Seattle Mariners 2018 minor league awards
The Seattle Mariners had a tremendous season at the major league level, but fell short of the playoffs. How did their minor league system perform in 2018?
As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Seattle Mariners.
We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.
After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!
Seattle Mariners minor leagues
The Seattle Mariners had a very good season at the major league level, but they saw the rest of the American League pull away, leaving them out of the playoff picture. In their effort to get the second playoff spot, the Mariners traded away some of the limited prospects in their farm system.
That farm system is very feasibly the #30 farm system in all of baseball in talent, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t players that had productive seasons. Some of the M’s farmhands were notable in their league-leading stats.
Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:
Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)
BA: David Freitas .349
OBP: Dan Vogelbach .434
SLG: Dan Vogelbach .545
OPS: Dan Vogelbach .979
R: Ariel Sandoval 78
H: Chuck Taylor 149
2B: Nick Zammarelli 30
3B: Julio Rodriguez 9
HR: Joey Curletta 23
RBI: Joey Curlette 94
SB: Ian Miller 33
TB: Joey Curletta, Evan White 224
W: Three with 9
G: Shawn Armstrong 49
GS: Nick Wells 28
IP: Darren McCaughan 149
SV: Matt Festa 20
K: Darren McCaughan 129
ERA: Shawn Armstrong 1.77
WHIP: Juan Mercedes 1.02
K/9: Sam Delaplane 15.1
K/BB: Ljay Newsome 8.93
Let’s look at the award winners…
Seattle Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Year: Dan Vogelbach
Level(s): AAA Tacoma, MLB Seattle Mariners
Stats: Minors: .290/.434/.545, 16 2B, 20 HR, 77/59 BB/K; Majors: .207/.324/.368, 2 2B, 4 HR, 13/26 BB/K
Vogelbach has been knocking on the door of the major leagues for multiple seasons now, since being acquired by the Seattle Mariners from the Chicago Cubs. He has a very good eye, sporting a career minor league OBP of .395, but his power is what will write his major league ticket if it comes.
Before being called up this season, Vogelbach was incredible for Tacoma in 84 games, pounding out 20 home runs in what is a half-season of major league time. His ability to keep his strikeouts under control is admirable and something that could give him a shot at a DH spot in 2019 in the majors.
Runners-up
The Seattle Mariners 1st round selection in 2017, Evan White is a rare first baseman that could move to center field if he left the position. He struggled out of the gate in 2018, but once he got going, his bat was excellent, combining for a .300/.371/.453 line with 29 doubles, 7 triples, and 11 home runs. He’ll get a shot at the upper minors in 2019.
Moving to first base in 2018 full-time, Joey Curletta let his power play in AA as he hit .282/.383/.482, and he led the Mariners farm system with 23 home runs and 94 RBI. He should get a shot at the PCL in 2019, and his right-handed power should play well in that league as well.
One of the elite prospects in the 2017-2018 international signing class, Julio Rodriguez was a major signing by the Seattle Mariners. He began his pro career in the Dominican Summer League, and he tore the league up, hitting .315/.404/.525 with 13 doubles, 9 triples, 5 home runs, and 10 stolen bases (without being caught). He’ll come stateside in 2019, and he’ll be a fun one to track, very possibly already the #1 prospect in the system.