2010 didn't allow me to become Lookout Landing's "minor league guy" as Jeff and I had hoped, let alone the dedicated Mariners blogger I've been in the past. I'm hoping to get back to being more involved in the new year, however, and I've started by keeping busy back at Pro Ball NW. Conor and I just finished up our comprehensive rundown of Seattle Mariners prospects in Pro Ball NW's second annual Prospect Report, and I thought it was something worth sharing over here (with Jeff's approval of course). We've spotlighted 34 prospects while giving mention to many more over the course of the four-post series.
The goal of the series is simply to introduce you to the system's up-and-comers while updating you on the progress made by those you're already familiar with. Keeping track of these guys adds another dimension to the fan experience and is something to fall back on when the big league club lets you down.
Infielders (2B, 3B, SS) - Half of these ten guys are Bill Bavasi era holdovers, but the guys brought in by Jack Zduriencik's front office have the edge in probability.
First basemen and catchers - The top three first basemen behind Justin Smoak are the same three guys we discussed last year, but the graduation of Adam Moore has left the catching position bare enough that we felt it wasn't worth posting alone. Yuck.
Outfielders - This top nine is dominated by players with premium power and features several great all-around athletes. Most of these outfielders face long odds, but there is a lot of room to dream here.
Pitchers - One man stands head and shoulders above the rest, but the many interesting hurlers that emerged from the rookie levels gave us plenty to write about.
Keep in mind that the rankings in these posts were used as a framing device first and foremost. Trying to agree on a top 10 anything with another person is damn near impossible, so we instead focused our energy on agreeing upon which players deserved to be featured. The best guys landed near the top of the lists and the more marginal guys fell toward the bottom, but we didn't let ourselves get stuck trying to figure out each placement.
Given how we did the first four posts, we thought it would be a good idea to post our own top 20s in an attempt to show readers where we might differ and how we each weigh the prospects against each other.
Top 20 Seattle Mariners Prospects