The Mariners aren’t exactly steamrolling to the finish in their minor league system.
With less than a month remaining in the regular season, the rookie-level Peoria Mariners aren’t just the only team in contention for a championship, they are the only team that’s not in last place.
Peoria entered Saturday’s games 24-11 and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tempe Angels in the Arizona League with 21 games remaining. The Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers, AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, high-A High Desert Mavericks, low-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and short-season A Everett AquaSox all are last in their standings with little chance of making up the ground.
Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers: The promotion of Adam Jones to the big-league club has left others to help make up his production and, on Friday, Jeremy Reed did it well.
Reed’s eighth-inning homer gave the Rainiers a 4-3 victory over Memphis. Reed, last year’s opening-day center fielder for the Mariners, has 11 homers with 51 RBI.
Wladimir Balentien, considered the next-best outfield prospect after Jones, is batting .306 with 24 homers and 77 RBI. Balentien, who struck out 140 times last year, has 88 strikeouts in 409 at-bats this season.
Left-hander Robert Rohrbaugh has gone 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA in eight starts since being called up from Class AA West Tennessee. He was 7-5, 3.28 in 15 starts for the Diamond Jaxx.
The Rainiers were 51-63 and last in the Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division, eight games behind first-place Salt Lake.
Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx: Center fielder Charlton Jimerson continues his stellar season with 21 home runs to tie for first in the Southern League. His 30 steals rank third in the league. Jimerson is batting .276 with 65 RBI.
Third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo is batting .275 with six homers and 48 RBI. Catcher Rene Rivera, last year’s backup with the Mariners, has gotten most of the starts behind the plate but continues to struggle with the bat, hitting .194 in 74 games.
The Diamond Jaxx were 16-25 and last in the Southern League North second-half standings, eight games behind first-place Huntsville.
Class A High Desert Mavericks: Outfielder Jeff Frazier has batted .369 in 37 games with the Mavericks after being promoted from West Tennessee. Outfielder Casey Craig, who also started the season at West Tennessee, is batting .356 after 65 games with the Mavericks.
High Desert was 13-29 and last in the California League South second half, 12 games behind first-place Lancaster.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Right-hander Kyle Parker, a former University of Washington pitcher, is 4-8 with a 2.91 ERA in 15 starts for the Rattlers. He held Dayton to four hits in six innings on Monday, ending a five-game losing streak.
Wisconsin was 13-26 and last in the second half of the Midwest League Western Division, 11 games behind first-place Beloit.
Rookie-level Peoria Mariners: Left-hander Fabian Williamson is 4-0 with a 3.63 ERA in seven starts and right-hander John DuRocher, the former University of Washington quarterback, is 2-0, 6.17 in 13 games. DuRocher’s ERA was inflated by two difficult relief appearances when he allowed six hits and six earned runs in 11/3 innings July 12 and five hits and five earned runs in 12/3 innings July 19.
Shortstop Anthony Phillips was batting .364 and outfielder Daniel Carroll .336.
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