Jaxx’s Tuiasosopo continues to improve

Published 9:34 pm Saturday, July 14, 2007

The West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx continue to sputter in the Class AA Southern League, but a Seattle-area favorite is having his best pro season.

Third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo of Woodinville drove in nine runs in the first 10 games this month, giving him 36 RBI for the season. Tuiasosopo played in the Southern League All-Star Game last week, going 1-for-1 with a walk.

“He’s had a solid year since the start,” said Diamond Jaxx manager Eddie Rodriguez. “It’s two weeks into July and he continues to progress. The biggest thing is that he has a lot of confidence, both offensively and defensively. That has allowed him to go out daily knowing that he can contribute and get better.”

Tuiasosopo also has made a smooth transition to third base from shortstop, where the Mariners left him early in his career to allow him to develop at his natural position.

“Up to the All-Star break, he had played 83 games and had 13 errors,” Rodriguez said. “Four of the 13 could be attributed to just immature carelessness. Other than that, he has played a stellar third base.

“He’s a tremendous person, he listens well, he takes the instruction you give him immediately into the game and he tries it. He now feels that he belongs and he is developing as we had hoped as an organization.”

After a 1-for-3 night Friday, when he drove in a run and scored one, Tuiasosopo was hitting .272 with five home runs, 20 doubles and four triples. His .418 slugging percentage was third-best on the team.

Shortstop Chris Minaker, of Edmonds, was batting .233 in his first season at the Class AA level.

“Offenisvely it’s been a struggle for him, but we’re talking about a kid who played A-ball last year going to a level where he’s seeing a breaking ball on a 3-1 count instead of a fastball,” Rodriguez said. “He’s trying hard to adapt to that and he’s making strides.”

Rodriguez, a former shortstop, has worked with Minaker on improving his range. He has committed 10 errors in 75 games.

“He doesn’t have super range, but we talked early in the spring about positioning against opposing hitters,” Rodriguez said. “He’s positioning himself better and getting to a lot more balls. When the ball hits his glove, it’s an out.”

Center fielder Charlton Jimerson continued to lead a team that doesn’t have a regular batting .300. He’s batting .272 with 16 homers and 51 RBI. He also has been successful on 26 of 30 steal attempts. Outfielder Brent Johnson’s .291 average led the team.

The Diamond Jaxx were 8-15 and last in the league’s North Division second-half standings.

Elsewhere around the Mariners’ minor league system:

Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers: With considerable attention on outfield prospect Adam Jones, former Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed is putting together a solid season.

Reed, last year’s opening-day starter for the M’s, is batting .290 with nine home runs and 39 RBI.

Jones, who many expect to be called up to the Mariners sometime this season, hit his 22nd home run on Friday. He has 73 RBI.

Julio Mateo, another ex-Mariner who lost his place on the major league club after being arrested in May on a domestic violence charge, has nine saves and a 1.09 ERA with the Rainiers. He has 20 strikeouts and two walks in 242/3 innings.

The Rainiers entered Saturday 41-52 and nine games out of first place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific North Division.

Class A High Desert Mavericks: Designated hitter Adam Moore has been the hottest Mavs hitter, with a .414 average, three home runs and 12 RBI in a six-game stretch through Friday. For the season, he was batting .295 with 18 homers and 74 RBI.

Two newcomers to High Desert after being promoted from low-A Wisconsin, Jeff Frazier and Carlos Truinfel, also have been hitting well. Frazier had hit safely in 16 of 19 games since being called up and had a .333 average with 11 doubles and five RBI for the Mavericks. Truinfel was batting .323 in eight games with the Mavericks.

Andy Hargrove, son of former Mariners manager Mike Hargrove, hit a two-run homer, his first for High Desert, on Friday.

The Mavericks were 6-15 in the second-half California League South standings, 81/2 games behind first-place Lancaster.

Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Third baseman Alex Liddi’s difficult season offensively has turned around the past week. On Friday, he recorded his third straight multi-hit game, going 7-for-11 in those games. He’s batting .227 for the season but leads the Rattlers with seven home runs and 31 RBI.

The Rattlers were 8-12 and 31/2 games behind Peoria in the Midwest League Western Division second-half standings.

Rookie Peoria Mariners: Right-hander Travis Mortimore allowed his first runs and suffered his first loss in nine relief appearances this season in the Mariners’ 5-4 loss to the Angels on Friday. Mortimore has a 1.42 ERA in 12 2/3 innings of relief and has struck out 14 with only one walk.

Right-hander Jake Wild hasn’t allowed a run in 72/3 innings of relief, limiting opposing hitters to a .167 average.

The Mariners were 13-5 and tied for first with the Angels in the Arizona League.