Roger Hansen may be the Seattle Mariners’ minor league catching coordinator, but his knowledge of the organization goes much further than the guys behind the plate.
The Mariners are tapping into that.
Hansen, a Stanwood resident in his 30th year of pro ball, has become a key figure in the organization’s minor league operations and has a greater voice in player evaluations, promotions, demotions and delicate issues that involve much more than catching.
“Roger is not even close to being just the catching guy,” said Pedro Grifol, the Mariners’ minor league director. “At least not how I use him. He does a lot more than catching at least in this department.”
Early this summer when outfield prospect Greg Halman suffered a heel injury, the Mariners used it as an opportunity to address a more troubling problem, his alarming number of strikeouts.
Hansen was the point man in the project, flying to Class AA West Tennessee and talking with Halman to make sure he understood what would be a multi-faceted plan to get the outfielder back on track. Hansen then accompanied Halman to the Mariners’ facility in Peoria, Ariz., where he received treatment on his heel from the training staff, work on his swing from hitting coordinator Jose Castro and help from a psychological standpoint from mental strength specialist Dr. Jack Curtis.
Two weeks ago, Hansen spent time in Miami not only working out newly drafted high school catcher Stephen Baron, but taking part in the negotiations that got Baron signed.
“I’ve been doing this for probably the past three years, but now that Pedro is the farm director it has become a lot more of my job,” Hansen said. “I talked with Halman, I’ve been to Arizona to look at the pitching, Pedro and I will meet with the (minor league) staff. A lot of what I do is working with Pedro to make sure the minor league system is running properly for the managers, the coaches and the trainers.”
Hansen has becoming well known for the difficult workout he puts his catchers through, but he also builds relationships with all players — catchers or not — that go beyond their needs on the field.
“He knows the organization’s pitchers, catchers and position players,” said Grifol, in his first year as the minor league director. “He helps me evaluate. Roger and I go back a little bit and I have compete faith and trust in his opinion and what he brings to the table. There’s something special the way the kids respect him. Since I’ve taken this job, I can’t just use Roger for catching. He’s one of the guys I go to in order to take care of a lot of issues.”
Here’s a look at the Mariners’ minor league system:
Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers
The starting rotation is dominated by pitchers trying to get back to the big leagues, and nobody has performed better lately than left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith. He won his fourth straight game Friday at Las Vegas and is 5-3 with a 4.31 earned run average.
Rowland-Smith is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his past four starts and, amid reports that his velocity is back where the Mariners like it, he has 23 strikeouts and only two walks in his past 262/3 innings.
It’s been a rocky return to the minors for two others, right-hander Brandon Morrow and left-hander Jason Vargas.
Morrow, sent down 11 days ago when the Mariners finally decided his conversion into a starting pitcher needed to continue in the minors, struggled in his first game with the Rainiers on Sunday. He gave up four runs in the first inning and was out of the game after 99 pitches (61 strikes). Morrow allowed six hits, three walks and a hit batter before being lifted after 42/3 innings.
Vargas was the loser against Sacramento on Monday when he gave up nine hits and three earned runs in six innings.
Jeff Clement, getting his at-bats at DH and first base, entered Tuesday batting .280 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.
The Rainiers were 45-50 after losing four of five games after the All-Star break, leaving them eight games behind first-place Colorado Springs in the Pacific Coast League Pacific North.
Class AA West Tennessee DiamondJaxx
Mike Wilson is getting his stroke back after spending much of the season on the disabled list, having hit safely in 12 of the past 14 games with all five of his home runs and 10 of his 11 RBI in that span. Wilson has played 21 games after dealing with an ankle injury early and then a strained oblique.
Right-hander Phillippe Aumont, 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA and two saves, hasn’t pitched since July 8 because he left the team to deal with a family situation in Canada. He’s expected to rejoin the team today. The DiamondJaxx are 16-9 and first in the Southern League North by 31/2 games.
Class A High Desert Mavericks
Third baseman Alex Liddi continued to lead the California League with a .356 average, with outfielder James McOwen third at .338 and outfielder Tyson Gillies fifth at .324. McOwen, who set a league record with a 45-game hitting streak, has gone 6-for-29 and held hitless in three of eight games since the streak was broken on July 10.
The Mavericks were 12-13 and second in the South Division, two games behind first-place Inland Empire.
Class A Clinton LumberKings
Right-hander Kenn Kasparek has gone 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his past seven starts, giving him a 6-5 overall record with a 2.47 season ERA. Right-hander Brett Lorin is 5-4, 2.44 and closer Ruben Flores has 18 saves in 21 opportunities. The LumberKings entered Tuesday 10-14 and sixth in the Midwest League Western, six games behind first-place Cedar Rapids.
Class A Pulaski Mariners
Catcher Stephen Baron got his first professional hit, a home run Monday against Princeton, in his fourth game since signing. Baron, taken by the Mariners with the 33rd overall pick in the June draft, caught twice and was the DH twice in the four games he’d played since signing. He was 1-for-15 with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Left-hander Anthony Vazquez was 2-0, 2.75 with 19 strikeouts in 192/3 innings.
The Mariners were 10-16 and fourth in the five-team Appalachian League East but were 9-9 after going 1-7 to start the season.
Rookie-level Peoria Mariners
John Housey, the Mariners’ 36th-round draft pick, is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts since turning pro. He has 26 strikeouts in 22 innings. Catcher Henry Contreras was batting .364 and shortstop Jetsy Extrano .344 for the Mariners, who entered Tuesday 14-10 and first in the Arizona League West by two games over the Peoria Padres.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
