Mariners Moose Tracks, 8/19/17: Nelson Cruz, Justin Smoak, and Husky Football

We made it to the weekend. Yay! The Mariners winning three in a row sure made that end of the week cruise by. Now they’re just a half game back of the second wild card spot. Playoff races are crazy, aren't they?

In Mariners News...

• Eric Longenhagen recently posted his summer top-100 prospects list. Kyle Lewis was the only Mariner on the list; however, Nick Neidert was listed under the “Others Considered” part of the article.
• In case you missed it, Nelson Cruz hit a baseball a very long way yesterday.

• Mariners’ scout Amanda Hopkins is the first female full-time baseball scout in decades.

Mariners Minors...

• Taylor Motter, who had a three hit night last night, has a 160 wRC+ in Tacoma this season.
• Braden Bishop tallied a pair of hits in for the Travelers last night. Here are his numbers since arriving in Arkansas.

• Jamal Wade, a 2017 Mariners draft choice from Maryland, has been incredible in AZL this season.

Around the League...

• Former Mariner Justin Smoak talks about his phenomenal 2017 season.
• Albert Pujols tied the major league record for most home runs for a player born outside of the United States.
• The Dodgers just acquired Curtis Grandson. They currently have the best record in the majors by a fair margin. Fun Fact: The Dodgers are on pace for 116 wins on the nose right now
• The injury bug continues to bite MLB stars, most recently getting Max Scherzer.
• Byron Buxton broke his own record sprinting around the bases for an inside home run.

Luke’s Pick...

• The Washington Husky football team got a verbal commitment from one of the top offensive line prospects in the country for the class of 2019.

• Speaking of Husky Football, we’re less than two weeks away from the start of the season.