Midseason Update: Seattle Mariners Real Top 10 Prospects...A New No. 1

Baseball America came out with the 2009 Seattle Mariners list of their top ten prospects on Dec. 5, 2008.

This is the list of the top ten Mariners prospects:

1) OF Greg Halman

2) OF Michael Saunders

3) CL Phillipe Aumont

4) SS/2B/3B Carlos Triunfel

5) RHP Juan Ramirez

6) C Adam Moore

7) 3B Mario Martinez

8) 3B Jharmidy DeJesus

9) OF Dennis Raben

10) RHP Michael Pineda

Now, from the get go Adam Moore, Michael Saunders, Carlos Triunfel, and Phillipe Aumont were already known by many in the Mariners' system as top prospects and had success already in the minor leagues.

However, Greg Halman, the Mariners No. 1 prospect this season, had never been in the top ten before because he really just came on last season as a new star in the system.

So, how have the top five prospects done this season and will the order be the same?

Greg Halman: .192 BA, 13 HR, 34 RBI, 40 hits, 26 R, 4 SB, 14 BB, and 97 SO

Examination: Halman hits for power, that's it.

He leads the AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in HR.

That's all Halman can do.

He's not even close to a patient hitter, looking at his walks to strike out totals.

Halman still has to work on being an outfielder, which is why I was very surprised to see him as the No. 1.

Now is he in the top ten, yes, but not the Mariners' best prospect.

Michael Saunders: .328 BA, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 43 hits, 41 R, 2 SB, 21 BB, and 22 SO

Examination: Saunders, unlike Halman, is the complete package as far as an outfielder that can field, has good speed, and can hit for power and average.

Now Saunders doesn't have as much pop to his bat as Halman, but Saunders fits what the Mariners want as far as an outfielder.

They want speed.

Saunder's as good speed.

They want someone who can have great defensive skills, and Saunders is a great defensive LF.

They want someone who can hit for average and a little bit of power, and Saunders hits for average along with some power.

The great thing about Saunders, unlike Halman, is that he's a lot more patient at the plate. Saunders has only one more strike out than walk.

Phillipe Aumont

The one thing the Mariners have a lot of in their farm system is closers. They have Josh Fields, who they drafted last year and now they have moved Aumont, who was a starter now to the closer role.

This is one thing I don't understand.

The Mariners have at least two closers on the ML roster in David Aardsma and Mark Lowe.

They had Brandon Morrow as a closer, but yesterday they sent him down to class AAA Tacoma to become a starting pitcher for the third time in his career.

So, maybe that's what the Mariners will do. As Aumont gets closer to the majors, I definitely see the Mariners changing him back to an SP for the main reason that they don't have that many dominant starting pitchers in their system.

Aumont has 10 saves, a 1-2 record, a 2.97 ERA, and 32 strikeouts. He reminds me, from a physical perspective, of Justin Verlander or Randy Johnson because he's huge on the mound.

Carlos Triunfel

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