2017 Acquisition: Oliver Jaskie, LHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 11/17/1995 (22)
2017 teams/levels played for: short season A-ball Everett AquaSox
2017 Stats: 13 G, 10 GS, 30 1/3 IP, 6.82 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 9% BB, 22.9% K
Info: A Michigan high school boy, Jaskie went on to be a Wolverine after being undrafted out of high school, and he’s seen his fastball click up during college. He finished with a top-20 strikeout rate in Division 1 in 2017 before going in the 6th round to the Seattle Mariners.
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Jaskie would be viewed by many as a prototype college lefty that got by with lesser stuff due to deception and a good mix of pitches that would get tattooed in pro ball, but in spite of his high ERA in Everett, Jaskie has some legit reason to follow.
Jaskie was the talk of the fall instructs among scouts I talked with, seeing his arm pop up another 2-3 MPH, giving him a fastball that sat 89-92 and could top out at 94, making it a legit big league pitch. Add in his change taking a big step forward and finding distinction between a slider and a curve that had molded together into a slurve for much of his collegiate career, and there’s something to watch.
Jaskie did strike out more than a hitter per inning in pro ball due to his deceptive delivery and his excellent pitch combination.
The Mariners system is fairly barren, which should give a guy with just enough deception and stuff to see progress through the system if he can work his location and use the lower half of the zone better to create weak contact along with getting better defenders behind him. He should open with full-season ball in 2018.
So that is the Seattle Mariners’ top 10 prospects for 2018. Who is too high? Too low? Missing entirely from the list? Comment below!!