Last week, a few of the Mariners spring training games were televised, giving fans an opportunity to see the make-up of this year’s team. Casual observers may have been glancing at the impressive numbers the Mariners offense have been putting up this spring, or the pitching performances for the young group of starting pitchers. But these numbers and statistics need to be taken with a grain of salt; remember, the key word in spring training is ‘training.’ Pitchers will threw multiple fastballs over and over again in the same spot trying to locate their fastball, essentially serving it up to the hitters. And for our outstanding pitching, there are five guys battling for the final three spots in the rotation, so you better believe they will be pitching lights out or they may be out of a job or stuck back in the minors. Watching the team live, though, you are able to pick up if the club is working towards a successful season or just waiting for next year. And there are some good notes to take away from these games:
1. Hitting the ball the other way – One thing that seems to be consistent with the players’ approach at the plate is taking the ball the other way. Anyone you played baseball past Little League understands the importance of hitting the ball the other way. It allows the hitter to wait back in the zone, letting the pitch coming to them. So if a pitcher throws a breaking ball or off speed pitch, they can keep back in the zone, getting more barrel of the bat on the ball. One Mariner that is a perfect example of this, not to mention a complete 180 from last year’s season, is Michael Saunders. On Wednesday night’s game, Michael had two opposite field hits, one of them being a double off the left-centerfield wall. In the highlights from Saunders’ previous spring at bats, he is taking the ball to the opposite field as well. This is great to see from a guy who, last year, seemed like the game was too fast for him, having terrible at bats with little or no plate discipline. Another, younger player, Vinnie Catricala, has showed similar ability in the same game with two opposite field hits and two RBIs. The following night, Mike Carp hit a monster home run to left-centerfield. This is a good sign for the Mariner hitters that they hopefully have learned some plate discipline over the offseason.
2. Who is Vinnie Catricala? – Catricala has been the Cinderella story this spring for the Mariners. A 10th round pick in the ‘09 Amateur Draft, Catricala has been doing nothing but hitting since playing pro ball. Last year for both High Desert and Jackson, he hit a combined .349 with an OPS of 1.021. This spring, he has been making a strong case to earn a spot a third base. Up until Thursday night’s game, he was hitting .364 with a 1.073 OPS. Wedge even had Catricala batting fourth on Thursday night due to his success this spring at the plate. Vinnie did seem to struggle last night, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, however, he did show a flash of his glove with a nice diving stop at third. He has a lot of work in front of him though, with Figgins and his bloated contract, as well as Seagar and Liddi, who have big league experience, all vying for one spot. He defiantly should be a hitter that is on Mariner fans radar.
3. A good look at Hector Noesi – This is the first time fans get a chance to look at Hector Noesi, the sleeper piece in the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero trade. Noesi is battling for a spot in the starting rotation. Noesi features a couple of pitches; a 90 to 91 fastball, a curve ball and a slider and a strike out change up that breaks down and away from lefties. He has good composure on the mound, not exerting himself too much. He at times can lose the strike zone, trying to pitch a little too fine. This may be due to the fact that he is not going to blow hitters away but pitch into his defense. Based on the other pitchers featured in the other televised games (Millwood, Ramirez) Noesi could benefit with a couple of months in Triple A, developing his control and confidence in his stuff. He can be a crucial part of the rotation but he doesn’t look as crisp as a big league pitcher should be, especially with the arms that the Mariners currently have.
As outlined above, there are some exciting things happening this spring with the Mariners. A lot of fans and baseball analysts say the Mariners are about one to two years away from completing in the West. With the small glimpse into what the team displayed last week, do not expect this year’s Mariners to be the punching bag for the American League anymore.
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