Seattle Mariners prospect Eric Filia is hitting well in the AFL
Seattle Mariners minor league prospect Eric Filia has done nothing but hit in his two professional seasons.
When the Mesa Solar Sox play the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League championship game on Saturday, there will be prospects more highly-regarded than Seattle Mariners youngster Eric Filia. Mesa has Victor Robles, currently the number two prospect in baseball at MLB.com, and Kyle Tucker, ranked number seven. Peoria has the number five prospect, Ronald Acuna, and the number 92 prospect, Michael Chavis.
Eric Filia isn’t among the top 100 prospects in baseball or even in the top 10 in the Seattle Mariners organization. He comes in at number 24. Despite his uninspired ranking, Filia just led the AFL in batting average with a .408/.483/.605 batting line. He’s in the conversation for league MVP.
Congratulations to @E_Filia4 for winning the @MLBazFallLeague Batting Title. Since 2013 Filia’s .408 AVG is 2nd highest and only 1 of 4 players to combine >.400 AVG & >1.000 OPS in an AFL Season @Mariners @UCLABaseball @MiLBMariners @EliteBaseball @MLB / Pic: @LookoutLanding pic.twitter.com/w4rDqTqwVb
— RSR Baseball (@RSRBaseball) November 16, 2017
The road to success in professional baseball for Filia had some speed bumps along the way. His baseball life got off to a good start at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California. He hit .500 in his freshman year, tying the school record set by Jeff Kent.
After high school, he stayed close to home when it came time for college, enrolling at UCLA. He had a very good sophomore season that culminated with a national title.
He was particularly good in the 2013 College World Series, where he hit .444 and drove in eight runs in five games. While he was racking up hits and making great catches in the field, the ESPN cameras were often turned to his then-girlfriend, Lauralee McIntyre, which made them both mini-celebrities at the time.
Problems off the field
Unfortunately, his college career went off the rails that summer. An injured shoulder ended his Cape Cod League season and required labrum surgery, which sidelined him for the 2014 college baseball season. In the summer of 2014, he was caught plagiarizing part of a philosophy paper and suspended for the 2014-2015 school year, which wiped out the 2015 college baseball season.
Despite missing two consecutive college seasons, Filia played in the summer of 2015 for the Kenosha Kingfish in the Northwoods League. He didn’t show any rust at all, hitting .340/.403/.489 with a league-high 55 RBI.
He was named the MVP of the league and his .375 batting average in the playoffs helped the Kingfish win the Summer Collegiate World Championship.
During his suspension from school, Filia moved back to Huntington Beach and worked odd jobs, including a position at the Playboy Mansion as a butler who cleaned up after parties.
In the meantime, baseball and school were in the back of his mind. He was determined to get his college degree and make up for the academic suspension.
In January of 2016, he asked UCLA baseball coach John Savage for a second chance. It wasn’t an easy decision for Savage. As he said of Filia, “He was kind of the funny guy, loose-cannon guy.
He’s kind of a white liar, a small liar.” Ultimately, he gave Filia a second chance and the outfielder hit .295/.415/.411 in 55 games for the Bruins. The former loose-cannon had become a steady leader.
That June, the Seattle Mariners drafted Filia in the 20th round and sent him to play for the Everett Aquasox in the short-season Northwest League. He hit .362/.450/.496. His batting average and on-base percentage led the league, as did his 89 hits and 46 RBI.
He was named league MVP. The Aquasox had the best record in the league in the second half and made it to the finals, where they lost to the Eugene Emeralds in three games.
A stellar season
Filia had a great year, but you have to remember that he was old for the league because of his two missed seasons. The average age of a Low-A player is 21. Filia was 23 years old and one of the older players in the Northwest League. This is one of the big reasons he didn’t make any top prospect lists.
The Seattle Mariners jumped Filia from Low-A to High-A this year and he continued to rake, hitting .326/.407/.434 for the season. This came after a slow start, though. Through the first month of the year, he hit .195 with a .244 slugging percentage. Then he went on a tear. In his last 106 games, he hit .350/.429/.470. His plate discipline was terrific. From June 9 to July 4, he went 23 games without striking out. He also started a craze in Modesto known as “The Filia Shimmy.”
Filia’s team, the Modesto Nuts, won the North Division of the California League, then swept Stockton in the semifinals and beat Lancaster in the finals to win the championship. He hit .333/.400/.704 in the postseason. He was still two years older than the average age of a High-A player, but the numbers are impressive. Here is a look at his hitting style during his time in the AFL this fall.
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At the dish, the left-handed Filia starts off with his front foot far to the first base side, but he brings it back in and strides towards the pitcher as the ball comes to the plate.
At the same time, holds his hands very high before bringing them down to a ready position. His plate discipline is impressive, with 105 walks to 64 strikeouts in 861 minor league plate appearances.
That’s a walk rate of 12 percent and a strikeout rate of seven percent. It’s rare to see such a low strikeout rate in today’s game.
His advanced age for the leagues he’s played in and his relatively low slugging percentage for a corner outfielder will likely continue to keep him off prospect lists. If you look at the body of work, though, you have to be impressed. Individually, he’s hit everywhere he’s played so far and won MVP awards for the College World Series, the Northwoods League, and the Northwest League.
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He’s also been a major contributor to successful teams, starting with UCLA’s national title in 2013 and including league championships for the Kingfish and Nuts and a championship game appearance for the Aquasox. If the Javelinas win on Saturday, he’ll have another title to add to his collection.