A Look At The Seattle Mariners AAA Affiliate

I’ve been in Tacoma the last couple days covering the Tacoma Rainiers (the Seattle Mariners AAA affiliate). I figured this would be a good time to give a glimpse of the happenings a level below, because there were actually a couple of storylines that directly effect the big club.

The first game I covered on Thursday actually turned out to be pretty high stakes. If Tacoma lost, they would be eliminated from playoff contention and the Salt Lake Bees would clinch the division. I know, I know, not exactly Game 7 of the World Series, but if you consider yourself a Mariners fan there were also a couple of things from the contest that you probably would find interesting.

First of all, fans will be glad to hear that hot shot catching prospect Mike Zunino is in Tacoma rehabbing nicely from a broken hand. Zunino looked good behind the plate and seemed to be swinging the bat well too. Zunino hit .242 with 2 homers in 99 at-bats for the Mariners during a 29-game stint with the big club this year before suffering the injury. However, he hit .333 over his final 5 games before getting hurt so he was looking better offensively. He’s also rock solid behind the plate. M’s fans should be looking forward to his return. Even with the youthful infusion of 22-year-old Zunino, the average age of a catcher on the Mariners roster still sits at about 46. But remember that this statistic is drastically skewed due to the presence of 71 year-old Henry Blanco (we’ve talked about him before).

On a more solemn note, former Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen looked shaky in his relief appearance. The righty was burned for 4 earned over less than an inning of work. He also accidentally plunked Salt Lake shortstop and Los Angeles Angels prospect Tommy Field in the head with an errant breaking ball (Field, for the record, stayed in the game and was fine). Wilhelmsen’s Tacoma ERA now stands at a whopping 10.80. However, keep in mind that he’s only had 12 innings of work. There’s time for him to turn it around, though it’s never what you want see from the guy who was the big club’s closer for good part of the season.

Fans were also given an unexpected guest-star celebrity appearance when Salt Lake reliever Dontrelle Willis took the mound in the 5^th inning. Yes, that Dontrelle Willis, 2-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year. Did you know that he still pitches in baseball games? I didn’t. But he was indeed signed by the Angels recently out of an independent league. He even picked up the win in what turned out to be an 8-4 division-clinching victory for Salt Lake.  So, yes, for those of you who were worried, Dontrelle Willis is indeed still a professional pitcher and he’s actually only one notch below a big-league return!

As for a prospect that some fans might not know about, keep an eye on Tacoma outfielder Abraham Almonte. The 24-year-old lashed a couple of hits last night to bring his season slash up to .314/.403/.491 in 94 games for the Rainiers. He also has 11 homers and 20 steals. Anyone playing AAA Pacific Coast League fantasy baseball should hit the waiver wire for this guy. In all seriousness though, Almonte looks good. If he keeps performing on that level he’ll get a shot at the show soon enough.