Seattle Mariners prospect Eric Filia just keeps winning

Seattle Mariners prospect Eric Filia has won a an impressive string of success dating back to his college days.

For a stretch in the late 1980s, Don Baylor made the postseason in three consecutive seasons with three different teams. Announcers would mention his penchant for playing in October. It was like he had some magic mojo the way he showed up regularly in the postseason.

It started with the 1986 Red Sox. Baylor spent spring training that year with the New York Yankees but was traded to the Red Sox in late March for Mike Easler. The Red Sox won the AL East, beat the California Angels in an incredible seven-game series, then lost to the New York Mets in an even more incredible seven-game series.

In September of 1987, Baylor was traded to the Minnesota Twins for the ubiquitous player to be named later. He became the team’s primary DH and was a big part of their World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

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Prior to the 1988 season, Baylor signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics and helped them get to the postseason. That Oakland team won 104 games in the regular season before sweeping the Red Sox in the ALCS. They were heavy favorites against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Kirk Gibson shocked the world with a pinch-hit home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 and the Dodgers took the series in five games. Still, it was the third straight season of postseason play for Baylor.

Baylor also made the postseason twice early in his career with the Baltimore Orioles and twice mid-career with the California Angels. That’s more postseason appearances than many players get, which is impressive enough, but Baylor’s late-career legacy was the three straight playoff seasons with three different teams in his final three seasons.

Fast forward 30 years and we have a minor league player in the Seattle Mariners system with a similarly impressive streak going. Eric Filia is an outfielder with the Arkansas Travelers. He’s ranked 17^th in the Mariners farm system by MLB Pipeline. They give him an overall scouting grade of 45 and they suggest if he gets to the big leagues at some point it will likely be as a fourth or fifth outfielder.

Then again, you never know. The write-up at MLB Pipeline had this to say about Filia: “But while it may be easy to peg him as a future fourth or fifth outfielder, there’s something to be said about Filia’s track record of surpassing expectations.”

Way back in 2013, Filia was a sophomore with the UCLA Bruins. He helped the team make the postseason, then had a great College World Series when he hit .444 and drove in eight runs in five games. The Bruins won the national title.

An injury and suspension followed, but Filia was back on the field in the summer of 2015 with the Kenosha Kingfish in the Northwoods League. This was a summer league for college players. Filia was league MVP during the regular season and hit .375 in the postseason as the Kingfish won the Summer Collegiate World Championship.

In June of 2016, Filia was a 20^th round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners. He was named league MVP after hitting .362/.450/.496 with the Everett Aquasox of the Low-A Northwest League. They made it to the league finals, but lost to the Eugene Emeralds. Still, it was another team and another championship series appearance for Eric Filia.

The Mariners moved Filia up to the High-A California League in 2017. Playing for the Modesto Nuts, he started slowly but hit .350/.429/.470 in his last 106 games. He also had a streak of 23 straight games without striking out. The Nuts won the North Division of the California League, then beat Lancaster in the finals to win the league championship.

After the season, Filia was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he played with the Peoria Javelinas. He led the AFL in batting average with a .408/.483/.605 batting line. The Javelinas won the AFL Championship to add another trophy to Filia’s mantle place collection.

This year, Filia is in Double-A with the Arkansas Travelers. He didn’t hit for much power in 79 games, but had an impressive .371 on-base percentage. As he’s done in every professional season he’s played, he walked more times than he struck out. The Travelers are currently tied up 1-1 in a best-of-three playoff series with the Tulsa Drillers. The winner advances to the championship round.

Should the Arkansas Travelers beat the Drillers on Saturday, it would mean another finals appearance for Eric Filia. Going back to his sophomore year of college, he’s won a national title, a Summer Collegiate World Championship, lost in the finals in Low-A, won the championship in High-A, and won the Arizona Fall League title. That’s a string of success even Don Baylor would be proud of.