Mariners Moose Tracks, 9/4/19: Nelson Cruz, Pete Alonso, and Jorge Soler

Plus more on the wholesome friendship of Yusei Kikuchi and Daniel Vogelbach

By Anders Jorstad@AndersJorstad Sep 4, 2019, 7:00am PDT

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MLB: Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals

Hello everyone! We’ve got a good batch of links for you today. Let’s get to it.

In Mariners news...

The M’s have successfully made the climb.

#Mariners have five of the game’s Top 75 prospects. https://t.co/6Zz0CLKlcP
— Bob Dutton (@ByBobDutton) September 3, 2019

You may know by now that Yusei Kikuchi is (sorta) naming his son after Daniel Vogelbach. Corey Brock at The Athletic went behind-the-scenes to uncover the origins of their friendship. ($)
Julio Rodríguez made yet another appearance in the Baseball Prospectus ten pack. ($)

Around the league...

This is...pretty bad.

“[Jayson] Stark talks with a baseball executive who tells him that, from a development perspective, the PCL has now become essentially useless, and they are sending prospects to Double-A instead because the juiced ball is preventing clubs from accurately assessing players.” https://t.co/jMV6DP56Sf
— Meredith Wills (@Bbl_Astrophyscs) September 3, 2019

Andy McCullough at The Athletic discusses Nelson Cruz’s rise within the Twins clubhouse this year. ($)
Ben Lindbergh at The Ringer expects that we’ll see the knuckleball in pro baseball again soon.
That’s...interesting.

Pete Alonso and the Mets have reached an agreement that the team is calling “the first deal of its kind in Major League Baseball.”

The Mets have exclusive rights to autographed game-used Alonso memorabilia.

It will be sold at https://t.co/IGchYQpRQD and Citi Field.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 3, 2019

I think it’s pretty clear what the Astros’ approach to pitching development is.

In 2018, every Astros affiliate from Triple A though short-season Single A led its league in K/9. Four of the five repeated this season, Triple A being the exception.

From earlier this year - how Houston has developed so much swing & miss in its system: https://t.co/5eF4Oq4uQz
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) September 3, 2019

Former Mariners farmhand Steven Baron has made his way back to the bigs as the catcher was recently called up by the Pirates.
Jorge Soler set the Royals single-season home run record with his 39th bomb of the season.

Anders’ picks...

What an awesome story.

PURE HAPPINESS: This 16-year-old girl was disappointed that she had to miss a Jonas Brothers concert because she's undergoing chemotherapy treatment. But then, she got a surprise right in her hospital room ❤️ https://t.co/DQ1tmoSjho pic.twitter.com/J7xiO6rC1S
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 2, 2019

Just going to leave this here.

A post from my mom, please consider getting tested. pic.twitter.com/7BeArHkTev
— Christina DeLunas (@christinacheel1) September 4, 2019