Call-Ups: Seattle Mariners and Dustin Ackley
By Wally Fish
Once again it is collaborative post time here on Call to the Pen. This month’s topic is September call-ups. To get the ball rolling, I posed the following question to each of our Lead Writers, “Which player do you want your team to call-up in September and why?” It is a simple question but I think you will find the responses to be very diverse.
Taking the path less traveled this month, I decided to post each team’s write-up individually instead of grouping them by league or division as we have done in the past.
Representing the Seattle Mariners and Sodo Mojo is the site’s Lead Writer, Griffin Cooper. Check out what he has to say after the jump.
Griffin’s Take:
A little while ago, I absolutely would have said Michael Pineda. He’s by far the most exciting prospect in the Mariners system right now, and he really has a chance to make a serious impact in the near future. That being said, the team has already shut him down for the year, so I won’t go there. Instead, I’ll have to go with Dustin Ackley. He was the Mariners first round pick in the 2009 draft (2nd overall behind Stephen Strasburg), and he’s a very exciting player as well. In the past he’s been both a center fielder and a first baseman, but the Mariners decided to transition him over to second base shortly after signing him, and he’s done well there.
His biggest asset, though, is his offense. He’s an excellent hitter, who can hit for both average and a decent amount of power. One comparison I’ve heard and can certainly understand, is that he’s a lot like Chase Utley with less home run power. He’s likely to be the starting second baseman out of camp next year, so it’d be nice to get a little taste of what he’s got before the year is over. Plus, if Ackley gets called up, there’s a good chance the team will finally put Chone Figgins back at third, bench Jose Lopez, and end the failed experiment once and for all.
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My Thoughts:
When I first read Griffin’s response to my question I thought he was out of his mind. Then I took at look at how Ackley, at 22-years old, has handled himself in his first professional season. I was stunned by the fact that he has hit 0.264/.366/.398 between West Tennessee (AA) and Tacoma (AAA). I was further impressed by the fact that he has drawn 71 walks to go with his 72 strikeouts. He hasn’t blown anyone away yet, but he has held his own and he’s shown that he is capable of adapting quickly.
I think it’s still a little early for Ackley to start getting acclimated to the environs of Safeco, but Griffin isn’t as nuts as I originally thought he was.