Position players reported to the Seattle Mariners' team complex in Peoria, Arizona, on Tuesday, meaning the team is ready to begin organized workouts ahead of its first spring training game on March 4.
Significant news is already coming out of the Mariners camp after pitchers and catchers reported last Friday. Jesus Montero is apparently in the best shape of his life, Danny Hultzen has looked good in throwing sessions and James Paxton will miss a few days as a precaution after falling during an agility drill, all via Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.
The most important things for the club in spring training are health and a couple of important roster battles. Seattle will be keeping a close eye on Chris Taylor and Brad Miller at shortstop and Taijuan Walker and Roenis Elias in the rotation as they vie for starting jobs.
Even if it doesn't impact the 2015 team as much as those roster battles, one of the most entertaining things in spring training is getting a chance to watch prospects and non-roster invitees in game action. Top Mariners prospects such as D.J. Peterson and Patrick Kivlehan will be there, but a few under-the-radar players are also ready to impress.
John Hicks, C
Although Mike Zunino has the starting catcher job locked down in Seattle for the foreseeable future, Hicks will be worth keeping an eye on in spring training and the minors this season. He broke out with the bat in a major way in 2014 and appears to be on the cusp of making the majors this season.
After a solid but unspectacular debut in Double-A during 2013, Hicks posted a .296/.362/.418 line with Jackson last season, which earned him a graduation to Triple-A for the final 28 games of the year. Hicks followed that up with a 153 wRC+ performance in 53 plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League.
Hicks has always been regarded as at least a decent defensive catcher who works well with young pitchers and is unusually athletic for his position. The Mariners added Hicks to their 40-man roster, indicating he could soon take over the backup job from Jesus Sucre, a good defensive catcher who can't hit at all.
Mariners minor league coordinator Chris Gwynn said that Hicks needs to iron out some things on the mental side before he is ready for that and that this spring training will be very important, via Greg Johns of MLB.com:
"I think he probably still needs that grind of playing every day in Triple-A and mentally separating his hitting from his defense at a higher level. He needs to get some confidence in Spring Training that he can play with the guys he sees on TV. I don't think he's there yet, but he's definitely on his way."
If Hicks hits well in spring training and at least holds his own behind the plate, look for him to start getting more attention as Seattle's best candidate for the backup catcher position later in the year.
Jordy Lara, 1B
Lara isn't the prospect with the most upside at Mariners camp and is further away form the majors than someone such as Kivlehan or Hicks. Still, Lara put up impressive numbers at every level he reached in 2014 and will be interesting to watch at spring training.
The 23-year-old produced a .353/.413/.609 line with 22 home runs in 103 games of High-A in 2014. High Desert inflated those numbers a bit, but Lara's park-adjusted 163 wRC+ ranked second in the California League.
That earned Lara a trip to Double-A for the final 33 games last year, where he backed up his High Desert performance with a .286/.326/.492 line. Gwynn said that Lara has some plus tools and could be figuring it out after a rough start to his professional career, via Danny Wild of MiLB.com:
"He could just be a late bloomer. He played two seasons at Pulaski and finally, when he got his opportunity, he was able to put together a really, really good year. His on-base ability was really good, he has right-handed power and has a really good arm."
Despite all that, Lara went unprotected and unselected in this year's Rule 5 draft, indicating what teams think of his value. If Lara performs well in spring training and keeps putting up those kinds of numbers, he will start to rise up Seattle's prospect rankings.
Besides Lara's bat, this spring could be critical in terms of his future position. It's unclear if Lara can stick at first base, and the Mariners said they will give him time in the outfield, according to Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune:
Ketel Marte, SS
Marte is very young for his level, and he put up some strong numbers during his ascension from Single-A Clinton in the summer of 2013 to Triple-A last September. With a strong performance in spring training and Triple-A to begin the year, Marte can further establish himself as one of Seattle's top prospects and get some more attention nationally.
After playing just 19 games in High Desert the year before, Marte started 2014 in Double-A and posted a .302/.319/.404 line with 23 stolen bases and plus defense at the shortstop position. Marte impressively moved to Triple-A at the end of the season at the age of 20.
This spring, he'll get a chance to showcase the skills that make him an interesting prospect moving forward. Marte has two players between him and a starting shortstop job in the majors, but his ability to make contact (strikeout rate of 13.8 percent in Jackson last year) and his plus speed make him an ideal top-of-the-order hitter somewhere down the line.
All stats via FanGraphs.com unless otherwise indicated.
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