Evaluating the Development of the Seattle Mariners Top 5 Prospects

With the induction of Ken Griffey Jr. to the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame last Saturday night, it made me wonder whether any current players within the organization have a chance of some day being inducted.  

For the moment, only Felix Hernandez would appear to be a solid candidate, but beyond him, are there any other players worth considering?

Perhaps Kyle Seager has a shot or one of the rookies like Nick Franklin or Mike Zunino?

Honestly, that sounds like a lot of wishful thinking for today, but could they some day form the nucleus of another successful team, much like legends Junior, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and Randy Johnson did once upon a time?

If so, the Mariners, as an organization, will need to provide them a little more help. 

With that in mind, I'd like to dig a little deeper as follow-up to my post on the M's top positional prospects from last week and evaluate the development of the teams top five overall prospects, according to MLB.com.

As you can expect, there will be a little bit of overlap, but, generally, I'm hoping to add a few new insights as well in seeing whether the Seattle organization can move forward rather than continually reminding us of a past that looks and feels all the more distant with each passing year. 

Drafted in the fifth round last June, Chris Taylor was seen largely as a defensive prospect when he joined the organization after playing at the University of Virginia for three seasons, but has proven to be capable of swinging the bat throughout his climb to Double-A.

Could the M's have another Brad Miller on their hands?

For starters, Taylor's ACC pedigree can't hurt, nor can the fact that he's hit at each and every stop along the way.  

Of course, it's easy to get excited about his All-Star performance at Single-A High Desert; however, I'm pleased to say that he hasn't embarrassed himself by any means since moving up to Double-A Jackson and has been on a tear this month so far.

If we want to go so far as to assume that Taylor can finish this season on a high note, he should then be invited to spring training, once again, next year with an outside chance at making the club in a reserve role. 

As ridiculous as it may sound, the simple fact that he's a right-handed batter could help his chances, not to mention, his defensive flexibility to play both second base and shortstop.

If Brendan Ryan is gone and the M's remain committed to having Dustin Ackley in the outfield, I wouldn't be shocked to see Taylor on the Opening Day roster following a solid month of March.

Of course, a lot can happen between now and then, but Taylor is somebody worth keeping tabs on over the next year or so.    

With so much talk focused on the "Big Three" of Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen and James Paxton over the last year or so, it's easy to forget that the M's have a fair amount of pitching depth throughout their farm system beyond the well-publicized trio. 

Of that group, MLB.com rates Tyler Pike as the best of the bunch:

A good athlete who was a two-way player as an amateur, Pike repeats his delivery well and should have excellent command of all three of his pitches. He can reach back for a little extra on his fastball to hit 92-93 mph. His curve should be an above-average offering, and he has a very good feel for a deceptive changeup. 

Drafted in the third round last June, Pike—barely a year out of high school—is being groomed as a starter who just pieced together an All-Star campaign, per milb.com, at Single-A Clinton in this, his first full year with the organization. 

While we may not see him for a few years in Seattle, I will be curious to see how he fares as he works his way upward. The challenge, of course, is figuring out how to develop his talent while also keeping him healthy. 

You never know with someone this young, but, hopefully, the M's luck out here as you can never have too many lefties on your pitching staff, especially a starter with three solid pitches to offer.   

For now, I'd suggest keeping Pike stashed away in the back of your mind, that is until we get a clearer read on the aforementioned "Big Three" along with the likes of Brandon Maurer and Erasmo Ramirez. 

Joining Pike recently at Single-A Clinton is this year's first-round draft choice is corner infielder D.J. Peterson.

True to form since taking over as general manager in Seattle, Jack Zduriencik selected the best college player available with the No. 12 pick in the draft. 

To this point, the results have been mixed as Dustin Ackley, Danny Hultzen and Mike Zunino have all experienced their ups and downs, but so far, Peterson looks to be progressing nicely, according to milb.com, after only a few weeks with the organization by hitting for both average and power.

Where and when Peterson will reach Seattle are two good questions, yet both are difficult to answer.

For starters, Peterson isn't anywhere near ready, meanwhile neither position he would likely play is up for grabs. On a side note, though, it is worth mentioning that the M's have already shifted Peterson from third base to first, but at the end of the day, it's Peterson's bat that will get him to Seattle.  

As a right-handed hitter with power, you have to imagine the M's will find a home for him, even if it means making him the designated hitter at some point down the road. 

Ideally, though, I'm hoping the Mariners don't rush Peterson. as they have several players and positions that need to be sorted before his name should even enter the conversation. 

In terms of next steps, the best bet for Peterson is to finish strong in Clinton and, perhaps, represent the organization in the Arizona Fall League if he doesn't look gassed by the end of the season.

As for 2014, offer him an invite to spring training, but avoid the trappings of Single-A High Desert and, instead, send him straight to Double-A Jackson once the season starts. If he can piece together a solid season there, then it might be time to take serious stock of his chances of playing in Seattle. 

Until then, he's just another college kid worth cheering for, but not quite the phenomenon/legend-in-the-making that Mike Zunino was this time last year. 

There's always stories with Danny Hultzen, but so far, the majority of them have been disappointing.

Last year, following a solid start at Double-A Jackson, he somehow ran out of gas after getting promoted to Triple-A Tacoma.

This year, he arrived at spring training with a shot at making the starting rotation and looked good, yet he ultimately got knocked out of contention due to a hip flexor strain, while being upstaged by fellow prospect Brandon Maurer.     

For a time, it didn't seem like a big deal, especially after Hultzen pitched brilliantly through the better part of April in Tacoma only to go down with yet another injury, this time involving his left rotator cuff along with tendonitis, by the end of the month.

Initially he was supposed to miss a few starts, but it wasn't until the end of June that we saw Hultzen pitch again, and even then, it was only one outing before he suffered another setback with his shoulder that has sidelined him ever since.  

When healthy this season, Hultzen has been every bit as good as advertised.

Unfortunately, something is clearly wrong, in spite of the Mariners telling us otherwise each time Hultzen has missed time for whatever reason this season.  

In short, it's been a lost season, as outlined on milb.com, for someone I imagined would already be in Seattle contributing. 

What makes the situation even worse is wondering whether or not he will have the stamina next season to rebound.

With only a handful of starts and barely 30 innings pitched this season, can Hultzen simply bounce back and claim a spot in the starting rotation next year?

I wish it were that simple. 

Before Hultzen can even get started, we need to assume that he's actually healthy and can both physically and mentally make sense of what just happened this year or, at the very least, put it behind him.   

How the Mariners handle Hultzen from this point forward will certainly be interesting, yet I'm already a bit concerned, given how strange his first two full seasons have unfolded. 

Perhaps it's just bad luck, but right now, Hultzen should be cutting his teeth against major league hitters, not lost in the wash due to a series of lingering injuries. 

What is there to say about Taijuan Walker that hasn't been said already?

It's easy to see that Walker is tall, athletic and gifted, yet you almost get the feeling that his natural abilities have carried him upward through the farm system with little to no help whatsoever.

Of course that can't be true, but from this point forward, I will be really curious to see how the Mariners organization manages Walker in getting him ready for the majors. 

Is it possible for someone to help Walker with his command, or is this something he will need to sort out on his own over time?

I won't pretend to have an answer in this space, so much as wonder if the M's have done everything they can to prepare Walker to be anything more than a big league starter.

By all indications Walker should be decent, but does he have what it takes to be great?

That will largely come down to Walker and whether or not he has the drive and determination to succeed along with a fair amount of luck. 

As we saw over the weekend, Ken Griffey Jr. was about as close to a sure thing that the Mariners have ever had, and while he turned out just fine, there have been more than a few other "talented" players who have been associated with the Seattle organization who have come up well short. 

Honestly, I like Walker's chances. 

From what I've seen, he has the right mixture of talent and poise that should, over the course of time, carry him through the good, bad and ugly of playing in Seattle. For at the end of the day, you need a bit of a thick skin to play in Seattle not as protection from the fans and media as is the case in other places, but from the Mariners themselves.  

So while Walker may not be the transcendent talent that Griffey was 25 years earlier, he could still serve as an important pillar in the reconstruction of a franchise that desperately needs to move forward from its one brilliant moment in time.  

If Walker can do that while working alongside Felix Hernandez for the better part of the next decade, then you never know? 

All we can do is remain patient and hope.