During a season of will-he-stay-or-will-he-go concerning Ichiro Suzuki’s free agent status with the Seattle Mariners, there’s another center fielder in the system having a great season.
Adam Jones, the 2003 first-round draft pick who struggled during his brief time with the Mariners last year, is hitting .328 for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers.
No hitter on the team has been as hot as Jones lately.
He has batted .478 in his past 10 games, including six of his 16 home runs and 17 of his 55 RBI.
Infielder/outfielder Mike Morse is hitting .313, outfielder Wladimir Balentien .310 with 13 homers and 47 RBI, and outfielder Jeremy Reed .298.
Catcher Jeff Clement is hitting .306 in the past 10 games with five of his 12 home runs. He’s batting .357 for the season with 37 RBI.
The Rainiers entered Saturday’s game against Tucson 27-41.
Elsewhere around the Mariners’ minor league system:
Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx: Outfielder Charlton Jimerson was named the Southern League player of the week for the second time after going 14-for-31 with four home runs and 13 RBI.
Jimerson is hitting .259 for the season but has hit safely in seven of his past 10 games with a .366 average in that span.
Third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo has a .292 season average but has five doubles, five RBI and a .361 average in his past 11 games.
The Diamond Jaxx were 29-38 and third in the Southern League North Division, six games behind first-place Huntsville.
Class A High Desert Mavericks: Outfielder Casey Craig has continued his great season with a .342 batting average and a 12-game hitting streak. He has hit safely in 30 of 32 games with a .396 average in that span.
Outfielder Michael Saunders and infielder Johan Limonta are each batting .301. Catcher Adam Moore, hitting .288, leads the team with 14 home runs.
The Mavericks were 29-38 and fifth in the California League North, nine games behind first-place Inland Empire.
Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: Shortstop Carlos Truinfel is the only regular with an average of .300 or better, batting .309. Outfielder Carlos Peguero leads the team with six home runs and 33 RBI.
Right-handed pitcher Nathan Adcock has a 3.97 ERA in 12 starts and gave up two earned runs in seven innings of a loss Friday at Quad Cities.
The Rattlers were 19-46 and eighth in the Midwest League Western Division, 22 games behind first-place Beloit.
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