The Mariners' infield future is in flux and the current season is in the trash bin and so it is of interest that we should follow the goings on in Tacoma where potential future contributors Justin Smoak (first base) and Dustin Ackley (second base) currently ply their trade. Smoak we saw up in Seattle and he's only been down in Tacoma for a short period but it has been a while since we really checked in on Ackley's progress.
Concerns about his defense remain but those are incredibly hard to suss out from a spreadsheet alone. Especially in the Minor Leagues we leave those judgments to scouts. We can evaluate his offensive performance though and there we have some good news.
After Ackley's slow start during April in West Tennessee, he caught fire and earned himself a promotion up to Tacoma. It would be reasonable to then expect a slow down at the higher level. Instead, Ackley has acquitted himself nicely with a .294/.363/.479. He has recently lost the exceptional walk to strikeout rate that he had down in Double-A (55 walks, 41 Ks) with a poor stretch over his last ten games, but that's a small sample to judge by and his overall numbers in Tacoma are still good.
There are also still some split issues to watch out for as Ackley is struggling against lefties with a .596 OPS. From a hitting side side that's about the only worry left for Ackley. He's succeeding against the highest competition there is outside of the Major Leagues, he's displayed good patience at the plate, great contact rates and an solid amount of power.
Dustin Ackley is coming soon.
1 recs | 29 comments
This qualifies as a Hot, Sexy Dustin Ackley Update.
TheBishop - August 17, 2010
Dustin, you can't force Jose Lopez out of our lives soon enough
lemonverbena - August 17, 2010
That sounds nice.
“Dustin Ackley is coming soon”
lmeyer40 - August 17, 2010
I'll be pretty happy if Ackley breaks camp on the active roster.
Mostly because that probably means we no longer have Lopez.
thewyrm - August 17, 2010 via mobile
there is nothing Ackley needs to do to prevent Lopez being here next year
diderot - August 17, 2010
Yeah,
Lopez has pretty much taken care of this himself.
philosofool - August 17, 2010
It could also mean that Chone got traded
And Lopez is keeping 3B warm for Liddi or someone else. At this point, I’d rather have Lopez for $5M in 2011 than the rest of Figlet’s contract.
Either way, Dustin will probably push one of the two out which would be a long-term upgrade at lower cost.
CMC_Stags - August 17, 2010
So you think Lopez for one year would be better than Figgins for three?
I would pay the extra 4 million for Figgins over Lopez.
Lanky - August 17, 2010
Lopie for one
Batting average about the same, though while Figgins has a higher OBP, Lopie is killing him in RBI’s, and surprisingly Figgins strikes out way more than Lopez. Lopez makes a good amount of throwing errors from 3rd, Figgins can’t seem to field the ball at 2nd worth a damn. I know this blog hates Lopez, but based on this year alone, Lopez and Figgins are pretty much equally bad, so I would much prefer shed three years of one bad over of one year of another.
dundundun - August 18, 2010
Lopez hits 4th, Figgins 2nd, so of course Lopez has more RBIs.
I think you’re overrating RBIs and undervaluing that high OBP. If Figgins strikes out more, it’s only because he sees more pitches. I don’t think you have much of an argument for Lopez being a better hitter than Figgins.
As for the fielding, keep in mind that Figgins was a pretty good 3B, so there’s a pretty good chance that moving Figgins back to 3B you would just as good a fielder as Lopez has been.
Lanky - August 19, 2010
I think that one year of Lopez for $5M may be a better option for the team than $26M/3 for Figgins
As it’s not just $4M more for Figgins in 2011. In 2012-2013/4, you’re looking at $9M/year for Figgins versus potentially $0.5M/year for Liddi, Mangini, or Truinfel.
Assuming one of those 3 players is the starting 3B in 2012, keeping Figgins is either $20M more over 3 years or $28.5M over 4 years if his 2014 option is picked up or vests (according to Cot’s this happens at 600 PA in 2013).
If you believe that the M’s aren’t likely to contend in 2011 and you’re really looking at 2012 as the start of the M’s window of contention, then getting out from Figgins contract makes more sense than trading Lopez.
CMC_Stags - August 19, 2010
I've heard this argument before, and I still don't quite understand it.
None of Liddi, Mangini or Triunfel are ready for the major leagues. These guys are not going to take over for Figgins/Lopez in 2011. You can always trade Figgins later, if he actually starts to block someone.
I think the extra 4 million you give Figgins next year is worth the improvement of the team. We may not be competitive, but the more games we win, the fewer fans are lost, the better the revenue stream in 2012. I also have a hard time imagining that if they don’t spend the 4 mil on Figgins, the owners are going to put that money under the matress for Jack Z to use it next year.
Lanky - August 19, 2010
I WANT HIM NOW
SO BAD
G@B3 - August 17, 2010
You guys should just cover the Rainiers for the rest of the season.
It’s much more interesting.
lmeyer40 - August 17, 2010
But than you wouldn't get to talk about Lopez
And how he’s getting really close to those 50 walks on the year
Mariners121212 - August 17, 2010
I wish he would come already.
I’m starting to feel under appreciated.
Scruffy Lefty - August 17, 2010
Thats what she said.
Mariners121212 - August 17, 2010
TWSS violation
Jeff Sullivan - August 17, 2010
Because it wasn't very funny?
MT Olson - August 17, 2010
It's never funny. TWSS is disallowed here
Matthew - August 17, 2010
.
Lanky - August 17, 2010
I wish there was a way to rec photo captions.
msb - August 17, 2010
What do you mean by displaying good patience at the plate? He has only 12 BB in 119 AB in AAA. That's not
But I would hardly call that good patience.brian_sun - August 17, 2010
Like oh my god, are you like, totally serious?
Kenneth Arthur - August 17, 2010
Good patience isn't drawing walks.
Its hitting good hitter pitches and laying off the bad ones. If someone is throwing you strikes – then you need to swing eventually.
Scruffy Lefty - August 17, 2010
12 walks in 119 AB's isn't bad at all.
At least average or slightly above. He also walked 55 times in 289 AB’s in AA, which is outstanding. If there’s anything he’s shown us so far, it’s that he has a good eye.
nathaniel dawson - August 17, 2010
That's pretty impressive to me for the first taste of AAA
after a mid-season league/level change. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that he’s only playing his first year of pro ball. Crazy as it sounds, and close as he is to MLB-ready, he’s hardly a finished product.
misterjonez - August 18, 2010
I think even somehow getting one walk in 119 AB would be impossibly amazing.
Eyebrows - August 18, 2010 via mobile
Above average is good.
What more do you want to call it good? He walks at an average pace for the PCL and strike out rate abbout 4% lower than average. That’s good discipline, and as long as he keeps getting XBH at a fair rate, that makes him a good hitter.
philosofool - August 17, 2010
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