Raw Power in Peoria

Johermyn Chavez

The Mariners finished up their second game of the spring this afternoon, both being against the San Diego Padres. Seattle won the first game in 10 innings on a walk off hit by Josh Bard in the bottom of the 10th inning. Today’s game ended in a 6-6 tie after 9 innings. We all know about the Mariners lack of power last season. That has been the story all offseason. Well help just may be on the way!

There have been three Mariners’ homeruns this spring thus far. The first was a mammoth shot by Carlos Peguero in the bottom of the 9^th to tie the game. Today, there were 2 more homeruns. The first by Greg Halman in the 5^th, and the second by Johermyn Chavez in the 9^th. So we have 3 homeruns by three different players and only 30 major league plate appearances between the three (Greg Halman with all 30 of those appearances last year).

These players are all pretty similar: big, powerful outfielders with loads of raw power. In the Baseball America Top 30 Mariners’ Prospects, Chavez, Halman, and Peguero ranked 7^th, 11^th, and 25^th respectively. Each put up huge power numbers last year. Chavez with 32, Halman with 33, and Peguero with 23. That is a lot of power that will hopefully continue as they advance through the system.

Obviously these guys have huge power potential but there is one drawback that seems to be present in almost every raw power minor leaguer. That flaw is high strikeout numbers and low averages. If these guys can improve their approach at the plate and make more contact, then they will really help the club out.

Of the three guys, the one with the best chance to be on the big league roster this season is Greg Halman. He spent a large majority of the season at AAA Tacoma and he received a taste of the big leagues with a September call-up. Carlos Peguero seems to be the next closest as he finished 2010 at AA. He could start the 2011 at AA but I think the more likely situation is that he is playing for Tacoma. Chavez, who was the highest ranked on the Baseball America list, finished 2010 at High A. He spent all of 2010 there and he should start the year at AA where he will receive a much bigger test.

It would be great if even one of these players translated this power in the minors into the majors but we will have to wait and see.

Make sure you check out the scores and notable performances from the Mariners spring training games by clicking on the tab at the top of the page titled “Mariners’ Scores”