Sleepers: Seattle Mariners
By Adam Forsyth
The Shallow
Franklin Gutierrez – Outfield (CF)
Acquired in the monster 12-player deal in early December, from the Cleveland Indians, Gutierrez is penciled in as the starting center fielder for the Mariners’ heading into spring training.
Possessing decent speed and enough pop in the bat, this 25-year old product of Venezuela couldn’t catch on in a congested Indians outfield. With the Mariners’ in re-build mode, it is a nice fit for his right-handed bat. While he’s struggled at the plate a bit, with a career BA of .258 ,it can be isolated to his plate discipline. With a 4.2AB/K (that isn’t far off of his minor league ratio through 2300+ AB’s of 4.26/K), Gutierrez isn’t afraid to whiff. However, when he is placed at the lower end of the line-up, it could be the difference between him being an everyday player, to that of a platoon situation.
In a somewhat thin Mariners offense, I don’t expect the world from Gutierrez, but I do expect him to contribute. He’ll likely be used in the two slot of the line-up, and would therefore see some decent pitches, which should help. Even taking just a few more pitches would help that lackluster OPS.
The Deep
Michael Saunders – Outfield
A potential 5-tool player, this Canadian centre field prospect has shot up the charts within the Mariners system, with solid seasons riding the buses of the minor leagues. Good speed on the base paths, as well as decent enough pop, should allow this kid to jump into the mix at some point over the next couple of seasons.
At only 22, Saunders has some seasoning before he is major league ready; however, he could be used as a lead-off batter if he develops into more of a contact hitter. Currently, his strikeout ratio of 3.38 AB/K has got to get in check in order to be an effective number one batter in the line-up.
A contributor to the Canadian Olympic team, Saunders used a stellar performance in Beijing to up his worth, by hitting .285, while scoring 5R, 2 Doubles, 2 HR & 4 RBI in 7 games. Not a bad showing at all on the world display of the Olympics. Canada seems to be producing more and more skilled positional players, hopefully we can add Saunders to that list in the near future.
