Triunfel snaps out of slump, Peguero and Halman impressing.

Hello, Mariners Fans. My name is Alex Freedman, and I have the pleasure of broadcasting for the High Desert Mavericks, the Cal League affiliate of the Mariners (A+). When the fellow members of the front office and I caught a glimpse at our opening day roster we were all very excited. So far the season has indeed been filled with excitement, with lots of big comebacks, as well as late-inning implosions.

Now, before I provide any kind of “analysis” I just want to clarify something. I, by no means, have the expertise of a scout or someone who has been around the game a long time. This is my second year broadcasting minor league baseball and before that I was in college. So please, just keep in mind anything I might say is coming from a guy who has the “job” of watching 140 games of baseball every year.

Last year the Mavericks were home to three of the top 10 prospects in Seattle’s system: Mike Saunders, Chris Tillman, and Carlos Triunfel. Even though the team was beyond lousy, those three were special to watch every day, or in Tillman’s case, every fifth day. Despite being only 17 years old at the time, Triunfel tied a franchise record with six hits in a nine-inning game. The 19-year-old Tillman would later tie another franchise record with 13 strikeouts in a game, although it only took him six innings to do it. I think it’s also worth noting one of the other two previous pitchers to accomplish that feat in a Mavericks’ uniform is long-time big leaguer Brad Penny.

It was a little disappointing to see the M’s have to ship Tillman off to Baltimore, but the front office did what I suppose it had to. With Saunders doing well at Double-A West Tenn, I figured the Mariners would keep Triunfel in the High Desert for some more seasoning. Maybe I set the expectations too high, but I thought since the guy hit .288 here last year, he would hit around .300 and would finally produce some power.

Triunfel got off to a bad start, but he has turned it around. After going 0-for-4 on April 10, his average stood at .077. He had missed nine consecutive games within the first couple weeks of the season due to minor back and abdominal problems, and our hitting coach Eddie Menchaca told me once Triunfel got more at bats on a consistent basis, he would start to hit. Ever since hitting rock bottom, Triunfel has hit safely in 14 of 15 games, including a current nine-game hitting streak. He is hitting .365 over that stretch, raising his average up to .255 for the season.

There has been a lot of fanfare over Triunfel’s arm, and it is by far the strongest I have seen from anyone over the past two seasons. However, he still has trouble harnessing it, leading to some throwing errors. His range isn’t that great at shortstop either, but then again, the kid just 18, so there’s plenty of time. I know the Mariners see him as either at second or third down the road, so he has played some second this season and has done an okay job. I just think putting him at second would be a waste of his arm strength.

The two other guys I would like to discuss in this post are Carlos Peguero and Greg Halman. Peguero hits the ball harder than anyone else in the league by far. He, like Halman, is prone to striking out, with 40 K’s in 134 plate appearances (including just three walks). He tends to chase pitches low and in, but I’ve already been able to seem him improve start to lay off them more than he did at the beginning of the year. Once Peguero learns to make consistent contact he could be a big star in the big leagues.

Peguero’s defense is the worst part of his game. The guy looks lost in right field. He has already committed eight errors in 14 games out there. I know he’s only 21, but I really don’t see the defense getting much better. The good news is the Mariners can always use him as a DH, where I really think he has a chance to thrive in a few years.

Even though it’s always an adventure with Peguero in the outfield, Halman might be the best center fielder in the league. A couple of weeks ago I came up with the phrase, “He’s never met a fly ball he couldn’t catch.” Since he is such as long-strider and has excellent speed he can cover an extraordinary amount of turf out in center. And this kid’s arm is unreal. I know I’m biased but there is no way any outfielder in the league has a better arm than him. It’s only a little more than a month into the season and it’s becoming clear opposing teams are starting to hesitate to run against him.

At the plate, Halman’s got a lot of power, currently leading the team in home runs with six. It’s also worth noting he’s a perfect 13/13 stealing bases. Again, the strikeouts are a bit worrisome (42 in 142 PA’s), but with time, I’m sure he’ll cut down. His trouble pitch seems to be any kind of low breaking ball. There’s been a ton of swings and misses by him at curves below his knees.

Now I’ve come to terms with the fact Triunfel is only 18 and Peguero is only 21, but the fact Halman is only 20 still blows my mind. I know there have been some comparisons with him to Andre Dawson, and from what I can tell, they are well merited. He has the same body type as The Hawk did in his big league days. Last week, I was watching This Week In Baseball and some leader of some stupid band was talking about how much he loved Dawson as a kid. When they showed the footage of Dawson, it really hit me that he and Halman are the same person.

Those are my thoughts for now. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to mavsradio@gmail.com. I hope to hear from some of you BBT readers.