GM Jerry Dipoto discusses newest Mariners acquisitions, Rob Whalen and Max Povse
Nov 29, 2016, 9:43 AM | Updated: 2:40 pm
Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto compared pitcher Rob Whalen to former big leaguer Jason Marquis. (AP)
(AP)
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto joined “Brock and Salk” on Tuesday after making his second trade in less than a week. Dipoto sent former first-round pick Alex Jackson and a player to be named later to Atlanta for right-handed starting pitching prospects Rob Whalen and Max Povse.
Here’s what Dipoto had to say about the trade:
On Jackson: “Our feeling on Alex was he’s an upside talent, there’s no question. He’s gonna play this upcoming season and we would have, I guess, earmarked him to go back at the A-level and start again. He is an interesting guy. He’s got power and he’s got athletic skill.”
On Whalen and Povse: “We felt like the combination of Rob Whalen and Max Povse, both of whom I think slot in very nicely for us as current depth for our major-league club, in addition to future potential as every-fifth-day major-league starters. These guys are both going to pitch next year at 23 years old. Rob has already pitched in the big leagues, five starts last year as a 22-year-old. Had a really good season through the top two levels of the minor leagues on his ways to the big leagues. And Max Povse is an interesting talent. He’s 6-8, 250, throws the ball downhill up to 96 miles an hour and has had a lot of success through the mid levels of the minor leagues.”
On Povse’s size: “As I understand it, Max Povse, who I obviously have not yet met but have spoken with on the telephone, when he was signed, he was 6-8 and 185. When he first got to the Braves’ camp, he was 6-8 and 220. Last year, as I understand it, just by the Braves information, he was 6-8, 250. I have seen much video on him and the ballpark figure is he’s a big fella.”
Is Povse ready to pitch in big leagues now? “Very possible. Max has tapped out to this point in Double-A. He had a very dominant run in Double-A last year. Like I said, the stuff is there. He’s a three-pitch guy. He throws a ton of strikes and works down in the zone, gets an above-average ground-ball rate. Tough guy to lift. And I guess that’s a commonality with both of these guys. With both Whalen and Posey, they are both ground-ball guys who throw the ball over the plate and they give us a chance. Povse does it with great angle, from a big frame and Whalen does it with a big sink. For those of you who remember former Brave and longtime big-leaguer Jason Marquis, Rob has a lot of those same kind of sinker-slider traits that Jason has. And we’re really glad to have him. Pitching depth was a need of ours and fortunately we had a guy like Alex Jackson on hand who was able to help us fill some of that need.”
