second baseman Dustin Ackley was batting .372/.390/.419/.809 in 19 games since being promoted from Class AA West Tennessee, and he'd made two errors at second base.
Right-hander Michael Pineda lost Monday to Reno, giving him a 3-2 record with a 3.52 ERA. He has struck out 53 in 46 innings in eight starts at Tacoma after starting the season at West Tennessee.
Right-hander Blake Beavan, acquired last month from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee trade, allowed seven hits and two earned runs in six innings Tuesday against Reno in his first start since being called up from West Tennessee. Reliever Josh Lueke, also acquired in the Lee trade, has pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks with Tacoma. Lueke hasn't walked a hitter since the Mariners acquired him; he pitched 7 1/3 hitless and walk-free innings at West Tennessee.
The Rainiers are 61-49 and lead Salt Lake by 4½ games atop the Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division.
Class AA West Tennessee
Outfielder Carlos Peguero's 19 home runs ranked second in the Southern League, third baseman Alex Liddi's 74 RBI were second and first baseman Johan Limonta's 30 doubles were third. Second baseman Matt Lawson finished July hitting 14-for-30 in a seven-game stretch, giving him averages of .361/.403/.552/.955 since he was acquired in the Lee trade.
Left-hander Mauricio Robles is 6-6, 4.24 but led the league with 109 strikeouts.
The DiamondJaxx were 15-22 and fifth in the North Division second-half standings, seven games behind first-place Tennessee.
Class A High Desert Mavericks
Second baseman Kyle Seager had his hitting streak stopped at 32 games last week, but he followed that by going 8-for-17 to give him averages of .345/.418/.483/.901. Seager ranked second in the California League in batting average. First baseman Rich Poythress led the league with 93 RBI and was third with 22 home runs.
Darin Garner, the Mariners' minor league infield and baserunning coordinator, will manage the Mavericks the rest of the season after Jim Horner left the organization to become assistant baseball coach at Texas Tech University. Horner, a Washington State University graduate, spent the past nine years with the Mariners organization as a player, coach and manager.
The Mavericks entered Tuesday 21-16 and tied for first with Rancho Cucamonga atop the South Division.
Class A Clinton LumberKings
Shortstop Nick Franklin was batting .285/.350/.512/.862 with 18 home runs that tied him for first in the Midwest League with Jerry Sands of Great Lakes. Outfielder Kalian Sams ranked fifth with 15 homers, although he was batting .180 with 132 strikeouts in 266 at-bats.
Right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen, who started three games with the Everett AquaSox before being promoted to Clinton, pitched seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, in the LumberKings' victory Monday over Wisconsin.
Clinton was 17-18 and fifth in the Western Division, 6½ games behind first-placed Quad Cities.
Rookie-level Pulaski Mariners
Outfielder Jose Rivero was batting .340/.396/.515/.919 with three homers and 20 RBI in 97 at-bats over 23 games with Pulaski. He played 17 games early this season with the Everett AquaSox. Right-hander Tim Boyce is 7-2, 2.94, including 3-1, 1.90 in his past four appearances as a starter.
The Mariners were 22-18 and second in the Appalachian League East, ½ game behind first-place Danville.
Rookie-level Peoria Mariners
Second baseman Jean Acevedo was batting .338/.368/.431/.798 in 16 games since being called up from the Mariners' Venezuelan Summer League club. He had a .390 average in 10 games entering Tuesday.
The Mariners were 11-20 and fourth in the Arizona League West, six games behind the first-place Surprise Royals.
Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
The Mariners sent Brandon Morrow to Toronto in exchange for Brandon League on Dec. 23 and, while Morrow appears to have settled in as a starter (8-6, 4.79 ERA and a league-best 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 21 starts), League has been up and down (8-6, 3.33).
Down in the Mariners' minor league system, however, Chavez has given the organization hope that the trade brought them a corner outfielder with a big-league future.
Chavez, 21, went into Tuesday's game batting .314 for the Class A High Desert Mavericks, and was second in the league with 27 home runs and fifth with 76 runs batted in.
It's shaping up to be the best of his five minor league seasons after he batted .283 with 21 homers and 89 RBI last year with the Blue Jays' Class A team in Lansing, Mich.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Chavez had a .488 average with four homers and 10 RBI in a 10-game stretch entering Tuesday. The Mariners believe it's evidence that some changes to his swing are taking hold after considerable work with High Desert hitting coach Tommy Cruz and minor league hitting coordinators Jose Castro and Phil Plantier.
"He's a big strong kid with a lot of tools," said Pedro Grifol, the Mariners' minor league director. "He had a slight uppercut swing, but Phil Plantier, Jose Castro and Tommy Cruz have revamped this kid's swing and approach."
Chavez had a .383 on-base percentage, .586 slugging percentage and .969 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and his 41 walks already were the most in his pro career. He went into Tuesday with a 22-game hitting streak.
"He's turning himself into a heck of a prospect," Grifol said.
And, to those who say everyone's hitting numbers are better in the dry air and hard infields of the California League, the Mariners are high on Chavez defensively as well, especially his arm. He had six errors, seven assists and a .973 fielding percentage.
"If it's not the best throwing arm from the outfield in the organization, it's one of the best," Grifol said. "And he can run. He's got everything to be a pure right fielder. There's a lot of work to be done, but the kid's got a lot of talent."
A look around the Mariners' minor league system (excluding the Class A Everett AquaSox, whose reports run daily in the sports section):
Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers
Outfielder David Winfree, signed early this summer after the Yankees released him, was batting .336/.352/.578/.930 with six homer sand 23 RBI. Second baseman Dustin Ackley was batting .372/.390/.419/.809 in 19 games since being promoted from Class AA West Tennessee, and he'd made two errors at second base.
Right-hander Michael Pineda lost Monday to Reno, giving him a 3-2 record with a 3.52 ERA. He has struck out 53 in 46 innings in eight starts at Tacoma after starting the season at West Tennessee.
Right-hander Blake Beavan, acquired last month from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee trade, allowed seven hits and two earned runs in six innings Tuesday against Reno in his first start since being called up from West Tennessee. Reliever Josh Lueke, also acquired in the Lee trade, has pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks with Tacoma. Lueke hasn't walked a hitter since the Mariners acquired him; he pitched 7 1/3 hitless and walk-free innings at West Tennessee.
The Rainiers are 61-49 and lead Salt Lake by 4½ games atop the Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division.
Class AA West Tennessee
Outfielder Carlos Peguero's 19 home runs ranked second in the Southern League, third baseman Alex Liddi's 74 RBI were second and first baseman Johan Limonta's 30 doubles were third. Second baseman Matt Lawson finished July hitting 14-for-30 in a seven-game stretch, giving him averages of .361/.403/.552/.955 since he was acquired in the Lee trade.
Left-hander Mauricio Robles is 6-6, 4.24 but led the league with 109 strikeouts.
The DiamondJaxx were 15-22 and fifth in the North Division second-half standings, seven games behind first-place Tennessee.
Class A High Desert Mavericks
Second baseman Kyle Seager had his hitting streak stopped at 32 games last week, but he followed that by going 8-for-17 to give him averages of .345/.418/.483/.901. Seager ranked second in the California League in batting average. First baseman Rich Poythress led the league with 93 RBI and was third with 22 home runs.
Darin Garner, the Mariners' minor league infield and baserunning coordinator, will manage the Mavericks the rest of the season after Jim Horner left the organization to become assistant baseball coach at Texas Tech University. Horner, a Washington State University graduate, spent the past nine years with the Mariners organization as a player, coach and manager.
The Mavericks entered Tuesday 21-16 and tied for first with Rancho Cucamonga atop the South Division.
Class A Clinton LumberKings
Shortstop Nick Franklin was batting .285/.350/.512/.862 with 18 home runs that tied him for first in the Midwest League with Jerry Sands of Great Lakes. Outfielder Kalian Sams ranked fifth with 15 homers, although he was batting .180 with 132 strikeouts in 266 at-bats.
Right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen, who started three games with the Everett AquaSox before being promoted to Clinton, pitched seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, in the LumberKings' victory Monday over Wisconsin.
Clinton was 17-18 and fifth in the Western Division, 6½ games behind first-placed Quad Cities.
Rookie-level Pulaski Mariners
Outfielder Jose Rivero was batting .340/.396/.515/.919 with three homers and 20 RBI in 97 at-bats over 23 games with Pulaski. He played 17 games early this season with the Everett AquaSox. Right-hander Tim Boyce is 7-2, 2.94, including 3-1, 1.90 in his past four appearances as a starter.
The Mariners were 22-18 and second in the Appalachian League East, ½ game behind first-place Danville.
Rookie-level Peoria Mariners
Second baseman Jean Acevedo was batting .338/.368/.431/.798 in 16 games since being called up from the Mariners' Venezuelan Summer League club. He had a .390 average in 10 games entering Tuesday.
The Mariners were 11-20 and fourth in the Arizona League West, six games behind the first-place Surprise Royals.
Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
Comments
(