Seattle.Mariners.MLB.com

By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com

2004 Organizational Record

League (Level)         Team          W   L    PCT
Pacific Coast (AAA)    Tacoma        79  63  .556
Texas (AA)             San Antonio   66  72  .478
California (A)         Inl. Empire   77  63  .550
Midwest (A)            Wisconsin     57  82  .410
Northwest (SS)         Everett       41  35  .539
Arizona (R)            AZL Mariners  31  25  .554
Total                               351  340 .508

Batting average: Carlos Arroyo, .323
Home runs: A.J. Zapp, 29
Runs batted in: Zapp, 101
Stolen bases: Shin-soo Choo, 40
ERA: Felix Hernandez, 2.95
Wins: Hernandez, 14
Strikeouts: Thomas Oldham, 188
Saves: Rick Guttormson, 25

Five Faves

At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2004:

Clint Nageotte, RHP
Nageotte had an up-and-down 2004 season as he shuffled back and forth between Triple-A and the big club. He began the season in Tacoma, starting off well with a 3.60 ERA in April. He slumped a bit in May, but still got called up by the Mariners in June. After four starts -- which produced mixed results -- Nageotte found himself back in Tacoma. A brilliant seven shutout inning start helped earn him a ticket back to Seattle, only this time, he worked mostly out of the 'pen until a back injury shut him down for September. It still remains to be seen if Nageotte is better suited in a starting or relief role, but they won't get to figure that out until 2005.

Travis Blackley, LHP
As a 21-year-old pitching in Tacoma for the first time, Blackley had a pretty successful season. He went 8-6 with a 3.83 ERA over 110 1/3 innings, managing to work around a rising walk rate. The left-hander earned a callup to the Mariners and made six starts in July, though the results weren't pretty; after walking 22 batters and posting a 10.04 ERA in 26 innings, Blackley was sent back to Tacoma. A sore shoulder probably kept him from coming back up in September, but he'll give it another try next spring.

Jose Lopez, SS
The Jose Lopez era has begun. Even though he missed a month with a knee injury, he still hit .295/.342/.505 as a 20-year-old playing shortstop in Triple-A. That was enough for the Mariners to call him up in July and hand him the big league shortstop job the rest of the season. Understandably, Lopez struggled with the transition, hitting just .232 in 207 Major League at-bats. He's recovered somewhat while playing winter ball in Venezuela, however, hitting .268 with five homers and a .485 slugging percentage in 97 at-bats. Lopez should be somewhere on the left side of the Mariners everyday infield in 2005. Newly acquired Mike Morse is one step behind him at shortstop and one of them could move to third to form a left side for years.

Chris Snelling, OF
Everyone was excited when Snelling appeared completely healthy at the start of Spring Training after knee surgery. But on his second swing in batting practice, the Aussie broke a hamate bone in his wrist, requiring more surgery. He then needed an additional operation in April. Snelling didn't get back on the field until August, when he got 32 at-bats in the Arizona League. He's still just 23, so there's still time for him to develop; however, the newly acquired Jeremy Reed, and perhaps Shin-soo Choo, have most likely moved past Snelling on the organization's outfield depth chart.

Justin Leone, 3B
After landing on the prospect map with a huge 2003 season at Double-A, Leone headed to Tacoma to see what he could do as a follow-up. The numbers weren't quite as huge, but Leone did hit .269 with 21 homers and 51 RBIs in just 253 at-bats, good for a .597 SLG. That earned him a callup in early July. While he didn't hit for average, he did homer five times in his first 62 at-bats and six times total for a .441 SLG in 102 at-bats. Unfortunately, Leone didn't get a chance to build on that when he was hit by a pitch and forced to miss the final six weeks of the season with a broken hand. He headed to Venezuela, but was hitting only .224 in after 58 at-bats. If the Mariners don't obtain another free agent third baseman, Leone could battle Greg Dobbs, the guy he replaced back in 2003, for Major League playing time in 2005.

Honorable mention: While he wasn't listed among the Five Faves at the start of the spring, Felix Hernandez has most definitely worked his way to top the list for 2005. By leading the organization in wins and ERA and finishing third in strikeouts, all as an 18-year old in high- and Double-A, Hernandez might be on a Five Faves list for all of minor league baseball.

Cinderella Story

Greg Jacobs, OF
Jacobs, the failed pitcher-turned-outfielder the Mariners found in the independent Western League, continued to swing a big stick in 2004. At age 27, Jacobs hit .310/.370/.503 for San Antonio in 42 games, earning a promotion to Tacoma. He got even better at the higher level, hitting .320/.388/.523 in 197 at-bats. Considering guys like Leone and Bucky Jacobsen got called up to the big leagues, it's somewhat surprising Jacobs didn't get a September cup of coffee. He's not on the 40-man roster, so maybe someone will be looking for a left-handed pinch-hitter when Rule 5 draft time comes.

2004 draft recap

1.Matt Tuiasosopo, SS
The Mariners once again didn't have a first round pick. They didn't have a second round pick, either, but it looks like they found a first-round talent in the third round. The Mariners gave Tuiasosopo, the son of former NFL defensive end Manu, first-round money to turn down the University of Washington's offer to play quarterback. It was money well spent as Tuiasosopo hit .412/.528/.721 in 20 Arizona League games, enough to be named the league's top prospect by Baseball America. He then moved up to Everett, where he earned BA's nod as the fifth-best prospect in the Northwest League.

2. Rob Johnson, C
The fourth-round pick out of the University of Houston displayed solid defensive ability. He didn't hit much, though, batting just .222 in 27 Arizona League at-bats and .234 in 77 Northwest League at-bats.

Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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