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This week on State of the Farm, we'll be taking a look at what's been going on with some of the Mariners prospects the last few days. The deep dives are coming, but with so much going on at Lookout Landing this week, the brakes shall be pumped ever so slightly. Let's get to it:
Tim Lopes shipped off to Toronto
Second baseman Tim Lopes was named as the PTBNL in the Pat Venditte trade and has been sent to the Blue Jays, where he'll join his brother, Christian. Lopes typically found himself on the outskirts of top prospect lists, but improvement at the plate the last two seasons and a decent enough glove have him in good position to be a contributor at the major league level in some capacity within the next two or three years.
Venditte, meanwhile, was roughed up pretty bad in his first seven games with the Mariners, posting a 7.05 FIP and 5.27 xFIP over the course of 13.1 IP. I don't expect this trade to be a backbreaker by any means, but I was very disappointed to see Lopes plucked away.
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The Arizona Fall League is nearly upon us
RHP Dylan Unsworth, longtime disabled list resident in 2016, sent out an Instagram video to get your offseason prospect watch tingles going:
For those keeping track at home, that's OF Guillermo Heredia, SS Drew Jackson, C Tyler Marlette, OF Tyler O'Neill, RHP Thyago Vieira, RHP Emilio Pagan, Unsworth, and LHP Luiz Gohara. It'll be nice to see Unsworth pitching again. He put up a 2.96 FIP in 46.2 IP with Jackson this season before landing on the disabled list. He attempted a comeback on June 7th, tossing a scoreless inning before disappearing for the rest of the season. It's also worth noting that Unsworth re-signed with the Mariners recently after spending the last seven years in the system.
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Kyle Lewis making progress with rehab
Kyle Lewis has been pretty awesome about posting rehab updates on Instagram. His most recent update showed him nearly getting a full range of motion in his injured knee.
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Thyago Vieira replaces Dan Altavilla in Arizona Fall League
This news is from a couple weeks back, but with last week's SotF focusing on the bigger performances by prospects at each position, Vieira's news was placed on the back burner. Altavilla was originally scheduled to throw a few innings in the AFL, but the additional workload that came with his promotion to Seattle left the Mariners content with his 2016 campaign.
Vieira spent all of 2016 in Bakersfield, where he put up a 2.97 FIP and 53 strikeouts in 44.1 IP. He's had a bit of a walk issue so far in his career, but he's still relatively young and has added a few ticks to his fastball over the last couple years:
Thyago Vieira 96-98 T100; late explosive life, flash bore and cut; physical long build; poor athleticism; large spine/shoulder tilt, stab
— Chris Kusiolek (@CaliKusiolek) September 6, 2016