The Mariners have one of the gem stadiums in all of baseball right now. It is too bad the team on the field has not been that great – in what has been a brutal decade. Jack Z.. was just extended for one more year. While it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, the club’s youth has finally shown some promise. The team has a promising amount of young pitchers, good Starting Pitching already in the Majors, and a few positional players that look like they will stay in the bigs. Of concern is the fact they will lose several veterans in Mike Morse, Kendrys Morales and Raul Ibanez after this year. That is, unless they decide to trade any of them in the next week.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @mlbreports and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
The Mariners were one of the best teams in the Major Leagues when they moved into Safeco Field.
Despite losing Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson and Ken GriffeyJR. in successive seasons, the team matched a Major League Record with 116 Wins during the 2001 year.
Ichiro Suzuki admirably took over the reigns as the team leader, and carried the club on his shoulders for the next years.
Lou Pinella was there until 2003 – and was having his team in perennial contention since the 1995 year.
After 2003, the club has been abysmal in the next decade.
The team has had several face lifts, rotation managers – and the attendance has come down for over 3 Million fans per year, and now the can barely draw about 1.5 MIL people.
Seattle is one of the biggest markets in North America, and can totally put forth a winning team – and a high payroll.
For the team to even sign some Free Agents, the young players of the organization have to start playing well and to potential.
MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen: For all the talk of Bryce Harper, Matt Moore and the other top prospects in the game, occasionally we are able to uncover a hidden gem. A name that you may not know at the moment…but you will. Someday. So let’s say I was to bring you a prospect with the following stats from the 2011 season. .299 AVG in 131 games. .418 OBP. .477 SLG. .896 OPS. Impressed yet? How about I add in 18 home runs. 20 doubles. 57 RBIs. Getting more excited? Ok…I will throw in 117 runs scored and 88 walks. Now I know that I really have your interest. So here is the clincher: 62 stolen bases. 62 steals in 76 tries. So who are we talking about? Not Anthony Gose. Not Billy Hamilton. We have to go West- all the way to Seattle. The M’s have themselves a centerfield prospect with all the tools. Solid D, speed and my favorite offensive weapons- power and patience. This kid can do it all. Today’s feature is on Daniel Carroll. To say that we are excited about him is an understatement. Carroll has some serious game…and will be knocking on Seattle’s door very soon.
Daniel Carroll was drafted by the Mariners in the third round of the 2007 draft. He showed early on his career that he had the wheels, possessing the ability to steal 20-30 bags per year. Health played a role in slowing his development, which happens often to young players. In 2010, Carroll started to slowly turn the page- he hit a career high 10 home runs in only 90 games and flashed his speed and power potential. Then came last season, the breakout year. Daniel Carroll was a baseball beast in every sense of the word. Home runs. Stolen bases. Walks. Driving in runs. Scoring runs. He did it all for the High Desert Mavericks in 2011. Now this season, we eagerly anticipate Daniel Carroll’s encore. Healthy, hungry and flashing his baseball gifts on the field- the sky is the limit where he can reach. Given the Mariners youth movement- we wouldn’t be surprised if Daniel makes it to Seattle by August. Five-tool players don’t grow on trees. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is a smart man and a great evaluator of talent. For a team that is in dire need of scoring runs, Daniel Carroll will fit logically into the M’s puzzle. Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero will need to have runners on base to drive home. Carroll was made for the leadoff spot. It all makes sense.
We recentlyhad the opportunity to speak with the M’s prospect and talk baseball. Daniel opened up about his career- from getting drafted to his breakout 2011 season. Get to know Daniel Carroll, as he describes his growing pains in the minors and what it takes to make it in the game of baseball. Today on MLB reports, we are proud to present Mariners Prospect, Daniel Carroll:
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