The Career of GM Schaplowsky - Starting in Seattle

[baseballfanmas]

With my NBC save gone, I decided it was time to start an MLB real world dynasty with my new monthly format. At first I was going to do an expansion dynasty, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of setting things up, so I just decided to make a career of it and let the game decide when to expand.

For starting, I narrowed my choices down to Seattle or Atlanta. The Braves have been one of my favorite teams ever since the days of John Smoltz, Steve Avery, Tom Glavine.. well you get the drill. I really think they should have won more than just 1 title in the 1990's. They have some really solid prospects.

But.. I do believe there is already an Atlanta Braves dynasty out there, and since I have some ties to Seattle, I wanted to give them a try. So, GM Mike Schaplowsky, he will start with the Seattle Mariners.

A basic set-up, only difference is I've gutted all but 2 levels of minor leagues. I will only have AAA and AA. All the others are just too tedious to manage. AA will have a roster limit of 35, in order to get a few more players in the system, and the draft will be cut to 10 rounds.

-- 20 to 80 rating system, scouting turned on, scouting accuracy set to medium. Nothing else has been touched. I'll play everything else as-is.

[baseballfanmas]

Seattle Mariners Opening Day Roster Evaluation

Wow, am I excited to be here in great Seattle. While the expectations aren't high (the goal for this season is just to finish .500) and we have absolutely no kind of minor league system to work with, I'm up for the challenge of finally leading Seattle to a world series championship. First though, a look at the opening day 25 man roster.

Starting Pitchers

James Paxton - 29 years old, 68 overall/68 potential

-- James is actually the ace of our staff, as his ERA has decreased every year he's been in Seattle, dropping down under 3.00 in the 2017 season. We're going to need that this season.

Felix Hernandez - 31 years old, 50/50

-- "King Felix" is already putting me in a tough situation. He has digressed in his last couple seasons in Seattle, and is no longer that feared starting pitcher he used to be. I'd like to unload him and his $26,000,000 contract for some prospects, but damn if the team owner hasn't given me a goal to resign him. What to do, what to do?

Mike Leake - 30 years old, 50/50

-- Mike had a brilliant start to his Mariners career last season after being traded in late August. He made 5 starts for us and had a 2.53 ERA. The question is can he sustain that over a full season? The experts say no, but he had least should be a quality mid rotation guy.

Casey Lawrence - 30 years old, 36/36

-- Now we come to the back end of the rotation, which quite frankly looks got awful. Casey is not the answer as our 4th starter, but unfortunately it's what we have to go with for right now. He's got 2 minor league option years left, and don't be surprised if before the end of the season, he is back down in AAA, especially if I can find a better guy.

Marco Gonzalez - 26 years old, 35/35

-- Marco is in an even tougher position than Casey, as he has no option years left so if he doesn't perform at least decently this season, he may be looking for a new home. I'm a fair guy, I'll give everybody a chance, but he doesn't exactly wow me.

Bullpen

Edwin Diaz - 24 years old, 75 overall/80 potential

-- If we can get to the 9th inning with a lead, this guy will shut it down more often than not. We're gonna have to spend some dough to keep him, as his contract expires after the 2018 season, but you can bet I want to keep him here as long as possible.

James Pazos - 26 years old, 67/69

-- James had an ERA and a WHIP rating much higher than I'd like to see in the 2017 season, but he still has some slight improving to do. I'd like to think we can rely on him as a late inning guy, as he should collect some holds. For him, it's all about control. If he can get it across the plate, he'll get guys out. If he can't.. well... you know.

Juan Nicasio - 31 years old, 61/61

-- Although we need quality arms in the bullpen, this guy might very well be trade bait with his $7.5 mil contract. He's locked into that for 2 more years, but if we can get rid of that and maybe get a prospect in return, we'll do it. If we're not in the wildcard hunt when the trade deadline expires, Juan might get shipped. It's up to him to perform well in the meantime.

Nick Vincent - 31 years old, 57/57

-- Nick gives up a lot of fly ball outs, which I'm not overly happy about. His stuff is good, he just commands the top part of the zone much too frequently. Despite that, he's a solid bullpen option for us. He's up for arbitration after the season, so we'll see.

Marc Rzepczynski - 32 years old, 45/45

-- I'm not sure I like the fact that we're spending $5.5 mil on a left handed specialist. I'm all about that, but typically, I like left handed specialists to actually get guys out, and Marc hasn't done that consistently for a while now. He will be trade bait as well, although if he comes in and goes lights out against the lefties, I'll consider keeping him around.

Dan Altavilla - 25 years old, 43/53

-- This guy does bring some excitement. In 2016 as a rookie, he had a 0.75 ERA in 15 appearances for the Mariners. That went up greatly in the 2017 season, as his ERA was 4.24 in 41 appearances. He needs to find that consistency he had in 2016, and he still has room to improve. I'm optimistic about him.

Wade LeBlanc - 33 years old, 38/38

-- Wade was a starting pitcher for many seasons, but has settled into a bullpen role now. He has great control, and was in Seattle briefly in 2016. He's back now, and he will see some action, but I wouldn't expect him to be back next season. Again, everybody gets a chance, but he's not the answer as a left handed specialist either.

Catchers

Mike Marjama - 28 years old, 32 overall/34 potential

-- Simply put, Mike is only starting because our regular catcher is on the DL. As soon as Mike Zunino is healthy, this other Mike will be back on the bench. He is solid defensively though, which might be the only thing that keeps him around long term.

Chris Herrmann -- 30 years old, 20/20

-- He's our back-up right now, but he also plays good defense, and he's good at fighting pitches off until he gets something to hit. The .284 average he had in Arizona in 2016 proves that he can hit, but he just doesn't do it consistently. I'll have a choice to make when Zunino gets back: which of these guys goes back down to AAA.

Infielders

Robinson Cano - 35 years old, 67 overall/67 potential

-- Robby came over from the Yankees a few years ago, and we've got him locked up until 2023. His age hasn't started to show yet, as he's still an effective ball player. He's consistently around .300 as a hitter, and should give us close to 20 HR and 100 RBI. I don't like the fact that he has a $24 mil contract, but he's not going anywhere this season, we'll need him at 2B.

Kyle Seager - 30 years old, 62/62

-- Kyle is another guy that we have locked up for several more seasons, and he also has a pretty high priced contract. It's going to make it tough to get any major free agents, but Kyle has a place here. He'll be our starting 3B for sure.

Jean Segura - 28 years old, 53/53

-- Jean will be our starting SS this season, and probably for years to come as we also have him locked up until 2023. I just don't know about all these long term contracts, but unfortunately getting any of these guys to renegotiate, well it's not gonna happen. 2016 and 2017 have been really good for Jean, with .300+ averages both season. We need that production to continue this season.

Ryon Healy - 26 years old, 22/24

-- Ryon will lock down the 1B spot, but we'd like to have a better option there. His first 2 seasons offensively in the majors were fine, but defensively he lacks something.. mainly the ability to stop a wild throw. Kind of an important thing for a First Baseman to have. Unfortunately, we're stuck with him, so hopefully his bat makes up for his not so great glove.

Andrew Romine - 32 years old, 20/20

-- To start the season at least, Andrew is our only main back-up in the infield. The good thing about him is that he can play pretty much any position except catcher or pitcher. It's going to be nice to have that versatility. He won't wow anybody with his bat, but he has a nice glove. The idea of putting him in as a late inning defensive replacement at 1B probably won't work though, as go figure, 1B is his weakest defensive spot. Ah well.

Outfielders

Nelson Cruz - 37 years old, 56 overall/56 potential

-- Nelson is a heck of a hitter, and will probably fill a DH role for us, while he's here. He has already said he has no plans to resign with Seattle after this season, so we will look to unload him as early as possible. If we're gonna lose him anyways, might as well get something for him. Only problem is, how many teams will take a chance on a 37 year old that is currently making $14 mil and is wanting double that wherever he goes next season? We may get stuck with him all season.

Dee Gordon - 29 years old, 44/44

-- I like Dee, always have. Even when he was with the Dodgers. His speed makes him a prototypical leadoff hitter, even if he isn't great with the bat. A lot of people don't remember he came up as a second baseman, but is now playing the outfield. He'll be here until after the 2021 season, as long as we can afford him.

Ichiro Suzuki - 44 years old, 30/30

-- The ageless wonder. In real life he has said he wants to play until he's 50. Will he last that long in this OOTP dynasty? We'll find out, but he'll be given the opportunity to retire here. He might not play much early on, but when and if we get rid of Nelson, that RF spot will be his. He may not be the player he used to be, but loyalty arises in this situation.

Kirk Neuwenhuis - 30 years old, 22/22

-- Not much to say here. We have 6 outfielders on the opening day roster, but only 3 of them are really worth a darn. Kirk can fit in as a pinch runner, or defensive replacement, but he's really not known for his bat. He'll work the counts and raise pitch counts, but his lifetime .221 average tells me all I need to know about his offensive production.. or lack thereof.

Taylor Motter - 28 years old, 21/27

-- The good news on Taylor is that he still has potential yet to develop. The bad news is, it's not gonna help him too much in the long run. He has decent speed and hits for power, but not much else. He's also versatile, as he can play anywhere on the field. His contract will auto renew after the season, and we'll find a spot for him, but we have to be careful because he only has 1 option year left.

Jayson Werth - 38 years old, 20/20

-- Jayson's best days are well behind him. He's not nearly the same player he was in Philadelphia or Los Angeles, or even in Washington. He's got 1 more year left on his contract, and no option years. I'd like to say he'll have a spot with the Mariners all season, but he most likely won't. Although, his leadership could keep him around.

Seattle Mariners Front Office

Finances: It's definitely not going to be an easy time here, as owner John Stanton is a demanding guy to work for, and he's tight with money. Right now we have a $168 million budget, but absolutely no room for free agents or contract negotiations. This essentially means if I want to make some moves, I'm going to have to get rid of some of those high salaries, which means getting rid of some of our better talent. Nelson and Marc will be the first to go, and hopefully I can get cash and/or prospects for them.

Scouting and Player Development: Our scout Scott Hunter is Fair, but not Great. He specializes in scouting minor league players and amateur players, so I'll look for his help when it comes to the draft, as well as finding minor league prospects. As far as major league and international players, that'll be hit and miss. Then again, with a scouting rating of Fair, and scouting accuracy on normal (I usually play with 100% accuracy, but decided to be different), everything is hit and miss. We only have $4 mil in the scouting budget, and I've left that in the hands of my assistant GM, Jerry Dipoto, on how to divide that up. As for player development, although we have no real prospects right now, I've also let Jerry handle that. I don't want to get too much into it, but if I don't like what happens with scouting, I'll make my own changes next season.

Personnel: We certainly don't have the best of the best on our major or minor league staff. Scott Servais is a very personable guy, but he just isn't the right fit for our team. He favors prospects, and well.. we have none. We do have a lot of veterans, so you can see why a guy like Nelson Cruz won't resign. I'll give Scott the year as I don't want to come in and clean house, but unless we really just tear it up, Scott will be gone after the season. Mel Stottelmyre Jr. and Edgar Martinez are the pitching and hitting coaches, respectively, and they are both fair. Our team trainer, Rob Nodine, is very, very good in preventing and treating injuries in the back, legs, and elsewhere. When it comes to the arms though, he isn't very good. That is a scary prospect for the pitching staff. We'll see how the season goes.

[baseballfanmas]

There are several other players in the organization that could and should be playing for the Mariners right now. There are too many of them, so when and if they get the call-up, I'll profile them.

I also see there is another 2018 Seattle Mariners dynasty out right now, so my stay in Seattle may be a short one (I'm just paranoid about having multiple dynasties of the same type I guess lol)

[baseballfanmas]

March 29, 2018

Mariners ship Cruz, get cash and a prospect in return

My goal was to make a move early, and I've done just that, sending Nelson Cruz back to the Texas Rangers, where he played from 2006-2013. I like Nelson, I really do, but he just wasn't a good fit here. I might have been able to resign him in the offseason if I fired Scott Servais, but I didn't want to depend on that. We need cash and prospects now. So Nelson is going back to Texas. In return, we got a top 100 prospect in Willie Calhoun (I'll do a quick profile on him in a minute), as well as $3,000,000 in cash.

There were only a handful of teams that had the budget to take Nelson's contract, and none of the others would give us what we wanted in return. In order to trade with the Dodgers or St. Louis, we'd have had to give up James Paxton or Edwin Diaz, and I darn sure wasn't doing that. I wish we could have gotten more, and actually, in order to seal the deal, I had to send one of our 20/20 minor league guys to Texas as well. (Is it bad I don't even remember his name? Whoo!) This gives us a little bit of money for free agents, but we still don't have anything for contract extensions (I guess I really don't understand how finances work in this game, anybody care to explain?) The biggest thing was that we have a little money to spend now, and I am scouring the free agent market for prospects that I can sign to minimum salary or minor league salary deals.

Player Profile

Willie Calhoun - 23 years old, 25/44

-- Willie can play LF or 2B for us, but he'll start down in Tacoma on our AAA team. He's on the 40 man roster though, so if someone goes down, he might get a call up. He's got solid power, but isn't the quickest or the best defensively. He could see some time at DH down in Tacoma.

[baseballfanmas]

May 1, 2018

Surprise in the AL West, Mariners Tied At the Top With Astros

Monthly Review

Record: 18-10, .643, 1st, -GB

What a month for us, as we were projected to finish dead last in the AL West. Since losing 2 out of 3 at Minnesota April 5,7, and 8, we didn't lose another series all month, even going on a 5 game winning streak from Apr. 9-14. We then took 3 out of 4 from Houston, finishing the month with a 4 game split at Cleveland. We were bolstered by the starting staff, which ranked #1 in ERA in the AL after the month was over. The bullpen did their part too, coming in 5th. Robinson Cano and Jean Segura tore it up offensively in April, hitting .327 and .315, respectively. Dee Gordon came in just under .300, batting .299. I couldn't be more happy with the start, and can honestly say I don't miss Nelson Cruz at all.

Mariners News and Transactions

SP Felix Hernandez went down with elbow inflammation on Apr. 28 and will miss about 2 weeks. He was replaced on the active roster by Erasmo Ramirez. In 2 starts in Tacoma on a rehab stint, Ramirex pitched 14 innings, and gave up just 6 hits and 2 earned runs.

The following players have been signed to minor league contracts: SP Caden Lemons, SP Osvaldo Hernandez, RP Justin Bullock and RP Pearson McMahan. They will all start in AA, but I'm sure some if not all of them will move up quickly.

2B Robinson Cano had 5 hits, all singles, and 2 RBIs on April 19th in a 6-1 win over Houston.

LF Ben Gamel finished a rehab stint in Tacoma, and batted .295 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. I called him back up to the main roster. To make room for him, I waived Kirk Nieuwenhuis and designated him for assignment.

2B Robinson Cano was named AL player of the Week for the Week of April 16-22. He batted .484 during the week with 2 HR, 8 RBI, and 5 runs scored.

C Mike Marjama was named the AL Rookie of the Month. He started 20 games and batted .297 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, and 8 runs scored. This might make it pretty easy which catcher to keep up when I have to make a move once Mike Zunino comes back.

Minor League Report



Prospect Watch

To determine who is a prospect and who isn't, I'm using this guideline.. if a player has a prospect ranking, no matter what the number is, I'm including him in this. If he doesn't, he's not included, it's that simple. We have 3 such players:

2B Willie Calhoun (AAA): 24 AB, .333 AVG, .385 OBP, .500 SLG%, 1 HR, 6 RBI -- Willie had a very productive April, but he is just now gelling into a starting role in Tacoma, as he played his first 17 games in Arkansas this April. He would be a good call-up candidate except for 2 things: his sample size is small, and there's nowhere to put him on the big league squad. He'll have to bide his time, but you can bet if he keeps it up, he'll definitely be a September call-up. He is the 49th ranked prospect right now.

1B Evan White (AA): 93 AB, .237 AVG, .268 OBP, .323 SLG%, 1 HR, 6 RBI -- Evan has done an ok job in Arkansas, but not great. I'd like to get more out of him. There's no place for him in AAA right now, but by the same token, he hasn't quite earned a promotion yet. He's the 133rd best prospect right now.

RP Max Povse (AAA): 10 appearances, 19.2 IP, 1-1, 1 SV, 1 BS, 3.20 ERA, 1.32 WHIP -- Max has been turned into an all everything reliever for Tacoma, but he has been specializing in long relief appearances. His last 2 appearances have been 3+ innings. We've got a couple guys in Seattle that aren't cutting the mustard right now, so Max is on the shortlist for a potential call-up in May. Right now he is the 167th best prospect.

Around the League

Contract Extensions

Neil Walker (NYY) signs 4 year/$67,200,000 extension.
Gio Gonzalez (WAS) signs 5 year/$65,900,000 extension.

Major Injuries

Nate Jones (CHW) suffered a torn labrum and will miss 5 months.
Wandy Peralta (CIN) tore his UCL and is done for the season.
Phil Maton (SD) suffered a torn labrum and is out for the season.
Juan Minaya (CHW) suffered a torn labrum and will miss 5 months. Things aren't good for the White Sox bullen right now.
Fernando Rodney (MIN) suffered a torn UCL and will miss the rest of the season, the next 13 months to be exact.
Stephen Straburg (WAS) suffered biceps tendinitis and will be out 5-6 weeks.

Retirement Announcements

Jorge de La Rosa (ARI) announces he will retire at the end of the 2018 season.
Colby Lewis (LAA) announces he will retire at the end of the 2018 season.
Angel Pagan (TEX) announces he will retire at the end of the 2018 season.

Top Game Performances

Ben Zobrist (CHC) had a 5 hit game against the Cincinnati Reds on April 2nd. He had 2 singles, 2 doubles, and a triple, with 4 RBIs in a 12-2 Cubbie win.
Luis Severino (NYY) pitched a 2 hit shutout on April 10th as the Yankees beat Boston 5-0.
Danny Duffy (KC) pitched a 2 hit shutout on April 14th in a 9-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Jose Quintana (CHC) pitched a 3 hit shutout on April 15th in a 10-0 win over the Atlanta Braves.
Adam Wainwright (StL) pitched a 1 hit shutout on April 29th in a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh.
Jordan Zimmermann (WAS) pitched a 3 hit shutout on April 30th in an 11-0 win over Tampa Bay.

Career Milestones

Joe Mauer (MIN) collected hit #2,000 on April 17th in a 6-3 win over Cleveland.
Ryan Braun (MIL) collected RBI #1,000 on April 17th in a 3-2 loss to Cincinnati.

Monthly Awards

AL Hitter of the Month: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) - .304, 12 HR, 22 RBI, 21 runs scored.
NL Hitter of the Month: Freddie Freeman (ATL) - .392, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 24 runs scored.
AL Pitcher of the Month: Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU) - 5 GS, 4-0, 1.62 ERA.
NL Pitcher of the Month: Felipe Vazquez (PIT) - 3-0, 6 SV, 0.00 ERA, 13 K.
AL Rookie of the Month: Mike Marjama (SEA) - .297, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 8 runs scored.
NL Rookie of the Month: Ronald Acuna (ATL) - .242, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 8 runs scored.

[baseballfanmas]

The previous post reflects how my monthly format will be going forward. I will have separate posts for the draft, big free agent signings, trades, etc. Everything else will be covered in the monthly post, and I got the format from SkyeWalker who hasn't been on the boards in quite a few years. I just made a few small changes and tweaks. Let me know what you guys think.

[Snider&Hodges]

I enjoy the format, I've only recently started delving into some Dynasty Reports and recently came across Dukie98's Cleveland report, he does monthly reports as well. If you're able to include the screencap that shows how your regular starters are hitting/how your rotation and bullpen are doing, I think that's cool too.

The irony of Cano tearing it up offensively is hopefully not lost on you, based on today's RL news haha.

[baseballfanmas]

Originally Posted by Snider&Hodges

I enjoy the format, I've only recently started delving into some Dynasty Reports and recently came across Dukie98's Cleveland report, he does monthly reports as well. If you're able to include the screencap that shows how your regular starters are hitting/how your rotation and bullpen are doing, I think that's cool too.

The irony of Cano tearing it up offensively is hopefully not lost on you, based on today's RL news haha.

Thanks for the feedback. I definitely want to including my lineup and rotation/bullpen stats. I meant to do it this time around but just forgot. I should do it going forward. Only problem I might run into is that I'm still using photobucket. While it doesn't work for a lot of people, it still seems to work for me, so I hope that continues.

Yea, that's a bummer about Cano. I always liked him, even when he was in New York. Let's hope nothing freaky like that happens in my dynasty!

[baseballfanmas]

Breaking News - MLB Draft Date Changed

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has decided to change the date of this years MLB draft to Dec. 4th. We aren't sure if this will be a concrete draft date, or if it will change every year. Mr. Manfred said the reason for the change was two fold. "First, with the MLB cutting minor league levels down to AAA and AA only, with no short season A ball or anything, there wasn't a real need to have a draft during the summer, because for a lot of those players, there might not be anywhere to go. Second, this gets us in tune with all the other pro sports who have their draft after the season, instead of before it."

Also of note (which I might have mentioned earlier), with only 2 levels of minors, the need for a 35 round draft is not there anymore. Mr. Manfred said going forward, the draft will be 10 rounds.

[baseballfanmas]

June 1, 2018

Mariners Continue to Roll, 2 Games up in AL West, Best Record in MLB

Monthly Review:

Record: 36-20 (18-10 in May), .643, 1st, -GB

Another 18-10 month for us, as we continue to surprise a lot of people. We started out going .500 in our first 6 games in May, then won 4 of 6. We had a 4 game winning streak from May 18-22, sweeping Detroit and winning the first game at Oakland. Then we fell a little, losing the final 2 games at Oakland and losing the first game against Minnesota. A nice recovery though, as we ended the month winning 5 of our last 6, including the final 2 against Minnesota, plus 3 of 4 against Texas.

We continue to impress pitching wise, as both our starter and bullpen ERA is tops in the AL. The lone setback in the bullpen is Dan Altavilla and his 6.50 ERA. Batting wise, the Ichiro experiment at DH might be over, as he is batting just .224. Home runs have not been our strength as we are 10th in the AL in home runs, with only 2 players having more than 10. Overall though, the offense has done what it has needed to do.



Mariners News and Transactions

We've optioned LF Taylor Motter down to AAA Tacoma, calling up 1B Dan Vogelbach. Motter was hitting just .197 for us, while Vogelbach was hitting almost .300 in Tacoma. We needed another strong infielder, and had an outfield spot to part with.

2 more SP prospects have been signed, as we've gotten Bryan Mata and Ian Anderson to ink to minor league deals. They'll both start in AA Arkansas.

Needing to get rid of Kirk Nieuwenheis, I worked out a deal with Philadelphia, trading Nieuwenheis to the Phillies for veteran RF Jose Bautista. Bautista is on a $545,000 contract that expires after the season, so I figured I'd just send him to AAA Tacoma for the season and not worry about it. I should have known better. He refused the demotion, and now I've had to put him on waivers too.

Mike Zunino hasn't exactly had the best of rehab stints, batting just .211 in Tacoma, but I've called him back up to the main roster. We need his leadership. I would like to see Mike Marjama remain the starting catcher, and I will say something to manager Scott Servais about it. I wanted to send Chris Herrmann down to Tacoma, but he's out of option years, so he has to clear waivers before he can go to Tacoma.

Chris Hermann cleared waivers and has been send to Tacoma. Unfortunately, so did Jose Bautista. I'm not putting him on the main roster, which means I've had to shop him and set up another minor trade. We've shipped him to the White Sox, getting 2B Ryan Brett in return. Fortunately for us, Brett did accept a demotion to Tacoma, so we're back in business.

SP Casey Lawrence got into a brawl with Rougned Odor (TEX) on May 29th. As a result, the MLB has suspended Lawrence for 6 games. He'll have to miss a start, but since he apparantly remains on the active roster while he is suspended, I guess I'm stuck with a 24 man active roster for the next 6 games.

1B Dan Vogelbach was named the AL Rookie of the Month for May. He batted .299 with 8 homers and 20 RBI. Best thing I could have done was call him up. If he keeps up this pace he'll be a contender for AL Rookie of the Year.

Minor League Report



Josh Smith of Tacoma won the Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Month Award for May. He was 4-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 6 starts. We'll keep a short eye on him for a possible call-up.

Prospect Watch

With the minor league signings of Ian Anderson and Bryan Mata, we now have 5 rated prospects, which has brought our minor league system ranking up to 22nd. Not great, but at least we continue to improve. Keep in mind, the Minor League System rankings only count the top 100 prospects.

RP Ian Anderson (AA): 8 games, 0-0, 6.23 ERA -- Ian's ERA is due to 1 bad outing, his last outing at Midland which raised his ERA from 2.70 to 6.23. In that outing, he gave up 2 earned runs in 1 inning of work. He'll be fine, just a small setback, part of the learning curve. He's currently the 25th rated prospect.

2B Willie Calhoun (AAA): 36 games, .383/.464/.650, 6 HR, 21 RBI -- It's so frustrating not to be able to at least give Willie a shot with the big club. His numbers indicate he deserves a chance, but where am I going to put him. He does also play LF, so if I really wanted to, I could send Ichiro down to Tacoma, although he probably wouldn't accept the promotion. Willie is the 49th ranked prospect, and if he continues to tear it up, I'm either going to have to find a way to get him to Seattle, or send him to a new team.

1B Evan White (AA): 51 games, .282/.321/.379, 3 HR, 25 RBI -- Evan won't be in Arkansas much longer if he keeps performing the way he has. I know that I have delegated my assistant GM to make minor league moves, but at some point, Evan is going to have to get a chance in Tacoma. Right now I need him in Arkansas though, as the AA team is struggling more than the AAA team is. He's currently the 133rd ranked prospect.

SP Bryan Mata (AA): 5 GS, 4-0, 3.25 ERA, 4 BB, 20 SO -- Since being signed in early May, Bryan has been solid, but not spectacular. In 4 of his 5 starts, he went at least 5 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs or less, his start on May 21st at Tulsa seems to be an anomaly, as he only lasted 3 innings in that start, giving up 5 runs, 4 of them earned. Even the best pitchers have rough games, so I'm not worried. He's also looking at a promotion to Tacoma soon if he keeps it up, and he is the 157th ranked prospect.

RP Max Povse: 22 games, 2-1, 1 SV, 3.35 ERA, 14 BB, 44 SO -- Max is an interesting case at the moment, as he's pitching well enough to get a chance in Seattle, and he could get called up if Dan Altavilla continues to struggle on the main roster. The problem with Max is that he's struggling to find a consistent role. He's averaging about 2 innings an appearance, but he came in as a starter, and he wants to be a starter. I, and the rest of the staff here in Seattle, feel he's a better fit as a reliever. I'll give it another month and see where he's at, I'd like to see that ERA dip below 3 by the end of June. He is the 167th ranked prospect.

Around the League

Free Agent Signings

Trevor Rosenthal signed a 1 year/$10,900,000 contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Contract Extensions

DJ LeMahieu (COL) signed a 6 year/$128,800,000 extension with the Rockies.

Major Injuries

Michael Fulmer (DET) suffered a torn rotator cuff and is out for the season.
Yusmeiro Petit (OAK) suffered radial nerve compression and is out for 4 months.
Chris Tillman (BAL) has an arthritic elbow and is expected to miss 4 months.
Ryan Tepera (TOR) ruptered a finger tendon and is expected out 4-5 months.
Amed Rosario (NYM) broke a bone in his elbow and is done for the season.
Ty Blach (SF) fracutured an elbow and is done for the season.
Chad Pinder (OAK) suffered a broken kneecap and is out 4 months.
Jonathan Villar (MIL) tore his ACL and is done for the season.
Richard Bleier (BAL) suffered radial nerve compression and is out for 4 months.
Carlos Correa (HOU) suffered a broken bone in his elbow and is out for the season. Terrible blow for the Astros.
Steve Cishek (ChC) went down with bone chips in his elbow and is out for about 4 months.
Charlie Blackmon (COL) ruptured his achilles tendon and is done for the season.

Top Game Performances

Rhys Hoskins (PHI) hit 3 homers in 4 at-bats on May 9th in a 7-1 victory over San Francisco. He had a 3 run homer, a 2 run homer, and a solo homer.
Carlos Correa (HOU) hit 3 homers in 3 at-bats on May 18th in a 9-3 victory over Cleveland. He had two 3 run homers and a 2 run homer.
Justin Upton (LAA) hit 3 homers in 5 at-bats on May 31st in a 7-2 victory over Detroit. All of them were solo homers.

Whit Merrifield (KC) went 5-5 on May 8th in a 7-6 loss to Baltimore. He had 3 singles, a triple, and a 3 run homer.
Carlos Gonzalez (COL) went 5-5 on May 12th in a 12-3 win over Milwaukee. He had 3 singles and 2 doubles.
Leonys Martin (DET) went 5-5 on May 14th in an 8-3 win over Cleveland. He had 4 singles, 2 of them RBI singles, and 3 triples.
Miguel Montero (WAS) went 5-5 on May 21st in a 15-4 win over San Diego. He had 4 singles, 3 of them RBI singles, plus a solo homer.
Bryce Harper (WAS) doubled up on accomplishments on May 23rd in a 17-3 win over Cleveland (poor Cleveland is just getting blasted so far this season). Harper went 5-5 with 3 homers and 2 singles.
Andrew Benintendi (BOS) went 5-5 on May 31st in a 7-3 win over Houston. He had 3 singles, 1 of them an RBI single, and 2 doubles.

Matt Shoemaker (LAA) pitched a 1 hit shutout on May 17th as the Angels beat Tampa Bay 7-0.
Jhoulys Chacin (MIL) pitched a 2 hit shutout on May 23rd in a 7-0 win over Arizona.

Dinelson Lamet (SD) pitched the first no-hitter of the season in a 1-0 win over Miami. He struck out 13 and walked 1.

Major Trades

Cincinnati traded C Devin Mesoraco to the Los Angeles Angels for LHP Andrew Heaney. Mesoraco has been disappointed this season, batting just .214, while Heaney has a 4-2 record and 2.86 ERA.

Career Milestones

Craig Kimbrel (BOS) picked up career save #300 in a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay on May 24th.

Monthly Awards

AL Hitter of the Month: Manny Machado (BAL) - .349, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 24 runs scored.
NL Hitter of the Month: Bryce Harper (WAS) - .371, 10 HR, 21 RBI, 22 runs scored.
AL Pitcher of the Month: Matt Shoemaker (LAA) - 6 GS, 4-2, 1.28 ERA, 40 SO.
NL Pitcher of the Month: Luis Castillo (CIN) - 6 GS, 5-1, 2.02 ERA, 40 SO.
AL Rookie of the Month: Dan Vogelbach (SEA) - .299, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 18 runs scored.
NL Rookie of the Month: J.P. Crawford (PHI) - .291, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 22 runs scored.

[baseballfanmas]

Just a note, I have not abandoned this dynasty, not even close. I've just had a ton going on the last few weeks. School, work, coaching 2 baseball teams for real, and 3 deaths of friends to deal with.

I plan on getting back into this very soon, maybe even as soon as this weekend. A quick question for those that are reading:

Do you feel like I am including too much in my Around the League section? Last post included a lot of injuries around the league, as well as a lot of top game performances. Could I cut those out? Just trying to get a read here.

I just hope photobucket works properly or still works for me at least, when I get ready to try again. Thanks.

[baseballfanmas]

Bumping this, real life got in the way but I WILL have June of 2018 posted on next week, guaranteed. Thanks for your patience, if anybody has any thoughts, please let me know, I hope people are still following

[baseballfanmas]

July 1, 2018

Mariners Slip in June, but Still Lead Wildcard Race

Monthly Review:

Record: 48-36 (12-16 in June), .571, 2nd in AL West, 7.5 GB, 1st in Wildcard, +1

Well we fell down to earth a little bit this month, as we started the month losing 8 of our first 9. From there we won 5 of our next 7, sweeping the Angels and splitting a 4 game series with Boston. After taking 1 of the from the Yankees, we then took 2 more from Boston, but then lost 3 of 4 against Baltimore. We ended the month by winning 2 from Kansas City.

Our pitching has remained solid, with the #1 starters ERA in the AL, and the #4 bullpen ERA in the AL. Again, Dan Altavilla is a setback with his 5.67 ERA, and Juan Nicascio has a 5.00 ERA. Overall, the batting line-up is pretty solid, but the bottom of the order is in need of some work. I'm going to start the month of July with the Ichiro at DH experiment going, since I don't have anybody on the bench that is hitting any better, but I'd really like to see more out of him.



Mariners News and Transactions

1B Dan Vogelbach strained a hip muscle on June 3 and will be out 5-6 weeks. I've put him on the 10 day DL and I've called up Matt Hague to replace him.

SP Felix Hernandez saw his rehab stint with Tacoma come to an end. While he wasn't the sharpest, posting a 5.70 ERA in 5 starts, he did cut it almost in half after having a 10.24 ERA after his first start. I've called him back up to the main roster, and sent SP Casey Lawrence down to Tacoma. Casey had an ERA over 6 and has been our least effective starter.

I've signed a few more potential prospects, which will be noted when I get to the prospect watch.

Minor League Report



SP Andrew Moore of Tacoma took home the Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Month for June, going 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA, and struck out 28 batters in 29 innings. For the season he is 8-4 with a 4.40 ERA. Not exactly worthy of a call-up yet, but I'll keep an eye on him.

Prospect Watch

RP Ian Anderson (AA), 25th ranked prospect: 10 games, 0-0, 6.23 ERA -- I'm just not sure what to do with Ian, who pitched to just 2 batters in June and gave up a base hit to both of them. He is our highest rated prospect, but the least effective so far. We'll see what he does the rest of the season.

2B Willie Calhoun (AAA), 49th ranked prospect: 63 games, .351/.428/.560 -- Willie cooled off a little bit in June, but he is still one of the best minor league players we have. I'm just at a loss what to do with him. He is so beneficial to the Tacoma Rainiers but he deserves a shot in Seattle. I have a contingency plan in place to get him up to the bigs, and I'll probably give him a shot after the all-star break and hope that him leaving Tacoma doesn't hurt them too much.

SP Jay Groome (AA), 80th ranked prospect: 6 GS, 1-3, 4.61 ERA. -- Jay was one of the guys I signed early in June, and he has been less than productive, going into the 6th inning just 2 times in 6 starts. He's still learning our system though, so I'll continue to keep an eye on him through July.

1B Evan White (AA), 133rd ranked prospect: 70 games, .290/.329/.409 -- Evan will be moving up to Tacoma as a consolation prize. Stunningly, he didn't get named to participate in the Texas League all-star game, but that's only because the 2 first basemen that played for the North squad had even better numbers. Amazing. He had an even better June, and I'm a bit surprised he didn't pick up any awards.

SP Bryan Mata (AA), 157th ranked prospect: 10 GS, 5-1, 3.86 ERA. Bryan will be getting called up to Tacoma, as he was selected to play in the 2018 Texas League All-Star Game. He worked 1 inning in the game and was the winning pitcher. As much as I need him down in Arkansas with the struggling Travelers, it's not looking good for their playoff chances and I can use another strong starter in Tacoma.

RP Max Povse (AAA), 167th ranked prospect: 38 games, 1 save, 2.74 ERA -- I think I can find a spot for Max in Seattle very soon, especially since I have 2 relievers on the main squad with 5.00+ ERAs. He'll get his shot very soon, as soon as I figure out who I can send down.

C Sam McMillan (AA), 183 ranked prospect: 19 games, .172/.303/.203 -- While Sam may be considered a prospect, he won't have a spot with the Mariners organization for long. I just happened to notice he has a potential of 20, and that doesn't make a prospect in my eyes. I'll let him finish out the year, then look to release him.

Around the League

Major Injuries

Bruce Rondon (CHW) suffered a torn UCL and is done for the season.
Yu Darvish (CHC) suffered shoulder inflammation and will miss about a month.
A.J. Pollock (ARI) strained a hamstring and will miss 3-4 weeks.
Matt Harvey (NYM) suffered bone chips in his elbow and is out for the season.
Joey Gallo (TEX) suffered a severely strained hip muscle and will miss the rest of the season.
Noah Syndergaard (NYM) is suffering from forearm inflammation and will miss 4-5 weeks.
Robert Osuna (TOR) suffered radial nerve compression and is done for the season.
Archie Bradley (ARI) suffered a ruptured disc and will miss the rest of the season.

Major Trades

The San Diego Padres have shipped Tyson Ross to the Cincinnati Reds, getting 2 minor league pitchers in return. Ross has a 2-6 record so far this season with a 4.24 ERA.

Season Accomplishments

Nolan Arenado (COL) has finished the month on a 25 game hitting streak.

Career Milestones

Justin Verlander (HOU) picked up career strikeout #2500 in a 4-3 win over us. Congrats to him, but did he have to do it against us?

Monthly Awards

AL Hitter of the Month: Derek Fisher (HOU) - .323, 14 HR, 23 RBI
NL Hitter of the Month: Joey Votto (CIN) - .432, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 24 runs scored.
AL Pitcher of the Month: Aroldis Chapman (NYY) - 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 8 saves, 24 SO.
NL Pitcher of the Month: Luiz Gohara (ATL) - 4-0, 1.15 ERA, 32 SO.
AL Rookie of the Month: Austin Hays (BAL) - .275, 3 doubles, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 runs scored.
NL Rookie of the Month: Ryan McMahon (COL) - .412, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 19 runs scored.

As you can see, I've taken away the top game performance section of the Around the League, as I felt it was just too large and took some of the focus away from the Mariner part of the dynasty. There are still some game accomplishments that'll be reported on, mostly no-hitters or large strikeout games, something like that (basically if it is identified in the game as a milestone, I'll report on it).