Checking In: How the Mariners’ top players in the minor leagues are doing

The Mariners made the early part of the 2019 season fun with their homer-happy antics and hot start in March and April, but 2019 was supposed to be fun for reasons beyond what was happening at the major league level.

Drayer: Félix has finally embraced change, and Mariners are seeing results

Following an offseason full of trades that stocked up Seattle’s farm system, there are a litany of exciting prospects to keep up with. We’ve put together what those players have been up to, plus updates on familiar names who are either on a rehab assignment or working out some kinks, as well as a look at one surprising player making a case for himself in Triple-A.

One quick note: All stats are entering Sunday, May 5.

Jarred Kelenic, OF, Class-A West Virginia

Slash line: .340/.441/.630
Key stat: 19 years old

Kelenic is without a doubt the biggest story in the minors for Seattle this year, if not the biggest story in the minors regardless of organization. The centerpiece of the Mariners’ return from the Mets in the trade that sent Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to New York, Kelenic has taken the South Atlantic League by storm. The 2018 first-round draft pick has six home runs, 11 doubles, five stolen bases, 16 RBIs and 17 walks in 26 games for the Power, and he just had a 17-game hitting streak that included nine multi-hit games snapped on Friday. It will be highly interesting to see how quickly the Mariners send him up in the ranks, as he won’t even turn 20 until July 16. (Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto addressed that exact question last week on Danny, Dave and Moore, which you can read about here.)

For no particular reason: here's Jarred Kelenic's bomb from yesterday. pic.twitter.com/hFyP4pNzsv

— Colin O'Keefe (@colinokeefe) April 28, 2019

J.P. Crawford, SS, Triple-A Tacoma

Slash line: .291/.403/.408
Key stat: Four errors

Crawford has played 28 games for the Rainiers this season. He has hit safely in 24 of them. Oh, and in one of those other four games (Saturday’s game, to be exact), he walked three times and hit a sacrifice fly, so he didn’t even register an official at-bat. Another promising sign for the 24-year-old Crawford is his 18 walks in his 28 games, though his slugging percentage is lower than maybe you would want to see with just six doubles and two home runs. The bat isn’t the issue for the Mariners, though, who really want to see Crawford show that he can handle the everyday job at shortstop. With four errors so far, it’s better than what Tim Beckham is doing in the majors but still a sign that Crawford has work to do.

Shed Long, UT, Tacoma

Slash line: .271/.355/.449
Key stat: 13 games at third base

In his first season at Triple-A, the 23-year-old Long is proving there should be little to no concern about his bat. He has 10 extra-base hits – three homers, three triples and four doubles – to go with 22 runs scored, 13 RBIs and 14 walks. Keep an eye on where Long plays, though. He is learning the ropes of being a utility player, and while he was almost exclusively a second baseman before coming to the M’s from Cincinnati via the Yankees in the offseason, Long has actually played third base (13 games) the most with the Rainiers. In addition to eight games at second, Long has also played eight games in left field as Seattle looks to see if he can become the super utility guy it has coveted for years.

Shed Long with a Looooooong Game-Winner. Bring your brooms tomorrow, Tacoma because we're going for the sweep. 🧹

RECAP: https://t.co/wVejE0saAo#ThisIsRCity pic.twitter.com/yrDsIPFy00

— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) April 11, 2019

Justus Sheffield, LHP (starter), Tacoma

ERA/WHIP: 4.29/1.67
Key stat: 15 strikeouts to 20 walks

The big prize for Seattle from the Yankees in the James Paxton trade had a great spring but is working out some stuff in his first season with the Mariners organization. Sheffield, 22, has struggled with his command for Tacoma, and his start last Wednesday is a prime example. Sheffield walked six, threw a wild pitch and lasted just 2 2/3 innings, though only two of the five runs he allowed were earned due to an error that kicked off a five-run third inning for Salt Lake. Sheffield has also appeared in one game with the Mariners, serving as the long-relief man after Yusei Kikuchi was used an opener (part of Seattle’s plan to ease Kikuchi into an MLB-style workload) on April 26. He allowed two runs on two hits and four walks over three innings in that outing, and one would assume the M’s would want to see Sheffield’s control in a better place before he returns to Seattle.

Worth mentioning: Mallex Smith, CF, Tacoma

The M’s sent down the struggling Smith to Tacoma last Tuesday, and the 25-year-old center fielder made his debut with the Rainiers on Saturday. All signs were positive as he went 2 for 5 with two stolen bases and a run scored.

Dark horse: Austin Nola, C, Tacoma

The 29-year-old Nola is a minor league lifer, having appeared in 740 games without breaking into the MLB debut yet. He’s put himself in the conversation to finally get a chance in the big leagues with the Mariners, however, as he has been feasting on Pacific Coast League pitching. Nola is hitting .383 with four home runs, 20 RBIs, 10 doubles, a .457 on-base percentage and .654 slugging percentage (which equals out to a monster 1.111 OPS). What is perhaps most impressive about Nola, though, is that he started his professional career as a shortstop, has experience playing every infield position and didn’t even make his first appearance as a catcher until late 2016 in the Arizona Fall League. That kind of versatility, combined with his stellar hitting, could be hard to say ‘no’ to.

Dom Thompson-Williams, OF, Double-A Arkansas

Slash line: .319/.404/.500
Key stat: Seven stolen bases in eight attempts

One of the three prospects the Mariners got from the Yankees for Paxton, Thompson-Williams is off to a great start at the plate. He has four home runs, a triple and three doubles as well as 12 walks in 26 games, splitting his time pretty evenly between all three outfield positions. While the 24-year-old Thompson-Williams has always had speed, stealing 20 bases on 29 attempts last year in Single-A, he has been especially efficient at swiping bags early on in his first season at Double-A, racking up seven steals on eight attempts.

Jake Fraley, OF, Arkansas

Slash line: .303/.378/.545
Key stat: 10 walks to 27 strikeouts

The Mariners had a few prospects that grabbed headlines in spring training, and Fraley, who was picked up from Tampa Bay in the Mike Zunino-Mallex Smith trade, was maybe at the top of that list. He has continued his big spring with a nice start with the Travelers, showing off his power with five homers, five doubles and two triples. The strikeouts-to-walks ratio could use some improvement, but the .924 OPS in the 23-year-old Fraley’s first stint in Double-A makes up for it. He apparently dodged potential injury on Sunday, as well.

He’s now on his feet & talking to the trainer.

— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 5, 2019

Kyle Lewis, OF, Arkansas

Slash line: .242/.364/.404
Key stat: .242 average

It’s been a tough road for the Mariners’ initial first-round pick under Dipoto, who until this year wasn’t really 100 percent comfortable on a reconstructed knee following a catastrophic injury in 2016. Lewis, 23, is still getting his bearings as a professional, as evidenced by the sub-.250 batting average, but he has nine extra-base hits (three homers, one triple and four doubles) to go with 17 runs scored, 18 RBIs and 18 walks in 26 games.

Evan White, 1B, Arkansas

Slash line: .260/.356/.340
Key stat: Zero home runs

Seattle’s 2017 first-round draft pick, White is known for his ability to pick it at first base. His hitting came along well last year, but the power is a work in progress. He hit 11 homers to go with a .300 average and .824 OPS in 2018 (a season that included four games in Triple-A), but the 23-year-old White is still looking for his first home run in Double-A. With four doubles in 13 games with the Travelers, White is sitting at a .696 OPS that needs a boost.

Justin Dunn, RHP (starter), Arkansas

ERA/WHIP: 3.20/1.14
Key stat: 33 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings

The 23-year-old Dunn came over in the same deal from the Mets as Kelenic, and that trade is looking awfully good in retrospect for the Mariners. Dunn is 2-1 in five starts, and he’s blowing away hitters at a rate of 1.3 strikeouts per inning. He’s also issued just eight walks and given up only one home run.

Drayer: Justin Dunn turning heads and learning from veterans

Logan Gilbert, RHP (starter), Class-A Advanced Modesto

ERA/WHIP: 2.63/0.88
Key stat: .165 average against

Gilbert didn’t get to make his pro debut due to illness last year after the Mariners took him in the first round of the MLB Draft, but he looked great out of the chute with Single-A West Virginia. In four starts, he allowed just four runs on nine hits and five walks, striking out 30 over 19 2/3 innings. That gave him a 1.83 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and .134 average against and earned him a spot on the Class-A Advanced Modesto Nuts roster. He has made just one start since his promotion, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven in 4 1/3 innings last Thursday.

Joe Rizzo, 3B, Modesto

Slash line: .358/.434/.462
Key stat: 38 hits in 28 games

A second-round pick by the Mariners in 2016, the 21-year-old Rizzo has been a hitting machine with the Nuts. While he has just one home run, Rizzo has eight doubles and 38 total base hits, resulting in an .897 OPS. It’s a drastic improvement from 2018 when he hit .241 in 123 games with Modesto.

Rehab assignment: Sam Tuivailala, RHP (reliever), Modesto

An acquisition from St. Louis around midseason last year, Tuivailala appeared in just five games with the Mariners before he went down with a torn Achilles, one of the toughest injuries to come back from in sports. After a lot of recovery time and rehab, the hard-throwing 26-year-old righty finally made his return to in-game action last Thursday, throwing a clean inning for the Nuts. Expect to see Tuivailala in a Mariners uniform again in June if not sooner.

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