| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 02-28-2013 |
The Seattle Mariners have won five straight Cactus League games and will go for No. 6 Thursday in Scottsdale versus the San Francisco Giants.
The stories Wednesday were Danny Hultzen, who fanned four in two innings and Carlos Peguero, who homered twice. Hultzen has looked more like his usual self this spring after struggling to throw strikes last summer in Tacoma.
Thursday's game can be heard live at Mariners.com. No television, but Monday's game versus the Rockies will be televised.
Pitching Probables
Right-hander Jon Garland makes his first start of the spring and hopes to fare better than Jeremy Bonderman. There's a long way to go -- four-plus weeks -- but starting off behind the 8-ball makes it very tough on a non-roster invitee, who already has to impress enough for the team to warrant sloughing off another 40-man roster member in order to keep him.
Garland has not pitched in the majors since June 2, 2011.
Matt Cain is on the hill for the Giants for the first few frames, giving the M's bats a nice challenge.
Also scheduled to pitch
Blake Beavan, RHP; Erasmo Ramirez, RHP; Tom Wilhelmsen, RHP; Carter Capps, RHP; Yoervis Medina, RHP; Chance Ruffin, RHP.
Lineup
1. Franklin Gutierrez, DH
2. Eric Thames, LF
3. Casper Wells, RF
4. Justin Smoak, 1B
5. Jesus Montero, C
6. Julio Morban, CF
7. Alex Liddi, 3B
8. Nick Franklin, 2B
9. Brad Miller, SS
Murderer's Row?
It's spring training and stats mean zero, but the M's lead all of baseball in long balls with 12 in seven games. Seven have come left-handed.
The home runs also have led the M's to the top of the ranks in slugging percentage at .549. They're hitting .298 (7th) as a team with 28 extra-base hits (2nd).
Upcoming Pitching
Friday: James Paxton, LHP; Brandon Maurer, RHP; Anthony Fernandez, LHP; Andrew Carraway, RHP; Brian Moran, LHP; Bobby LaFromboise, LHP; Danny Farquhar, RHP; Logan Bawcom, RHP; Carson Smith, RHP.
spring-training-preview:-game-7
Comments
The following 16 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Docmilo on 02-28-2013 09:21:18 There has been a lot of talk about Smoak having a short leash so to say. What about Ackley? How long do the M's give him to produce? Does he have any options left? Also, I read somewhere that made it sound like if Bonderman doesn't make the big club, he will just go home. If a guy hasn't pitched in 2 years I would think he would need to start in the minors to get his command back. Will Bonderman accept a minor league assignment? It just seems that no matter how many regulars aren't playing, this team has power thru the entire lineup. |
| 2. By: Rockstar Parking on 02-28-2013 09:22:03 What are the chances for either Garland or Bonderman to crack the rotation? And if not, would either or both be sent to Tacoma to continue getting back up to speed? It's nice to have so many options to choose from. |
| 3. By: eknpdx on 02-28-2013 09:41:15 Jason, likelihood Morban can stick at CF? |
| 4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 02-28-2013 09:58:02 Doc, Ackley will be given as much leash as Smoak, which means at least through this season and a few months into next. Rockstar, I think one of them will make it, but if they don't, nothing lost because it will mean Erasmo and Beavan beat them out. And that doesn't mean "got better results" during spring training, it means they will have shown the club more for 2013 and beyond than the two vets. Very possible. It's also possible that Hultzen is so sharp that he breaks camp as the No. 5. ek, I haven't seen Morban in CF since like '08, but the fact that he doesn't play there everyday suggests to me the club does not feel he's a good CF. Judging by that, I'd say slim. Ask me again in three weeks, because I'll see Morban, likely in MiLB camp. |
| 5. By: maqman on 02-28-2013 11:32:38 It's better for the team if the kids beat out the vets for the two rotation spots, the team will control them for years. Most likely if Bonderman or Garland make the team they will move on after the season or want more money and years to stay. It's encouraging to see all the dingers and a lot of them would have been out at The Safe too but not the wall scrapers. The light Arizona air helps all the teams hitters though so it's impressive when compared to the M's teams of recent years. |
| 6. By: Rockstar Parking on 02-28-2013 11:59:41 Maq, I see what you're saying, but I think it would be better if, say, Garland shows enough to crack the rotation and give Hultzen a couple of months to get his feet under him in Tacoma. You're only looking for 2-3 good months out of the 5th starter until one of the kids demands a spot. As far as what happens with Garland/Bonderman after this season, and even Saunders for that matter, doesn't really matter. M's likely wouldn't have a spot open for them anyway. |
| 7. By: rjfrik on 02-28-2013 13:41:55 Man Smoak is hot. Loving it. Think of him protected next year by Morales and Morse. That would be huge! Please stay in the groove Justin! Also, Franky is looking good. I think he's finally healthy and it's showing. Montero is also looking good. This could end up being a good year. We shall see. |
| 8. By: Edman on 02-28-2013 16:02:21 More important is to not rush any of the big four to the starting rotation, at least until there's no fear of losing a year of team control. Based on last season, Hulzen, Walker and Paxson all had issues. There's no need to rush them, especially if you lose a year of team control doing it. |
| 9. By: Edman on 02-28-2013 16:03:42 Personally, I think the concern over Guti's health is a little overblown. It's more about bad luck, than something chronically causing him problems. |
| 10. By: Marlin Man on 02-28-2013 16:10:20 #7-rjfrik Now Now, don't get excited, you KNOW nothing really matters in Spring Training, Just have Dave C. advise you on your "fellings" M.M. |
| 11. By: Bookbook on 02-28-2013 16:32:23 I've pondered this. It's going to be a challenge to give all four a full shot when they're ready. So, the best case for me is that either Hultzen, or especially Maurer, forces his way into the #5 rotation spot for opening day. I'm not convinced Maurer gets a full chance any other way. |
| 12. By: Rockstar Parking on 02-28-2013 17:15:57 Book- Why do you think that Hultzen or Maurer needs to be on the opening day roster to get a "full shot"? Saunders and whoever gets the 5th spot are completely expendable. The M's might even get some small chit in a mid-season trade of Saunders. As Edman points out, there are legitimate developmental and service-time reasons for all of the big four to start the year in the minors. I could see the M's going with Felix/Kuma/Saunders/Ramirez/Garland to start the season. Bring up Hultzen in June/July (getting rid of the worse of Saunders/Garland). Bring up Maurer at the trade deadline (getting rid of remaining player of Saunders/Garland). Give a September call-up to Paxton and Walker. This is all ridiculous speculation on my part given the injury/performance issues that will likely occur somewhere along the way. What really intrigues me: who is the odd man out in 2014 in an ideal world where all of Felix, Kuma, Ramirez, Hultzen, Maurer, Paxton, and Walker are all healthy and performance ready? |
| 13. By: Bookbook on 02-28-2013 19:07:24 Accept my premise that the M's are good enough to be on the fringes of contention through the summer. Maybe you replace the #5 with whoever's most ready in July, but I doubt you kick out Saunders, too. Assuming no major injuries, as you say, there are 7 guys who may be needful of a starting gig in 2014. (And after near-contention, maybe some pressure to resign Saunders or another FA, as well) Of those, maybe only Ramirez will be worth full value in a trade, because it's hard to trade pitchers who haven't really proved it in the majors. Coming up behind, Victor Sanchez, Tyler Pike and others start to put the screws to whosoever doesn't make 2014's rotation. I know I'm getting way ahead of the facts on the ground, but I have found a way to worry and fret while still telling myself that I'm optimistic! I definitely would not hold back on any starting pitcher in order to game service time. I think Pineda proved that point. Twice. |
| 14. By: valencia on 02-28-2013 22:52:37 What's so special about Maurer? His K/9 in AA last year was 7.65. His BB/9 wasn't sub 2. He's fun because he's got a projectable frame, he has a 95 mph fastball, and 3 breaking pitches, but nothing tells me he's ready for the actual show right now. Barring miraculous improvement, he's looking like a MOR-BOR candidate at best. Kuma and Ramirez are nothing special. Both are MOR guys, guys easy to trade or stash. Hultzen, Paxton, and Walker are still the future, and Paxton, Ramirez, and Kuma have enough injury concerns no one should care Maurer, a guy who's still not Top-100 level for a good reason, doesn't have a job for him the minute he's ready. And Sanchez/Pike/Gohara are 16-18 years old. 3 years away at best, most likely 4-5, if they survive the attrition. Deal with that when it comes. There's always a Marlins fire sale if you need to win now by mortgaging the farm. I mean if you really want to dream best case where everyone hits their 95% projections, go ahead. In which case you just package him up with a shortstop and trade for an OFer... |
| 15. By: dewey on 02-28-2013 23:40:14 It is spring training good are bad there are alot of players who arent M.L. players playing good for us are bad for us .I love we are 5-1 but my hopes arent getting to high....YET |
| 16. By: Rockstar Parking on 03-01-2013 10:34:49 Whatever happens, I love the depth the M's have built up over the past few years and I think we really see the payoff this year and next. Book, I accept your premise and think it is a reasonable expectation. However, being on the fringe of contention should not be a reason to hold on to someone like Saunders IF both Hultzen and Maurer have excelled in AAA this year. IF both have reached the upper end of their potential, both would be more valuable to the M's down the stretch than a Saunders. They would also be significantly cheaper and neither will be a FA at the end of the season. Also, not suggesting service time would be the only reason to start any of the big four in the minors. Each would benefit from more development time before reaching the show. But if Hultzen is dominant like Pineda was a couple years back, by all means bring him up. Val- Maurer, if he reaches his max potential, would be a very valuable piece of the rotation. He may not be Top-100, but he falls just outside. And a solid 3-4 on a minimum contract sounds good to me. And yes, what I was alluding to above about 7 potential quality starters for 2014, was that the M's would be in a great position to pull off a trade to fill a need elsewhere. It's a very nice problem to have. Go M's! |
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