Ketel Marte recovering from injury, named to Future's Game roster

It's kind of kooky and weird to me that baseball's premier minor league baseball game is a "U.S. Vs. The World" affair but I suppose these are the things that grab the big ratings. Ketel Marte has been sidelined since the beginning of the month with an injured thumb that was to keep him out "4 to 6 weeks". If he is going to play in the Future's Game in 2 1/2 weeks that would appear indication that his recovery is on schedule.

The 21 year old Dominican short stop was batting .343/.394/.434 in Tacoma at the time of his injury. His defense will most likely move him off SS, not that the Mariners are in great need of a short stop these days. His bat coupled with his young age for AAA has made him probably the organization's most interesting prospect in what has been a largely disappointing year on the farm.

For those of us without a MiLB.TV subscription and/or the time to follow the minor leagues in depth The Future's Game is a great introduction to many of the game's elite prospects. Former Mariners in the game include Alex Liddi, Danny Hultzen, Ji-Man Choi, Gabby Guerrero and....uh....oh hey Brad Miller! So yeah even the Mariners sometimes premiere actual future stars in this game.

If you're interested in catching Ketel in action the game is July 12 at Noon PST ONLY ON MLB NETWORK!