Seattle Mariners' 2014 Minor League Awards

The Seattle Mariners have had a memorable season in the major leagues, but the year in the minors provided plenty of excitement as well.

Although Seattle's pitching is well ahead of the offense at the big league level, the opposite case played out in the minors.

As expected, D.J. Peterson put together a tremendous season, but the emergence of Patrick Kivlehan and the selection of Alex Jackson in June's draft give the Mariners several exciting position players to watch for the next few years.

The Mariners had several prospects use their minor league success to reach the majors in 2014. Dominic Leone and James Jones debuted early in the season, while Chris Taylor and Carson Smith put up big numbers at Triple-A Tacoma and reached Seattle later in the summer.

Many of the recipients of the Mariners' 2014 minor league awards did their work at Double-A Jackson or below, but some of them could be ready for the majors by late 2015 or early 2016.

Position Player of the Year: D.J. Peterson, 1B/3B

It's the easy choice to make, but D.J. Peterson's numbers make it difficult to select anyone else as Seattle's top minor league position player for 2014.

Peterson continued a trend from last season by taking a couple of weeks to adjust to each new level before going on an offensive tear.

After a slow first couple of weeks at High-A High Desert, Peterson posted a 154 wRC+ in 65 games. He then put up a .261/.335/.473 line at Double-A Jackson for the rest of the season, hitting for great power over the last two months.

Peterson talked about the adjustment from the hitter-friendly California League to Double-A, via John Parker of MiLB.com:

"

The biggest difference for me was just the consistency of the pitching at this level. The pitchers here are better at locating and don't fall into familiar pitch sequences like they do at lower levels. ... I feel like I've really learned a lot this year, and I have some things I want to focus on during the offseason and going into next year.

"

Peterson's most exciting tool for the Mariners is his plus power, as Seattle has to covet any homegrown power hitters due to the difficulties of attracting them in free agency. The 22-year-old hit 31 home runs between the two levels this season.

One thing that could slightly slow Peterson's track to the majors is a full-time switch from third base to first base.

Given that the Mariners have Kyle Seager for the foreseeable future at third and have been looking for a solution at first for years, the switch makes sense, not even taking into account Peterson's average defense. 

Expect Peterson to be at Tacoma early next year, if not right out of spring training. With the numbers Peterson put up this year, he is the most exciting part of Seattle's future.

Honorable Mention: Ty Kelly, INF; Patrick Kivlehan, 3B

Starting Pitcher of the Year: Victor Sanchez

James Paxton made a few minor league rehab starts, and Taijuan Walker was shuttled back and forth between Seattle and Tacoma, but both have now appeared several times in the majors.

That means Seattle's top young pitchers have either lost their prospect status or are waiting to return from injury, in the case of Danny Hultzen.

As a result, it wasn't a remarkable year for Mariners starting pitchers in the minors. There's still plenty of talent in the system, but prospects like Luiz Gohara and Tyler Pike struggled to adjust to new levels.

That leaves the 2014 starting pitcher of the year award to Victor Sanchez. Sanchez posted a 4.19 ERA (4.39 FIP) with a strikeout rate of 18.2 percent and walk rate of 6.4 percent in 23 starts at Jackson this year.

Nothing extraordinary, but there weren't many good options to choose from. One thing that must be considered with Sanchez is his age, as he was able to hold his own in Double-A at just 19 years old.

Sanchez uses good command rather than overpowering stuff to be successful. His ceiling isn't as high as some other pitchers in the Mariners system, but Sanchez is moving quickly toward Seattle.

Honorable Mention: Edwin Diaz, Ryan Yarbrough

Reliever of the Year: Carson Smith

The Mariners had a few nice reliever performances throughout the minors, but none were more impressive than Carson Smith's, who turned his success into a September call-up.

Smith struck out a ton of batters in the low minors in 2013 and posted a strong strikeout rate of 24.7 percent in Tacoma this season. Overall, Smith had a 2.93 ERA (2.89 FIP) and allowed just one home run in 43 innings.

The most interesting thing about Smith is the deception he gets from an unorthodox delivery. He already has a lively fastball and plus slider, which hitters in the minors struggled to pick up.

Smith looks sharp through four games in the majors and could be another weapon in a loaded Seattle bullpen next season.

Honorable Mention: Andrew Kittredge, Matt Brazis

Breakout Player of the Year: Patrick Kivlehan, 3B

Chris Chambers/Getty Images

Kivlehan started his baseball career late at Rutgers, but his hitting skills are coming around nicely.

Patrick Kivlehan had a nice season in 2013 and hung around the fringes of Seattle top prospect lists. His numbers in 2014 make him one of the system's most exciting position players moving forward.

After finishing last year in High-A, Kivlehan remained at High Desert for the first month of the season, posting a 123 wRC+.

He then really began to get attention for his performance in Jackson, putting up a .300/.374/.485 line over 104 games.

Kivlehan has solid power and hit 20 home runs between the two levels. He spent his first three years in college at Rutgers playing football and thus may have developed a little slower than others, but he finally found consistency in his third year in the minors.

Scouting director Tom McNamara said that Kivlehan was drafted based on his athleticism and potential, even though it might have taken time to develop, via Keith Sargeant of MyCentralJersey.com:

"What we saw with Kivlehan is he’s just a physical, athletic kid. ... The way we look at him is he played college football, he’s played against some of the best athletes in the country,” McNamara said. “And he just started to play baseball again, and he put up numbers.” 

That potential started to manifest last season before breaking out in a big way in 2014. 

Like Peterson, a positional change is likely in Kivlehan's future. He got some reps at first at Jackson along with Peterson, but he also may be suited for left field.

Honorable Mention: Jordy Lara, 1B; Jabari Henry, OF

Rookie of the Year: Ryan Yarbrough, SP

Uncredited/Associated Press

Yarbrough wasn't highly regarded out of college, but it looks like Jack Zduriencik and the Mariners may have been on to something.

The Mariners were widely praised for their 2014 draft class, led by sixth overall pick Alex Jackson.

Jackson figured to put up the best performance of any draftee, and he got off to a very nice start in the Arizona Rookie League. Unfortunately, Jackson was struck in the face by a line drive in late July, which cost him about a month.

While Jackson still put up good numbers, the best rookie performance came from starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough.

Not much was known about the fourth-round pick coming out of Old Dominion, and he appeared to be selected so the Mariners could sign someone under slot, but Yarbrough has been very impressive so far.

Yarbrough was quickly moved out of rookie ball after just four innings. He started 10 games at Low-A Everett, posting a 1.40 ERA (1.88 FIP) with 53 strikeouts to four walks in 38 innings.

No matter the level, those are some impressive numbers. Yarbrough doesn't have the upside of the Mariners' first three picks, but he's worth keeping an eye on.

Honorable Mention: Alex Jackson, OF; Austin Cousino, OF