Alberto Rodriguez had arguably been one of the best performers in the Seattle Mariners organization through the first two months of the season. In the last week and a half he has been on a massive hot streak. In his 6 games with the AquaSox he dominated the Eugene Emeralds pitching staff, nearly hitting .500 and he had 6 home runs.
Have a week, Alberto! 🔥@EverettAquaSox | #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/9L4zwwGQrE
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) May 29, 2023
This is a new development for Rodriguez because he spent last season with the AquaSox and did not dominate the level at age 21. He slashed .261/.336/.396 in over 500 plate appearances and struck out 26% of the time. Now a year older at 22 years old, Rodriguez has been raking.
So far this season the lefty is hitting .335/.417/.684 with 31 extra base hits, ten of which are homers. His strikeout percentage is also down to about 22%. Hitting nearly .500 for a week will really help your numbers, but even before his hot week he was still hitting over .300. If Rodriguez keeps hitting and hitting for power in the Northwest League the Mariners might need to challenge him and send Rodriguez to Arkansas.
Modesto Nuts (A) – California League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 5 | Cole Young | SS | .272/.404/.411, HR, 14.8% BB, 152% K |
| 9 | Gabriel Gonzalez | OF | .363/.420/.529, 3 HR 7.2% BB, 14.4% K |
| 18 | Michael Morales | RHP | 8 GS, 40.1 IP, 4.24 ERA, 23.7% K, 8.5% BB |
| 28 | Tyler Gough | RHP | 8 G, 7 GS, 23 IP, 6.26 ERA, 19% K, 13% BB |
| 35 | Milkar Perez | 3B | .266/.377/.353, 13.5% BB, 25.3% K |
| 36 | Josh Hood | SS/3B | .271/.348/.414, 3 HR, 10.8% BB, 21.6% K |
| 48 | Tatem Levins | C | .306/.390/.553, 4 HR 13% BB, 20% K |
Everett AquaSox (A+) — Northwest League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 1 | Harry Ford | C | .252/.429/.411, 6 HR, 21.2% BB, 18% K |
| 8 | Axel Sanchez | SS | .187/.287/.271, HR, 9.8% BB, 31.1% K |
| 13 | Tyler Locklear | 3B | .311/.419/.572, 11 HR, 12.4% BB, 22.1% K |
| 25 | Hogan Windish | 2B | .218/.340/.513, 6 HR, 14.9% BB, 28.7% K |
| 29 | Alberto Rodriguez | OF | .335/.417/.684, 10 HR, 9.9% BB, 21.5% K |
| 38 | Walking Cabrera | OF | .245/.304/.455, 7 HR, 8.1% BB, 30.4% K |
Arkansas Travelers (AA) – Texas League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 6 | Bryan Woo | RHP | 9 GS, 44 IP, 2.05 ERA, 34.3% K, 7% BB |
| 7 | Emerson Hancock | RHP | 10 GS, 40.1 IP, 6.25 ERA, 27.2% K, 14.1% BB |
| 12 | Prelander Berroa | RHP | 12 G, 5 GS, 32 IP, 4.22 ERA, 36.2% K, 18.4% BB |
| 14 | Jonatan Clase | OF | .275/.385/.582, 13 HR, 14.7% BB, 30.3% K |
| 19 | Juan Then | RHP | 7 G, 7 IP, 5.00 ERA, 27.5% K, 7.5% BB |
| 21 | Robert Perez Jr. | 1B | .253/.308/.416, 7 HR, 6.2% BB, 31.3% K |
| 22 | Isaiah Campbell | RHP | 12 G, 13 IP, 2.77 ERA, 26.4% K, 7.5% BB |
| 26 | Juan Mercedes | RHP | 10 G, 9 GS, 48.1 IP, 4.28 ERA, 23.8% K, 7% BB |
| 33 | Travis Kuhn | RHP | 17 G, 18 IP, 3.00 ERA, 18.4% K, 13.2% BB |
| 45 | Spencer Packard | OF | .302/.426/.481, 5 HR, 16% BB, 20% K |
Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) – Pacific Coast League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 15 | Taylor Dollard | RHP | 3 GS, 8.1 IP, 7.56 ERA, 22.2 K%, 8.3% BB |
| 20 | Cade Marlowe | OF | .241/.291/.407, 3 HR, 6.3% BB, 29.7% K |
| 24 | Zach DeLoach | OF | .294/.394/.439, 5 HR, 13.1% BB, 30%K |
| 40 | Stephen Kolek | RHP | 14 G, 20.1 IP, 7.97 ERA, 22.3% K, 11.7% BB |
| UR | Brian O’Keefe | C | .253/.360/.521, 10 HR, 14% BB, 23.8% K |
| UR | Jake Scheiner | INF/OF | .290/.400/.601, 15 HR, 15% BB, 18.2% K |
Mariners Draft Spotlight
Now we are in June, just over a month before the draft, and mock draft season is heating up. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline projected that Seattle would select TCU third baseman Brayden Taylor with their 22nd overall pick. Callis noted that the M’s could try to float a prospect down the board to them if they want to flex their financial muscle in the draft because of their large bonus pool. He also commented that it is too early to know who the club might try to float down the board, so it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of clarity about what direction the Seattle organization will go in the first round.
Taylor was recently one of the players that Joe Doyle highlighted in his comparisons piece over at Future Stars Series. Doyle compared the lefty TCU third baseman to former Padres infielder Chase Headly. He notes that both are good athletes and that Taylor should provide some value on the bases. Doyle said, “Taylor should be a power-over-hit type of guy with low chase rates buoying his batting average and on-base numbers.”
Another comp Doyle suggested at the end of his piece was former Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, “who built a career on passivity at the plate and a grooved HR swing with a solid glove at third base.”
Mariners Prospects in the News
Brent Stecker of Seattle Sports wrote about two Mariners rookies who came out of nowhere.
MLB Pipeline highlighted every teams best draft pick from the 2018 draft and it includes a big league starter for the Mariners.
Bryan Woo and Jake Scheiner were named Mariners Minor League Players of the Month.
Curtis Christianson
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