Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Mariners "In-Vest" In Their Bullpen

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

The Mariners have added two pitchers -- one via trade, and one via the Rule V Draft. We'll tell you about both new arms the Mariners will have at their disposal next year, and also talk about the Mariners' history with the Rule V Draft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariner's, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you very much, Joey Martin. D.C. Lundberg back here with you from the Greater Spokane area, where there is a lovely blanket of snow on the ground, which should be all washed away by the weekend, where there is a rain-snow-mix forecast for the next several days in a row. And this has been the weather at 16 and 46 past the hour here on Locked-on Mariner's,

part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Built Bar. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program using whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or any program here on the Locked-on podcast network

or T-L-O-P-N or T-L-O-N-E-N-R-N-R-N-E-N-R-N-E-R-G. Also, follow us on Twitter at L-O-O-U-N-S-R-R-G, for those of you who are, in fact, scoring at home. We're going to talk about the Mariners Rule 5 draft choice in the second half of today's program, but before we get to that, the Mariners have made a trade. Yes, it was announced mere hours ago that the Mariners have bolstered their bullpen, so to speak, by acquiring right-handed pitcher Raphael Montero from the Texas Rangers for minor league pitcher Jose Cornel and a player to be named later.

Montero spent last season as the Rangers closer appearing in 17 ball games, finishing 16 of them, and saving eight of them. He had a 408 ERA and a whip of 1.091, did not give up a whole lot of hits, 6.1 hits per 9 innings, one home run exactly per nine innings, 3.1 walks per nine innings, and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He also appeared in 22 ball games with the Rangers in 2019, and in his 39 combined ball games for the Rangers over the last two seasons, 46 and 2 3rds innings, an ERA of 309, a whip of 0.986, 6.8 hits per nine innings, 2.1 walks, per nine innings, 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. That makes for a strikeout to walk ratio of 4.82. 1.4 home runs per nine innings is a tad concerning, but hopefully that number can come

down. He's 30 years old. He turned 30 on October 17th, 6 feet tall, 190 pounds. He also pitched four seasons for the New York Mets at the big league level, 2014 through 2017, 58 ball games, 30 of them were starts. He came up through the ranks as a starting pitcher, had a 538 earned run average, and a very high whip of 1.705. He has had much more success after being moved to the bullpen and out of the starting rotation. He was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets on January 20th, 2011. And in his big league career combined with the Mets and the Rangers, ball games, 30 starts, those all came with the Mets, 493 earned run average 1.565 whip.

Kind of take those numbers a little bit with a grain of salt since the past two seasons with the Rangers as a reliever were much more successful than his first four seasons in and out of the bullpen with the New York Mets. In return, the Mariners have traded 17-year-old prospect, Jose Cornel and a player to be named later, as I mentioned. Cornel is the Mariners number 24. rated prospect and has basically no professional experience.

He was signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, and with last season's minor leagues completely going by the wayside being canceled, he did not appear in any ball games. His only professional experience is a six-week instructional league in Arizona this fall. And again, a player to be named later. And from the sources that I have found, I have it on good authority that that player to be named later is Darnel Coles. The Mariners obviously needed some bullpen help.

They had the worst bullpen in the American League last season. I knew it was bad. I did not realize that it was the worst. And based on what Montero's done with the Rangers, the last two seasons, he can only help. I mean, those are pretty good numbers. The whip two years ago in 2019 was 0.966. Last year's whip was also very good, 1.019.

ERA is a little on the highest side, but again, that's only 17 ball games. It was an abbreviated season. So, you know, do with those numbers what you will. It's not exactly a great barometer on what a pitcher can do. But again, his two seasons combined with the Rangers, 39 ball games, 46, and two-thirds innings, that kind of gives you an idea of what he might be able to do. And the ERA goes way down to 309, and the whip dips beneath 1 at 0.986. and the fact that he doesn't walk a whole lot of batters either,

2.1 walks per nine innings in those, in his two seasons combined. Let's see, 11, 11 walks in 46 and 2 thirds innings. That's promising. I think he can do good things with the Mariners. I hope he can do good things with the Mariners. You know, you never really do know until you get him out there on the mound

to see what he's capable of. But based on the numbers that I'm looking at for the Rangers, I'm very encouraged. and hopefully their Mariners bullpen will not be so much of a weak point next year as it was last season. Going to take a little bit of a break at this time, second half of the program, I'm going to tell you about the Rule 5 draft. We're going to get to the trivia corner here. I'm going to take a break from the hall passes and get to a baseball trivia question,

which today is there are only three players who have played in the Little League World Series, college world series, and Major League Baseball World Series. Who are these three players? I will tell you who these three gentlemen are after this word from Bilt Bar. It's time to play my favorite game, Guess the Language, where I present today's advertisement in a foreign language, and you have to guess to see which language that is. And here we go. If you will have a good-smoking protein bar, which little sugar, calories and carbohydrates,

prove-d-bibar. They are decked of a 100% ecter choclead, and comes in a night. If you guessed that today's language was Norwegian, ding-ding-ding, you are absolutely correct. That said, if you want a great-tasting protein bar that's low in sugar, calories, and carbohydrates, try Bilt Bar. They're covered in 100% real chocolate and come in 18 delicious flavors. Or at the very least, I sincerely hope that's what it said. But don't take my word for it, gang.

Try these things for yourself. They do taste great. They taste as close to a candy bar as a protein bar can get. Great for a pre- or post workout. Protein boost, great for a quick meal out the door or just as a between meal snack. Go to buildbar.com to try them. You can even compile a box consisting of the flavors you'd most like to try or you're already established favorites.

Also, don't forget about Built Boost drink powder and BuiltGo energy shots. And as I've said on many shows, the Built Boost drink powder mixed with plain iced tea renders a delicious flavored iced tea. All of this can be found at Builtbar.com. and if you use promo code locked on, you get 20% off of your order. You can't beat that. And in addition, you get a free Advent calendar

with every purchase while supplies less, so hurry on over to builtbar.com. And don't forget to use promo code locked on at checkout to get 20% off of your order. Answer to today's baseball trivia question, the three players who have played in the Little League, college, and Major League Baseball World Series, one of them is a former Mariner's prospect.

He's Jason Veritech. The other ones are Michael Conforto, who currently plays with the Mets, and left-handed pitcher Ed Vosberg, who pitched for about 58 seasons, as it seems. These are the only three men to have played in the College, Major League, and Little League World Series.

You got a question or comment? Please do send it on over to Lockdown Mariners at gmail.com, and I'll address it in a future mailbag episode. Questions or comments on any subject are encouraged, actually, even during the, when you get to the regular season, I'll still take questions on any subject. I love answering them.

Just keep it family-friendly, please, you know, family show. Locked-on Mariners at gmail.com, the place to send those questions and comments. Locked-on Mariners will continue in, and that 38 billion nanoseconds or so. Welcome back to Locked-on Mariners. Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you very much, J.M. Before we pick things back up, a quick note for you NBA fans out there, the Locked-on NBA fans out there, the Locked-on NBA podcast.

podcast is getting you ready for the start of the regular season with a special week of team preview podcasts all this week. Plus, waiver wire additions from Locked on Fantasy Basketball and rookies to watch for from draft guru Chad Ford. Subscribe to Locked on NBA wherever you get your podcasts. And now back to baseball. And we're going to tell you about who the mayor is selected in this year's Rule 5 draft. They have taken, ladies and gentlemen, minor league pitcher, right-handed pitcher, Will Vest,

of the Detroit Tigers organization. So you might say that the Mariners are invested in the Rule 5 draft. Oh, another terrible pun at the hands of your friend, D.C. Lundberg. Vest did not pitch last year, as again the minor league seasons, they didn't happen. So the most recent numbers we have to go off of are 2019, where he pitched at three different levels in the Tigers system. He pitched in AAA, AA, and Advanced A. and he pitched in a combined 37 ball games,

55 innings worth. These were all relief appearances. In fact, he finished 27 of the 37 ball games. wound up with a combined 327 earned run average and a whip of 1.2, pardon me, yeah, 1.218. 8.0 hits per nine innings, one home run exactly per nine innings, 2.9 walks per nine innings,

9.5 strikeouts per 9. That's a strikeout to walk ratio of 322. He pitched 20 games in AA for the Erie Sea Wolves, where he had a 533 earned run average and a whip of 1.418. He also pitched 14 ball games for the Advanced A Lakeland Flying Tigers, where he had an ERA under 1 at 0.84 in 14 ballgames. 11 of those were finished and a very low whip at 0.750. But again, there's a very big difference between advanced A and double A. He appeared in three games at the AAA level for the Toledo Mudhands. I love minor league names, especially that one. That's a classic.

2.7 earned run average in 6.2 innings. You cannot judge a pitcher based on that few innings pitched. But his stuff has been described as wicked. Quoth Mariners Assistant General Manager, Justin Hollander. We're really excited. He was the number one target on our board. He's a very athletic right-handed reliever who really took a step forward in the instructional league.

His velocity was up, action was up, and command was up. The step forward we saw with all of his pitches and command was pretty significant, end quote. That's pretty good news because, as I said in the first half of the show, Mariners need as much help in the bullpen as they can get. Rule 5 draft choices must remain at the Major League level all season or be offered back to their original team. And the Mariners recently have been very active in the Rule 5 draft. Teams are not required to make a draft choice.

But this year they got Will Vest, as we mentioned. Last year they got Johann Ramirez, who stuck at the big league level all season, posted a 261 earned run average but walked a ton of hitters. And the year before that, Brandon Brennan stuck all season. And he had a 456 earned run average in 44 innings. The year before that, going all the way back to 2017, the mayor's selected Mike Ford, and he was in spring training with the Mariners in 2018,

but he was returned to the Yankees, and he wound up making his major league debut in 2019 for those New York Yankees. Some of the other draft choices that the Mariners have selected in 2011, they got Lucas Letgey, who stuck at the big league level for the entire 2012 season, and as a matter of fact, was part of that combined no-hitter. In 2007, the Mariners selected R.A. Dickie,

the 33-year-old knuckleballer, and the Mariners did keep him for the entire 2008 season, but he became a free agent, later went on to win the National League's Sy Young Award with the Mets in 2012, had a 5-2-1 earned run average with the Mariners in 2008. The Mariners in 1992 selected two players, right-handed pitcher Reggie Harris and infielder Fernando Vienia. Harris did spend two seasons in the Mariners minor league system. In fact, he was re-signed as a minor league free agent. after the 1993 season. Never pitched at the big league level for the Mariners,

but did, he had previously pitched for the Oakland A's, and then later went on to pitch for the Red Sox, Phillies, Astros, and Brewers. Fernando Vena was later offered back to the Mets in mid-June, and the Mets did take him back, and he actually wound up being an all-star in 1998 within Milwaukee Brewers, won a gold glove, turned into a pretty good contact hitter. May best be remembered, though, for being on the receiving end of the infamous Albert Bell

Forearm Shiver in 1996. Getting back to this year's Rule 5 draft, however, the Mariners did not lose anybody in the Rule 5 draft, so there's some good news there. That's pretty much going to wrap up this episode, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to talk about the shake-up of the

minor leagues on the next episode, which obviously affects every franchise that there is. We're going to tell you how it affects the Mariners. We're going to tell you how it affects the Everett Aqua Sox as well and the league in which they play. They are no longer a short-season single A league, ladies and gentlemen. They've moved up in the world and will tell you about the Northwest League, the League in which the Aqua Sox play,

and the League in which the Spokane Indians play on our next episode. I'm hoping Jason Hernandez will be able to join us for that one. I'm still not sure. Either way, I will be joined by Ross Ewich, Astro, and a rotary telephone. Please remember to download rate and subscribe to this program using whichever podcasting app that you can think of. Follow us on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners and follow me on Twitter at D.C. underscore Lundberg. Thank you for listening to today's show, ladies and gentlemen, whether this is your first episode or whether you're a longtime listener, I appreciate each and every one of you tuning into this program. Take care of yourselves.

This is Joey Martin speaking for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.