News
Mariners' prospects benefit from AFL
Ackley, Fields finish up season with solid performances
By Jim Street / MLB.com
11/24/09 7:37 AM EST
PEORIA, Ariz. -- After spending the past six weeks playing for the Arizona Fall League-champion Peoria Javelinas, seven of the Mariners' top prospects returned to their respective offseason homes with a better understanding of where they are in the developmental stage of their careers.As far as the numbers were concerned, it was a mixed bag for the Mariners' prospects. But all said they benefited from the experience.
Right-handed pitchers Josh Fields and Anthony Valvaro, along with outfielders Dustin Ackley and Joe Dunigan, more than held their own against other top prospects, while Phillippe Aumont, left-hander Nick Hill and infielder Carlos Triunfel struggled.
"I feel like I'm a better pitcher than when I first got here," Aumont said. "I had some bad games and I was mad and disappointed and everything, but I learned a lot from it. It was a new world of baseball for me, and I had a lot of adjustments to make.
"But I will go home happy, try to get better, have a good offseason and show up in the spring ready to go."
Javelinas manager Kevin Bradshaw provided a season-ending critique on each Seattle player.
Ackley (.321, 1 HR, 13 RBIs): "As far as hitting mechanics and stuff, I think he improved. He definitely held his own against the pitching we saw and played a crucial part in our success and this [AFL season] helped him a lot to get his feet wet.
"The Mariners should be very satisfied with what he has done out here. I wouldn't venture to say how close he is [to playing in the Major Leagues]. He has some mechanical things he has to fix, but is intelligent enough that it won't take long to fix them. He is jumping at the plate, but he has good enough hand-eye coordination that even though he's doing something wrong, he still has the hand-eye coordination that allows him to put the ball in play. The power comes when he stays back. It's there. It's definitely there."
Fields (0-0, 1.64 ERA): "Wow. He [did] an outstanding job out here. You watch the hitters and their swings against him and they are not very good at all. He is a max effort kind of guy, but has that loose, wiry arm. He's going to be something for [the Mariners] down the line. If he can command his breaking ball a little bit better, I don't think too many hitters will feel comfortable against him."
Dunigan (.280, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs): "He might have made the most improvement. When we first saw Joe during those five days of workouts, you were like, 'Wow.' He showed a lot of power in batting practice. But when we got into game situations, he was kind of overmatched at the beginning, both defensively and offensively. But since midway through the season he really settled in and relaxed. Mechanically, he has been doing what [hitting coach Gary Ward] asked him to do and ended the season hitting the ball pretty darn good. Instead of spinning off and trying to pull the ball, he concentrated on staying in the left-center field gap."
Triunfel (.204, 0 HRs, 6 RBIs): "I think he was in a tough situation, but a situation he needed to be in after missing all that time during the [regular] season. You could tell he is coming off a major injury [broken left leg], and any time that happens you have to be patient. It was good to get him some at-bats and I will be following him just to see how he does next season.
"At times he shows you everything you need to see. Defensively, he will make a great play. He shows promise offensively, like in the Rising Stars game, when he fouled a ball off his foot. We almost had to take him out of the game, but he stayed in and the next pitch, which was a pretty good breaking ball, he hit it out of the ballpark. He shows you a lot of tools, but coming off this injury, it's just going to take a little time."
Aumont (1-1, 12.00 ERA): "I love his arm. His fastball needs to get a little bit more movement, but his breaking ball is unbelievable and he's the type of guy, with his size and presence, could be very intimidating. When he gets more confidence, he's going to be something else. He needs to be able to pitch inside more than he did here. If he can move people's feet with a two-seamer, and bust hitters inside with his four-seamer, along with his curveball, he could be something special."
Hill (0-2, 10.50 ERA): "We used him as a starter and he kind of struggled a little bit. I know [pitching coach Fred Dabney] was trying to get him to make contact within three pitches. It seemed like [Hill] was always going deep into counts, and his last outing he got more outs early in the count, which is what he is going to have to do. He's a lefty with a breaking ball and you can never count out lefties. It seems like he loves to compete and works hard. Facing top-quality hitters, I think he really learned some stuff on how to pitch a little bit more intelligently."
Varvaro (1-0, 4.11 ERA): "If he can learn to command his breaking ball, he has a chance to be real good. He's another guy who has made some of the hitters in this league take poor swings against him. I liked his presence and the way he went after hitters."
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
