MLB: Four Teams Stacked with Hard-Throwers in the Minors

Seattle Mariners

Aneurys Zabala (Dominican Republic), RHP, 19: Topped out at 100 mph and just completed his third season in the Mariners organization. He spent 2016 in Rookie ball, where he was nearly a year and a half younger than the average player. He went 1-5 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, struck out 28 batters in 25 innings (10.1 K/9) and walked 15 in that span for a BB/9 of 5.4, which oddly enough was the same rate at which he gave up hits.

Dan Altavilla (Mercyhurst College), RHP, 24: Also hit 100 on the radar gun and made his MLB debut on August 27 in Chicago against the White Sox. He was drafted in 2014 and had advanced one level each summer, starting in Low-A in 2014 and then in Double-A in 2016 before being called straight up to Seattle. He made 15 relief appearances with the club, totaling 12 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 10 (7.3 K/9) and walking just one (0.7 BB/9) in his time with the Mariners. Both of those rates had been higher at every stop along his path to MLB, but after transitioning to the bullpen in 2015 he looked to be more effective. According to FanGraphs, Altavilla averaged 96.4 with his heater and also offered an 89 mph slider.

Luiz Gohara (Brazil), LHP, 20: Gohara has hit 101 and been with the Mariners organization since 2013, spending time in each of the last two seasons split between Everett (A-) and Clinton (A+). Most of his time in 2016 was spent with the Clinton LumberKings, where he totaled 54 1/3 innings, held a 1.82 ERA and struck out 60 batters (9.9  K/9) while walking 20 (3.3 BB/9). He also held a 1.178 WHIP. His ERA has been getting under control as he has continued to develop, which coincides with his improved command. His ERA topped out at 10.37 in 2014 when he had his highest walk rate at 5.8 per nine frames. Since Gohara was signed before he was 18, he has one more year until he is Rule 5 eligible, which could lead to some big expectations from the lefty in 2017.

Thyago Vieira (Brazil), RHP, 23: Vieira has hit 104 on the gun, which is the highest of any player on BA’s list. Vieira has been making the slow and steady climb through the Mariners system, making one stop per year over his six seasons in professional baseball, twice reporting to the Venezuelan Summer League (2011-12) and twice to A-ball with Clinton (2014-15). In 2016 the 6’2″ righty made the climb to Hi-A with the Bakersfield Blaze, accruing 53 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings pitched while holding a 2.84 ERA. His strikeouts per nine went up from 6.4 to 10.8 between 2015 and 2016, while his walk rate dropped from 5.8 to 3.7.

This was Vieira’s third season working in relief, and if he continues progressing in the early going of 2017, he could be a sneaky pick for a September call-up. The one problem here is that Vieira is Rule 5 eligible, and while the Mariners could attempt to hide him on their Triple-A roster in an effort to retain his services, there may be a team out there willing to take a chance on a young, hard-throwing righty to add to their big league bullpen. At the moment he is not on the 40-man roster, so a tough decision will have to be made.