Up and Comers up and coming...

yep, still catching up...


AL Rookie of the Year goes to.... 
Jeremy Hellickson

Michael Pineda and Dustin Ackley finish 5th and 6th respectively.
   - MP had 3 second place votes and 2 third place votes
   - DA had 1 first place vote and 1 third place vote

Felix, Dustin and Mike - oh my!
Mariners Pitcher, Performer and Breakout Player

A look back (video) at Dustin's freshman year...

Winter Leagues and Prospect Review
Seattle prospects lead West to Rising Stars win | MLB.com

Franklin, selected in the first round in 2009 by Seattle, finished 4-for-5 with a home run on a memorable night in Arizona. Franklin's four hits, two doubles, four RBIs and three extra-base hits all set new Rising Stars Game records. His team finished with 16 hits in the game. 

"It was really fun," Franklin said. "We had some fans and were enjoying the experience beforehand. We went out there to have a good time and started to put some runs on the board. We started having some fun in the dugout, and it carried over."

Hultzen did his part, and there's no doubt that the front office in Seattle is feeling content right about now. The left-hander struck out the side on 14 pitches in the first inning and did not allow a hit in his two innings pitched. His lone blemish was a one-out walk to Washington's Bryce Harper in the second inning. 

"It was a real honor to get selected for this," Hultzen said. "It was exciting. There was a big crowd and a lot of fans. I felt good out there." 

How much did Hultzen enjoy the game? Well, he spent several minutes after the game signing autographs and greeting fans.
Thirty minutes later, he was still smiling.

M's starters finish 1-2-3 in ERA for the Javelinas in the AFL...
* Forrest Snow 1.10
* Brian Moran 1.32
* Danny Hultzen 1.40

Carlos Peguero tore it up in the DWL...
He finished with a .299 average, he drove in 22 runs in 28 games and launched 9 homers.
He also walked 9 times to help boost his OBP to .367  Way to go, Carlos!

Other hitters of note in the Winter Leagues...
Luis Rodriguez, Francisco Martinez and Chih-Hsien Chiang

Top Ten Prospect Review...

No.	Preseason	Postseason
1.	Dustin Ackley, 2B	Walker
2.	Michel Pineda, RHP	James Paxton, LHP
3.	Nick Franklin, SS	Franklin
4.	Guillermo Pimentel, OF	Francisco Martinez, 3B
5.	Taijuan Walker, RHP	Pimentel
6.	Mauricio Robles, RHP	Chance Ruffin, RHP
7.	Johermyn Chavez, OF	Chavez
8.	Dan Cortes, RHP	Cortes
9.	Blake Beavan, RHP	Liddi
10.	Alex Liddi, 3B	Robles

Mariners 2011 Minor Leaguers of the Year

Catricala, 23, hit .349 (182x521) with 97 runs scored, 77 extra-base (2B - 48, 3B - 4, HR - 25) and 106 RBI in 133 games combined between A High Desert and AA Jackson. Among full season minor leaguers he ranked 2nd in extra-base hits, 3rd in hits, T3rd in doubles, T4th in batting average and T9th in RBI. He recorded 59 multi-hit games (34- High Desert, 25-Jackson), including 12 three-hit games and 3 season-high four-hit games. Catricala was named to the California League All-Star team before being promoted to Jackson on June 30. He hit safely in 52 of 62 games, while reaching base safely in 57 games with the Generals, batting .347 (83x239). 

"Vinnie had an outstanding offensive season combined between High Desert and Jackson," Zduriencik said. "He not only led the organization in many offensive categories, but was one of the top players in all of the minor leagues.

Walker, 19, who was recently named the top Midwest League prospect in 2011 by Baseball America, went 6-5 with a 2.89 ERA (31 ER, 96.2 IP) in 18 starts with A Clinton last season. He limited opponents to a .202 (69x341) average, including a .187 (34x182) vs. right-handed batters. Walker was 0-2 with a 9.95 ERA over his first two starts of the season, but went 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA (24 ER, 90.1 IP) over his last 16 starts. He recorded 7 quality starts, including tossing his first-career complete game victory on July 13 vs. Great Lakes (9.0,2,2,2,1,7,HR). Walker struck out a season-high 11 batters three times and finished with 113 strikeouts in 96.2 innings. He was amongst MWL leaders in lowest opponent average (3rd at .202), highest K/9.0 IP ratio for starters (4th at 10.52), fewest baserunners/9.0 IP for starters (5th at 10.33), strikeouts (6th with 113) and WHIP (8th at 1.12) following his final start on Aug. 10 vs. Cedar Rapids.

"Taijuan had a great year in Clinton", Zduriencik said. "He had great command of the ball and was one of the most dominating pitchers in the Midwest League."