Three key questions AquaSox face during season’s second half

Published 1:30 am Monday, July 22, 2019

EVERETT — In the moment, the result was downright demoralizing, and the Everett AquaSox will acknowledge that.

The Spokane Indians captured the playoff spot up for grabs on Sunday at Funko Field after a late bullpen collapse capped by Everett’s ace pinch-runner, DeAires Moses, being thrown out on a stolen base after a strikeout in the ninth put the AquaSox out of contention for a first-half Northwest League North Division championship. The Indians rushed Everett’s home field after the final out was recorded to further emphasize the frustration for the AquaSox.

Considering the circumstances, the fact the AquaSox were in that position during the penultimate game of the first half softens the moment.

Everett struggled to hit early in the season, batting a paltry .202 over the first 17 games. Then, a flurry of player movement throughout the Seattle Mariners’ minor-league system left Everett with just 15 pitchers on its staff down the stretch, with several starters limited to two-inning appearances.

Add in the removal of Everett manager and longtime Mariners employee Jose Moreno after a week-long suspension and subsequent parting of ways, and it equals a first half that presented plenty of challenges.

“There were a lot of positive takeaways, and the fact we played meaningful baseball down the stretch is a positive,” said Carson Vitale, Everett’s interim manager and the Mariners’ minor-league field coordinator. “These guys have come together, they’ve formed some tight bonds and there is a real culture forming in this clubhouse that’s going to pay major dividends

this time in the second half.”

An announcement on who will replace Moreno as Everett’s manager is still looming. But aside from who mans the controls in the dugout, here are three pressing questions surrounding the AquaSox in the second half of the season:

Will the offense keep producing?

The AquaSox are must-see entertainment for avid Mariners fans because of its pitching staff, bolstered by Mariners 2019 first-round pick George Kirby and second-rounder Brandon Williamson.

But its offense was what kept the Sox in ballgames.

In Everett’s past 17 games entering Monday, the AquaSox scored 6.1 runs per game. While Everett was last in the Northwest League in batting average (.225), the AquaSox were third in on-base percentage (.334) and tied for second in slugging percentage (.353).

Several key members of the lineup started to catch fire down the stretch, too. After hitting just .211 over his first seven games in Everett, Billy Cooke hit .400 with a 1.157 on-base plus slugging — OPS — over his past 11 games entering Monday. After hitting just .220 in the month of June, Cezar Izturis Jr. hit .351 over his past 10 games entering Monday. Cash Gladfelter, hitting just .235, has belted three homers over his past 10 games entering Monday.

“The length of our lineup has really stretched and there’s been a lot of contributions from all 14 position players on our roster right now,” Vitale said. “It just provides us with some flexibility to put teams in tough spots.”

Everett has been able to produce even with some pieces that were intended to be lineup cornerstones scuffling entering the second half. Marysville-native Trent Tingelstad was hitting .189 over his past 10 games entering Monday. Eleventh-round pick Carter Bins hasn’t hit much better with a .188 average over that same stretch. After hitting .250 with a .773 OPS in 19 games with Triple-A Tacoma, first baseman Robert Perez Jr. owned a .179 average and a .530 OPS in 22 games with Everett entering Monday.

How long will the top draft picks keep pitching?

Three of the Mariners’ first five picks in the major-league draft bolster Everett’s rotation in Kirby, Williamson and fourth-rounder Tim Elliott.

All three are coming off college seasons with plenty of usage.

Both Williamson and Kirby, who joined the AquaSox rotation on July 12 and 13, respectively, are limited to about 30 innings this season and a maximum of two innings per outings. On their current paces, neither will hit that 30-inning mark by the end of the regular season.

Elliott is more stretched out than both and has more leeway in total innings pitched this season, according to Vitale, but is still limited to two-to-three innings. The Georgia product has thrown 17.2 innings thus far, putting him on pace for about 35 this season.

With the caveat all three could be shut down at any time for any complication, the Mariners seem content on letting all three contribute as much as they can under their current constraints.

“They are on track and being regular contributors to this clubs. It’s important for their first step in their development,” Vitale said.

Will there be any promotions or demotions that could help the AquaSox?

The AquaSox saw several key players leave the club for promotions down the stretch of the first half that impacted the overall chances for Everett to catch Spokane in the standings.

The most notable was perhaps Austin Shenton, who hit .367 with a 1.010 OPS in 21 games with Everett. But could he come back? After homering in his first game with Single-A West Virginia, the Bellingham native has hit just .182 in his past six contests. In just six games with West Virginia, he’s hit just .182 in and hasn’t been in the lineup two consecutive days.

Several key relievers, Reid Morgan (1.17 ERA), Nate Fisher (2.20), Evan Johnson (3.07) and Travis Kuhn (5.40) have been promoted to higher levels but could possibly return to bolster Everett’s bullpen.

“There’s a lot of flexibility in our system and with player development, and sometimes things don’t always go as planned,” Vitale said. “The plan was for those guys to always be a part of this club, and at this point, they were either promoted for performance or we needed another in another affiliate.”

Then rejoins AquaSox

Mariners’ No. 16 prospect Juan Then returned to Everett on Monday after returning to the Dominican Republic to mourn the passing of his grandfather, according to Vitale. After not throwing since his start on July 2, the plan is for Then to throw two sessions of live batting practice before returning to game action, per Vitale.

Then was acquired by the Mariners in the deal that sent Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees. Then boasts a 3.21 ERA this season.