Mike Carp, who started in left field Tuesday night after having a futile game at the plate Monday, became the latest example in how Mariners manager Eric Wedge handles young players.
Carp went 0-for-4 with three strikes and a double-play grounder Monday, but Wedge believed it was important to put him back in the lineup Tuesday even though he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in three career at-bats against Angels starter Jered Weaver.
“You want to try to give him some type of consistency in regard to ABs and you don’t want it to be just good/bad, play/not play,” Wedge said. “It’s a fine line, but he’s a young player and we’re trying to give him an opportunity. I wanted to get him back in there regardless of what we saw last night.”
Tuesday was Carp’s first start in left field since he was called up last week, another strategic move by Wedge.
“I didn’t want to do it in Detroit; you’ve got a lot of space (to cover) out there,” Wedge said. “I wanted him to have a couple of work days here, so it’s a good time to get him out there.”
Still, it’s the swing that Carp brings that Wedge hopes to see.
“It’s a quick, compact swing. It looks like he has pretty good balance up there,” Wedge said. “I saw him a little bit this spring. He’s got some power off the bat and it looks like he can hit the ball to all fields. It’s a matter of continuing to get some ABs up here and … what type of adjustments he can make.”
M’s sign 21 draft picks
The Mariners announced Tuesday they have signed 21 of their 51 picks from last weeks’ draft, including six who’ve been assigned to the Class A Everett AquaSox – left-handed pitcher Cameron Hobson (11th round), catcher Michael Dowd (12th), right-handed pitcher Cody Weiss (14th), outfielder Nate Melendres (17th), right-handed pitcher Joe DiRocco (21st) and right-handed pitcher Max Krakowiak (48th).
The highest pick signed is infielder Daniel Paolini, taken in the 10th round. He has been assigned to rookie-level Pulaski. Others assigned to Pulaski are outfielder Jamal Austin (13th round), infielder Dillon Hazlett (20th), infielder Kenneth Straus (26th), right-handed pitcher David Colvin (27th), right-handed pitcher Brett Shankin (28th), left-handed pitcher Kyle Hunter (31st), right-handed pitcher Robert Shore (41st) and catcher David Villasuso (42nd).
The other sign who’ve signed were assigned to rookie-level Peoria – right-handed pitcher Alex Sunderland (38th round), infielder Chris Andreas (39th), right-handed pitcher Trevor Miller (40th), right-handed pitcher Marcos Reyna (43rd), right-handed pitcher Josh Corrales (44th) and outfielder Charles Jimenez (45th).
Five of the Mariners’ draft picks will play in the College World Series – left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen (second overall in the first round), catcher John Hicks (fourth round) and third baseman Steven Proscia (seventh) from Virginia, outfielder Michael McGee (15th) from Florida State and right-handed pitcher John Taylor (22nd) from South Carolina.
Of note
Chone Figgins batted ninth for the second straight game Tuesday as Wedge looks at how that arrangement works with him essentially hitting ahead of leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki after the lineup turns over. “We haven’t really seen it work the way we want it to work so far,” Wedge said. “We’ll see.” … Injured pitcher Shawn Kelley is scheduled to play catch next Friday as he comes back from elbow surgery last year. … The Phillies haven’t announced their pitchers for games at Seattle on Saturday and Sunday, although right-hander Roy Oswalt will start Friday night against Mariners rookie Michael Pineda. The Phillies play a double-header today at Florida, where Kyle Kendrick (of Mount Vernon) and Roy Halladay will pitch for Philadelphia. Cliff Lee is scheduled to pitch Thursday at Florida.
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