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Seattle Mariners Top 10 Prospects For 2017

By Benjamin Chase

Aug 18, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Seattle Mariners ball cap and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Mariners defeat the Rangers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a Seattle Mariners ball cap and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Mariners defeat the Rangers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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4. Nick Neidert, RHP

Birthdate: 11/20/96 (20 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: low A
Stats in 2016: 91 IP, 2.57 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.66 BB%, 19.44 K%

Drafted in the 2nd round in 2015, the Mariners weren’t scared off by worries of elbow tendinitis in Neidert’s senior year, signing him to a $1.2M bonus.

The young righty pitched all of 2016 as a teenager in full-season ball, and he made some big time impressions as he was able to absolutely fill up the zone and get a lot of weak contact.

Neidert works in the low-90s with his fastball, though he can reach 96 with the pitch. His primary secondary pitch has been his plus curve ball that has tremendous snap and can leave hitters looking foolish.

The Mariners started Neidert on a slider in 2015, and it looked from the games I watched as if he was working on that slider quite a bit, and while it is not a pitch that seems to generate swing and miss, it has almost all of its movement late, leaving it incredibly difficult to barrel.

Finally, Neidert made big strides with his change this year, specifically in location, rarely missing his spot with the pitch, and as the pitch doesn’t have a ton of fade to it, he needs to spot well with the pitch to succeed with it.

Neidert has the make up of a front line starter if everything comes together for him, even though he has less than ideal size at 6’1 and a “maxed-out” size of 185ish.

He’ll likely start at high A to open 2017, and the Mariners hope to see him build up his innings.

Next: #3

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