Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - M's Give Away a Winable Game/Prospect Talk With Aram Leighton (Part the Fourth)

Episode Date: August 13, 2020

After the Mariners seemingly hand the Rangers a victory on Wednesday night, D.C. talks about how it went so wrong so quickly, and also shares what's frustrating him about J.P. Crawford and Daniel Vogelbach. The fourth part of his conversation with Aram Leighton continues the talk about the future outfield, along with some present-day outfield discussion. 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.

This is Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lunberg. Yeah, yeah, yeah, here he is. Probably a little salty, as I'm recording this, right after the conclusion of Wednesday night's game, which was, in effect, a crap fest. Well, the eighth inning was a crap fest, at least. But in any case, I am D.C. Lunberg here to bring you another edition of Locked-on Mariners. Of course, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network brought to you,

by Rock Auto. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or Locked-on-Mariner's podcast or Locked-on podcast, any of the great programs here on the Locked-on podcast network, or T-L-O-P-N-L-L-O-U-Nor-L-Square. Follow this program on Twitter at L-O-U-U-Ner-Rerners, and follow me on Twitter as well, gang. at DC underscore Lundberg. That is L-U-N-D-B-E-R-G for those scoring at home.

And again, the game. Yes, the game was, well, it started out fine. In fact, the second inning was actually quite enjoyable to watch. Austenola let it off with the home run. Daniel Vogelback hit a home run in this inning as well, a two-run shot that was crushed, ladies and gentlemen. 441 feet, the estimated distance on that one. center-cut fastball right at the top of the zone that Voguey just pounced on, and then Kyle Lewis

the sacrifice fly to score Tim Lopes to end the scoring in that inning. Rangers would score in the sixth inning on a throwing error by J.P. Crawford. He threw another one away, just fielded it, just lazily flipped it over to first base, errant throw. And the throw wasn't that bad gang, but still, you've got to give the first base of him a better shot than that. Moore was playing first base today in Evan White's stead to get most of the day off. He couldn't pick it out of the dirt. It was to his right. And what made it a little bit more frustrating is the fact that the runner who scored

should not have been on base at all. Derek Dietrich was called to have been hit by a pitch while he was at the plate previously in the inning. And replay after replay showed, in my estimation, that it missed him. The umpire called it right away. And when the umpire called it, Derek Dietrich was just back. away as if he was ready to get back in the box. He didn't think it hit him either. Umpire called it right away. Dietrich sprinted to first base. Scott Service did challenge the play,

as he should have done, but the umpires of New York still missed it because they miss a lot, ladies and gentlemen. But in any case, enough about that. Derek Dietrich scored on the play. Rangers would score in the seventh inning as well on a Willie Calhoun single. Former Mariners Shinsu Chu scored on that play, and then we get to the disastrous. eighth inning. Eric Swanson comes into pitch, strikes out. Nick Solac, okay. And then Derek Dietrich's singles. He reached base, by the way, all four times he came to the plate this game. This was Derek Dietrich's first game as a Texas Ranger. He started at second base in Rugnett Odors Stead, who's been struggling, it seems, for about two seasons. Rangers might finally be done with them,

who knows, which is kind of a shame. I have a soft spot in my heart for Rugnett door for absolutely clocking Jose of Batista a few seasons ago, which Batista absolutely 100% deserved, but I'm digressing again. In any case, Derek Dietrich hit a one-out single. Elvis Andrews hit a double sending Dietrich to third base. Todd Frazier is then hit by a pitch. He was pinch-hating, by the way, for Rob Reff Snyder. So the bases are now loaded with one out. Jeff Mathis bloops one into shallow left field just over the reach. of J.P. Crawford. He almost had it, gang. That brought the score to four to three. Bases are still loaded. Chew then hits a sack fly to tie the game, and Isaiah Kiner Folef is hit by a pitch to reload the

bases. So Eric Swanson's in auspicious day is done, and they bring in Taylor Williams to replace him. Taylor Williams promptly coughs up a wild pitch to bring the game to five, four. Willie Calhoun promptly hits a single to score two runs and bring the game. to 7 to 4, which wound up being the final score of the ballgame, ladies and gentlemen. This was a frustrating loss for the Mariners. This is one that they really just kind of gave away. And Eric Swanson is mostly to blame, but there was some bad luck involved as well, you know, the hit by pitch that wasn't, which put Dietrich on,

plus the bloops single by Mathis, you know, that brought the ranges to within one run just out of the reach of J.P. Crawford's glove. But again, Eric Swanson just did not have it today. And this is the second time that I can remember in the last couple of weeks where J.P. Crawford just looked lazy throwing the baseball to first base. That's unacceptable. He's got a good glove. And what's even more frustrating is the very next play, he made a fantastic stop and flipped the ball to shed long out of his glove to end the inning. He is a good shortstop. He's a good shortstop. just suffers from these, I don't want to say

suffers because it's self-inflicted. He can get lazy throwing the baseball, and that's got to end. He can make the spectacular play. He needs to be able to make the routine play as well, which he does most of the time. It's just when their laziness kind of creeps up. It seems

to creep up in key moments. Maybe it's just me. I don't know. There was one other frustrating part of the ball game I want to speak about specifically, and that was Daniel Vogelbach's either second or third at bat. In his first ad bat, he launched that home run that we spoke of, which was a center cut fastball at the top of the zone. The second or third at bat, the one I'm referencing here,

he went to 3 and O, and there was another center cut fastball near the top of the zone at 92 or 93 miles an hour, that he just let go for strike one. Vogelback has a tendency to let hitable pitches go by early or semi-early in a count four strikes, and then, he has to really hit some tough pitches later on at the bat, which he can't handle. And this is a prime example. He let that hitable fastball go, and the very next pitch was a slider or a curveball that grazed the bottom of the zone, which he wasn't going to do anything with if he offered at it other than swing and miss or ground out weakly to a middle infielder.

But watching him let that fastball go by was really frustrating. He wound up actually walking in this particular at bat. He did reach base. but the point remains. He's got to be more... This is why he's hitting 100, because ordinarily he will let a hitable pitch go and then he'll have to hit that low curve ball

that's just at the bottom of the zone or spins out of the zone and he'll wave over it for a strikeout in most cases. Mariners waste a pretty good effort by Taiwan Walker. He goes six innings, gives up six hits. That one run which was not earned because of the error by J.P. Crawford, which again shouldn't have been on base in the first.

first place. One walk, five strikeouts, the one hit by pitch. That wasn't. Joey Gerber then came in for two-thirds of an inning. One run, it was earned on a walk. Anthony Mosevic cleaned up with one third of an inning. He gave up one hit and the struck out the battle that he faced. Eric Swanson, the less head about him the better. His ERA is now 14.40 on the season. Two-thirds of an inning, three hits, five runs. All of them earned. He did strike out one. And then Taylor Williams from that third of an inning, a walk and a hit for him. Ooh, anyways, enough of this travesty. Let's get to the Mariners trivia question,

which will not reference last night's game or Tuesday's loss. Let's go back to Monday, where Kyle Seeger hit the first Grand Slam in the short history of the Texas Rangers new ballpark. Today's question is this, who hit the first grand slam in Safeco Field history? Answer following this from Rock Auto. With the ever-increasing numbers of makes and mob,

It's impossible these days to stock all the parts that are needed in a traditional chain store front. Wyander, pointless and intimidating questioning while you wait for the counterman to order the parts on his computer, and he is only going to choose the brand that his warehouse carries. You've got computers with access to rockado.com at home and write in your very own pocket. Why would you choose to spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same parts at a store or dealership? Chain stores have different price tiers for pro mechanics and do it yourselfers. On the other hand, gang, rockado.com's prices are the same for everybody, and they're reliably low to boot. Rockato.com is a family business, serving auto parts customers online for 20 years.

Go to rockato.com to shop for auto and body parts from hundreds of manufacturers. Whether it's for your daily driver or for your classic, get everything you need in a few easy clicks delivered directly to your door. The rock auto.com catalog is unique and remarkably easy to navigate. Quickly see all the parts available for your vehicle and choose to bring. Friends, specifications, and prices that you prefer. Why spend it twice as much money for the same parts? No reason to do that, gang. Go to rockado.com right now to see all the parts available for your car, truck, van, SUV,

whatever you drive. Right, locked on in their how did you hear about us box? So they know for a fact that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, and all the parts your car will ever need. Rockato.com. The answer to the trivia question, the first Grand Slam hit in Safeco Field history was hit by Raul Ibanez in Safeco Field's third game on July 17, 1999 in the seventh inning of Carlos Reyes. The Mariners would win this game 9 to 1.

And remember, gang, if you've got a question for me or a comment on the show, just send an email to Lockdown Mariners at gmail.com, and I will consider using your question or comment in the Friday mailbag segment. Questions about anything does not have to be about baseball. The comment doesn't even have to be a particularly nice comment. I'll read disparaging once just as long as it's family-friendly appropriate and not too insulting. And again, does not have to be a baseball comment, does not have to be a baseball question. I will answer just about anything just as long as it is family-friendly and appropriate as I said. We are doing a mailbag segment on tomorrow's program.

program, so if you want to be considered for this week's show, get your question in by this afternoon. Mariners have an off day today, so I'm probably going to be recording pretty much as soon as I get home from work, rather than having to wait for a ball game to end. More locked on Mariners following this from CBDMD. It doesn't matter if you were a pro athlete. Stay at home, parent. If you spend eight hours a day in an uncomfortable office chair, no matter what you do, gang, everybody needs support to make it through the day. Luckily, our friends at CBDMD, or Suboomdom, have an amazing duo that can help you relax, regroup, and recharge when life gets chaotic. CBD freeze with menthol is an award-winning product that offers instant cooling relief for muscles and joints in a convenient, easy-to-use roller, or shareable squeeze tube. CBD-recover combines CBD with inflammation-fighting compounds such as Arnica and vitamin B6 to give you the support you need where it matters most,

and to make it even easier to try this amazing duo of topicals and everything else CBDMD has to offer, they're offering everybody who can hear the voice I'm using right now 25% off your next order when you use the promo code Locked on MLB at checkout. Once again, CBDMD.com, promo code locked on MLB for 25% off your purchase of superior CBD oil products from CBDMD.

Now time for the CBDMD. Now time for the second half of Locked-on Mariners. Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, indeed. And this second half will be much more enjoyable, I think, than the first half. Because it's part four of our conversation with Aram Layton of Locked-on MLB prospects talking about the Mariners Farm System. We left off yesterday talking about the outfield,

Kyle Lois, Jared Kelnick, and Julio Rodriguez. And there's more outfield talk in this installment. Enjoy. Let's start talking about the Mariners Outfield Future. And the future is there at the big league level right there in one person. And that is Kyle Lewis. Nobody really saw this coming to this degree, no matter how much you liked Kyle Lewis. He has so many tools.

You can see him just maturing at the plate every single at bat. It's almost like he stores the knowledge and applies it to the next at bat. And it has been really fun to watch. And then to go and look at the other outfield prospects, you could still feel good about the future of the Mariners Outfield just off of Jared Kowlinick and Julio Rodriguez alone. I mean, an outfield of Jared Kalinick and Julio Rodriguez you can just dream on. The Mariners Outfield is stacked.

I want to go over some of the names, we mentioned three names. I want to get back to Kyle Lewis because we brought him up a few minutes ago, and I'll bring up his season stats coming into today. Actually, I'll bring up his Major League stats for the 32 games coming into today. he's got a 315 batting average and nine home runs. I did not foresee the power he has displayed at the major league level. I've always said that it's an anomaly because he never showed that power in the minor leagues. I kind of feel like he is about where you said, probably amid 200s, you know, somewhere maybe between 250 and 280.

I know that's a big swing, but with 20, 25 home runs. Is that kind of how you see him playing out once he gets settled? Absolutely. I think that's probably what the case. is going to be with him. What I like to say often is with prospects, the difference between the ones that pan out and the ones who exceed expectations is how you adjust to the league adjusting for you. So it's like that second adjustment right now. So everybody in the league when they play the Mariners now is game planning for Kyle Lewis. Yeah. And that's why there's the infamous

sophomore slump that people like to talk about. And I'm not saying Kyle Lewis is going to have that sophomore slum. But to not have that sophomore slum, he needs to be able to adjust to how the league adjust to him. Kyle Lewis is not impervious to having any holes in his swing. I'm sure that there are some areas where pitchers are going to learn to exploit him. It's going to be whether he can lay off those pitches or whether he can make the adjustments to hit those pitches, which will ensure that he can reach that 280 range. If he adjust and is still solid, I think 250 is the floor. But if he's playing good defense, which we know he's a good defender. We've seen some of the place he's made already, and he has a for an arm. If he's playing good defense hitting 2.50 and hitting you 20 bombs,

that's a legitimate, you know, above-average outfield option to complement two of your superstars potentially coming up through the system. But I think Kyle Lewis has a chance to also exceed that just depending on how much he's able to sustain his ability to make frequent contact, because that's the biggest thing that was unforeseen for me. Yes, the power, kind of come out of nowhere, but the consistent contact and consistent line drives and spraying the ball over the field, that is something I definitely did not see coming. And I'm curious to see if he can maintain it as the league develops a scouting report against him. We shall see. I want to talk about his defense also. Coming into this season, he was seen as a corner

outfield option, even though he did rise through the system as a center fielder. But as you mentioned he had been hurt, his knees had been bothering him. And he's kind of, he's almost a season's worth of plate appearances behind his peers because of that. That doesn't seem to have hurt him too much. But during summer camp, he played, he started playing center field again. And he looked good enough to where the Mariners said, all right, we're putting you in center field. And we're sliding Malik Smith over to right field. I did not see that happening. Yeah. And I think that's a testament to the Mariners saying, yeah, we want to win now, but we're more focused on the development of our future stars.

And if you want to find out if Kyle Lewis can play center field, now is the time to find it out because next year the Mariners have a chance to be competitive if some of those pieces are ready. We talked about Evan White. He's a bounceback candidate next year if he continues to struggle this year. Some of the arms should be ready. And some of the other pieces should be coming together now for the Mariners. So find out now if Kyle Lewis can be your center fielder.

But I also think Jared Kalinick can stick to center field too. He has above average speed. He is efficient out there, but he does also have an arm for the corner outfield spots as well. So that's kind of one of the things where the Mariners in the future might be able to just go with the hot hand in terms of who is really playing the best defense at this moment. And who do we want to put where? Because Kalinick could probably play center field. I think Lewis could play center field. And whoever, it could be a competition between those two as to who plays left versus center because they both have the arm to play a corner outfield position.

and that is just a great luxury for the Mariners to have. And with Lewis right now, the thing we were talking about with the power coming out of nowhere, he did hit in one of the worst parks for hitters in terms of where he was in Arkansas. It's just not a great spot. And that's what he actually said in an interview. I felt like I was running into baseballs that were gone and they were landing in gloves. I think MLB Pipeline had written a piece on that. Wow.

And that's something that, you know, we don't even think about sometimes. And also, it's worth noting, again, I keep teasing this interview, but it's just because so many things apply with Griffin Cohnan, and also a power-hitting outfielder. He talked about the difference between the major league baseballs and the minor-league baseballs and told the story about when he went to, I forget what stadium it was, but for whatever reason, the AAA, I think it was the AAA stadium.

So they use batting practice major league baseballs, and they use the major league baseballs for the season, too. And they had left out the basket of Major League Baseballs. And so his team got to hit batting practice with those balls. And he said, one, that he's a power hitter. So for him, he could just feel the difference. He was hitting balls, not even trying that were going 450 feet. But he said the biggest tell to him was their 5 foot 6 second baseman who had a slugging percentage

hardly higher than his batting average was putting balls 20 rows deep. And that's when he realized, holy crap, I got to get to the big leagues ASAP. And I think that's something that happens with Lewis too here is the extremes. You're going from maybe one of the worst places to drive the ball. And you can see it from his home road OPS split. I think it was somewhere near the mid-500s at home and then near 900 on the road. I mean, that's insanity. So you consider that.

Then you add the major league baseballs to the mix. That's why I think this power is here to stay. I'm more concerned about the consistent hit tool of kind of. but I do think that he is learning, as I said, and maturing at the plate as he goes. And the big difference is really going to be, is he a 250 guy with the power or is he a 280 guy with the power? And that remains to be seen. But as you said, if he plays solid defense out there, especially in center field, you will take that.

100%. Yeah. Getting away from prospects for a while, just for a minute, then we'll get back to it. The Mariners playing Smith in right field and then playing J.P. Crawford in the least. leadoff role kind of tells me that Malick Smith's days as a mariner are numbered because they acquired him to play center field and be the leadoff hitter. He looked really bad in centerfield starting last season defensively and the bat is just not there. Yeah, you know, you got to do one or the other, right? And if you're calling cards your speed, it doesn't matter

if you're not getting on base. Exactly. He doesn't walk. So you have a fast guy that just hasn't been walking this year. I think he has two free passes the entire season. And, you know, what good's your speed. He stole 46 bags last year, but that was almost like every single time he got on base because he didn't get on base that frequently. I think he had a 300 on base percentage. So when you look at a guy that's 28, you already know what you're getting. I think you'd rather experiment and see what your future pieces can do. And I think you're right. I think his days are numbered. And that's a testament to the fact that the Mariners know they have a lot of good outfielders coming up through the system. And I think that they're not totally done with seeing what J.P. Crawford can do. We know how

highly regarded he was in the past. He clearly isn't going to reach that ceiling that we once thought he had, but he's still only 25 years old. And he's off to a pretty good start this year. And he could easily be one of those late bloomers that figures it out. The Phillies gave up on him. That's fine. But I think it was a smart, low-risk, high-reward opportunity for the Mariners to take a shot on this guy and right now he looks good and I think if you got it again find out what you got with him he looks good right now if he can do it for the rest of the season maybe you figured out who you got at shortstop for the next couple years and there's more to it than that because he faded down the stretch last season the second half the mariners were after him to add more muscle weight and to be

more durable so he could make it a full season obviously we're not going to find out if that's the case this year but next year will be what will be the testament to that and he did put in that work. And coming into today, his batting average is 280 with a 410 on base percentage. And ever since they installed him in the leadoff spot, he has been better at the plate. And his defense improved last year over what it had been in 2018 while maintaining the same range factor. So he's worked on his glove as well. And those are all things you like to see.

And as we mentioned, this is something that it's easy to forget because I call it almost prospect fatigue sometimes. where he's the same age as Kyle Lewis. He is. Why are we rushing to conclusions on Crawford, but not Lewis? I know that Crawford has a lot more games under his belt, but he's 25 years old also. It's just funny how sometimes, and I'm guilty of it too. We're all guilty of it. We perceive these guys as older than they are because they've been around or we've

been hearing about it more. And because of how highly regarded Crawford once was, he's a victim of some prospect fatigue. But he's 25 years old. It's one of those things that he could easily turn out to be the player, at least close to the player we thought he could be, and all of a sudden people are saying, oh, wow, why didn't we just try and take a shot at him? It's kind of fun.

You say that because in terms of Mariners' circles, he is still seen as a prospect of the prospect fatigue just as not there. We still view him as a younger player who is part of the future, even though, like you said, this is his fourth major league season. Yeah, and that's the thing, is it's really different, from what a fan base or a team feels about their prospects on the inside versus the outside. Yeah. And that's one of the things that I wanted to touch on too,

because there's a couple prospects that I like that I think a lot of people on the outside are overlooking. And from top to bottom, I think the Mariners have a bunch of overlooked prospects. When you look at even just the pitchers at the top, I think there's no reason that George Kirby should not be on every top 100 list. And to me, that's a huge snub. also Zach DeLoch, second round pick this year. Okay. Maybe one of my favorite picks outside of the first round.

And you look at his numbers, he doesn't quite have that track record. But what he did in the Cape, I watched him play day in and day out in the Cape. And his hit tool plays up to a 60 grade minimum, sweet left-handed swing. And I was talking about some adjustments, right? He, I got a chance to talk to some of the guys that played with him at Texas A&M, some of his coaches, and they talked about the fact that he had totally scrapped his entire timing mechanism that he was using in the past, which was more of a leg kick and more of a floating leg, which again, it works for some guys.

But when that front foot floats, sometimes it's harder to pick up the ball and it throws your timing off. He simplified it and he hit for a lot more power in the last season and a half, especially in the Cape, was off to a great start this year. And he, to me, is the type of player that's always going to just hit, for contact, mix in some gap-to-gap power. He'll be able to have, I think, 15 home-run potential, maybe 20, but the bat is always going to play,

and that's one prospect. If I could give Mariner fans to keep an eye out for, Deloche will quickly ascend up to single-A, double-A. It's just whether he can continue to hit for some power in double-A is the question, but the hit tool will always play for Zach Deloge. He's a safe, high-floor prospect. Terrific. We'll stick in the outfield for a little bit longer,

One move that surprised me before the regular season began this year was the omission of Jake Frailey from the Major League roster. They sent him to the alternate training site. That left the Mariners with only two outfielders on the roster to start the season. I figured he was a shoe in to start in left field. How do you see his future? Because I kind of see him as, you know, on the prospect depth chart, as it were, Lewis Rodriguez and Kalnick are, you know, the three big ones. and then you kind of have Jake Fraley and maybe even Braden Bishop,

who's also not on the Major League roster. How do you see those guys maybe playing out in the future, if you can even answer that question? Yeah, well, you make a good point. I think he's a pretty solid prospect and worth a look, to say the least. I did not love what I saw in the short stint in the PCL, just because, or in AAA, because that's typically a hitter's heaven, as we talked about.

Yeah. And he might have hurt him a little bit. But what he did in double-way was really good, really solid. A well-rounded player. He can steal bags. He can play good defense. And he can run into some baseballs here and there. He's a 65-grade runner, almost double-plus speed.

And why don't you want to get a look at this guy? He's a legit defender. At the very worst, he's a fourth outfielder. But something must not be working for him in the Mariners. And I think you make a good point because, I've seen Dee Gordon in left field at points for the Mariners. I thought I was dreaming. And why do you have D. Gordon out there when you could have a chance to see what you got with Jake Frealy?

That's one of the things I don't understand, and there might be more to it that I don't know about. And that's something I'm going to keep an eye out for it because at the very least, Jake Fraley is a fourth outfielder with really, really good speed and good defense. The thing about D. Gordon playing left field, he's probably out of minor league options so they can't send him to, the alternate training site, and they are paying him an awful lot of money. And they want his veteran leadership, as it were, on the Major League roster. And they probably just wasn't a roster spot for a third legitimate outfielers. So they're going with the rotation of left-fielders of D. Gordon and Tim Lopes and Dylan Moore and Jose Marmaléjos before he was sent out to the alternate training site.

And in right field, Malick Smith is only getting three, four starts a week. and Lopes has been seeing time in right field, as has Dylan Moore. So that's the outfield situation at the major league level. I think that's why they only have Smith and Lewis as the two major league outfielders. But we're digressing a little bit. Last portion of this conversation coming up on tomorrow's program. And on tomorrow's program, I will be joined by Officer Carl Winslow, A.C. Arborman, and a begonia. That is one you will not want to miss Friday mailbag segment as well, gang.

So get your questions in by this afternoon if you want to be included in this week's installment of the mailbag. And also remember to download, ready, and subscribe to this program on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcast thing app that you can think of. Follow this show 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. Mariners have an off day today. 20 games, no off days. until today, they deserve a rest, and, you know, after tomorrow you'll be able to rest, too, because it will be the weekend.

But I hope you have a great Thursday in the interim, and we will be back tomorrow. This is Joey Martin speaking for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.