Seattle Mariners: Ranking the Top 10 Prospects in Their System

With the graduation of Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda to the major leagues, many expect the Seattle Mariners to drop down the rankings in terms of prospect lists.

Not so fast.

While those are certainly two big names to lose, and lots of other young players have made their way to the bigs, Seattle has a surprisingly large amount of depth in the minors. 

Actually, not only do they have depth, they have some firepower at the top.

Seattle boasts five players who could easily find their way on Top 100 lists come winter time. Within those five, are four pitchers who, quite possibly, with the exception of a few teams, make up the best minor league prospect pitching staff in the league. 

After those top five are a bunch of hitters with good potential—further rounding out Seattle's depth. This is easily an organization on the rise.

Here's a look at Seattle's top 10 prospects. 

Note: I didn't include anyone who has made an appearance in the majors. 

Honorable Mentions

In alphabetical order:

Player, Age, Position

Phillips Castillo, 17, OF

Chih-Hsien Chiang, 23, RF

Marcus Littlewood, 19, C

Estelion Peguero, 17, SS

Carlos Triunfel, 21, SS

10. Victor Sanchez

Victor Sanchez is only 16 years old and has no pro-ball experience, so he can't possibly climb any higher on this list, but his ceiling is as high as anyone's. 

The Mariners gave a seven-figure signing bonus to this kid back in July, but he is supposed to be the best pitching prospect out of Venezuela and perhaps all of Latin America.

According to Baseball America, Sanchez has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, "throws a plus slider and has shown feel for a changeup, and he'll mix in an occasional curveball."

He's only 6'0", but at 185 pounds he is already a strong kid with a lot of time to grow. 

Sanchez is still obviously about five years away from the majors, so there's no need to remember his name for now, but he has the ability to turn into Felix 2.0. 

9. Vincent Catricala

Vincent Catricala doesn't possess the "tools" that make scouts drool, but he has shown the ability to hit at every level he's been at.

Across High-A High Desert and Double-A Jackson, Catricala hit .349 with 25 homers and 106 RBI, and scored 101 runs.

The former 10th-round pick in 2009 doesn't really have a set position. He never impressed at third or first base, and his real future may lie in left field, where he played the most at Jackson.

Again, the 22-year-old has never overly-impressed any scouts, but he just seems to be a pure hitter, a la Kyle Seager with a little more power. After slugging an insane .632 in 62 Double-A games, it will be interesting to see where Vinnie starts out in 2012.   

Photo from Flickr.

8. Brad Miller

After reading some scouting reports on Brad Miller, he seems a lot like another Nick Franklin-type.

He's a left-handed hitting (Franklin is a switch-hitter) shortstop who doesn't possess a lot of home run power, but he is a good hitter who walked more than he struck out in college.

Miller has speed and figures to be able to stay at shortstop.

The second-round pick in this year's draft also looks like he's going to have no trouble adjusting to pro-ball, albeit that statement comes from a small sample. In 59 plate appearances with Single-A Clinton, Miller hit .415/.458/.528 with four walks and just nine strikeouts.

Add another one to the Mariners' young depth at shortstop.  

Photo from Flickr.

7. Guillermo Pimentel

If Vincent Catricala is a non-toolsy hitter who has possibly topped out on his potential, 18-year-old Guillermo Pimentel is the exact opposite.

Pimentel, who signed a multi-million dollar bonus last year out of the Dominican Republic, is the definition of a five-tool player.

He's oozing with athleticism, as his power, speed and arm could all be above average by the time he's done developing.

In 65 games with the Pulaski Mariners this year, Pimentel increased his walks, average and on-base percentage. Since he's still 18, analyzing stats is pretty meaningless at this point, but just know this: Pimentel's ceiling is sky-high. 

Photo from Flickr.

6. Francisco Martinez

Despite what you think of Casper Wells and Charlie Furbush, it was Chance Ruffin and Francisco Martinez who were the selling points of the Doug Fister trade.

Martinez, a right-handed hitting third baseman, spent all of this season at Double-A even though he just turned 21.

He hasn't nearly hit with the power expected of him, but considering he's been one of the youngest players at each of the levels he's played at, that's understandable.

His patience also has a ways to go, as he walked just four times compared to 24 strikeouts with Jackson, but he still managed to hit .310 and slug .481.

Martinez's defense at third base also has some room for improvement. In short, he's still very raw.

So, even though he's already spent a full season at Double-A, don't expect Martinez to hit Seattle until 2013. But when he does, he could be the Mariners third baseman of the future.  

5. Jose Campos

The 19-year-old out of Venezuela was nearly unhittable for Short-A Everett this year. In 14 starts, Campos put together a 2.32 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Possibly even more impressive, Campos has improved his WHIP, H/9, BB/9 and SO/9 in each of his three professional seasons.

Campos hits the high-90s with his fastball, and the right-hander could very well be in Clinton for the start of next season. 

4. Nick Franklin

Nick Franklin had a fairly disappointing season and as a result has probably fallen a few spots, but remember he is still just 20 years old.

Across High Desert and Jackson, Franklin hit .281 with seven homers and 13 doubles.

However, he actually hit a lot better at the Double-A level, even after recovering from a scary injury which resulted from being hit in the face by a bat. 

In 21 games with Jackson, Franklin hit .325 and slugged .482. The former first-round pick still appears to be a on a fast-track to the majors, but he has been passed by a few other prospects.

Photo from Flickr. 

3. Danny Hultzen

The No. 2 pick in this year's draft is probably the most major league-ready of anyone on this list, but he doesn't quite have the upside of some of the others.

Hultzen had a brilliant two years at the University of Virginia, winning several awards including ACC Pitcher of the Year.

The 21-year-old has excellent command over all his pitches, and even though he has yet to pitch an inning of pro ball, he is expected to compete for a spot in the Mariners rotation next season.

2. James Paxton

James Paxton is possibly my favorite Mariners prospect, but he doesn't quite contain the upside of the No. 1 guy on this list.

Still though, Paxton, a former first-round pick out of the University Kentucky, has pretty much dominated at every pro level he's been at.

In what was his first full season this year, Paxton split time at Single and Double-A, posting a 2.37 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, but he got even more impressive at Double-A.

In seven starts for Jackson, the 22-year-old had a 1.85 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and almost 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

He also dropped his walk rate drastically from Single to Double-A, a very positive sign for a hard-thrower like Paxton. 

Paxton will likely compete with Danny Hultzen and a few others for the fifth spot in Seattle's rotation this spring, but even if he doesn't make the team, he has a bright future. 

1. Taijuan Walker

Taijuan Walker not only has the most upside of anyone in Seattle's organization, he is putting his skills to use.

Walker, a first-round pick in 2010, put together a 2.89 ERA and 10.5 strikeouts per nine at Single-A Clinton this year. 

Walker has a seriously good fastball that gets up to 95, and his second best pitch is a changeup, although he can also throw the curve if necessary. It isn't the most exciting scouting report at first glance, but then you realize that Walker is still a meager 19 years old.

He has a blazing fastball and plenty of time to develop his secondary pitches. If he does develop those pitches, we could easily see Walker dominating the big leagues by the time he is 21. 

Photo from Flickr.