DJ Peterson makes pro debut

Last night, the Mariners suffered yet another excruciating loss at the hands of the Angels, losing 1-0 to a CJ Wilson gem. However, the news was not all bad in Mariners land last night, as 2013 first round pick DJ Peterson made his professional debut for the Everett AquaSox last night.

The Univeristy of New Mexico product hit fourth and was the designated hitter in his first game. In four plate appearances, he went 0-for-3 with a walk. He over-swung quite a bit, which is to be expected from a kid pressing for his first pro hit. He did show some great plate presence, as he had two long at-bats, including the one where he drew the walk.

Even though he didn’t wow anyone on day one, the positive takeaway from Peterson’s debut has to be that less than two weeks after the Mariners drafted him, he’s in uniform playing professionally in their system. That’s a big deal. I remember thinking Mike Zunino signed fast last year, and he didn’t debut in Everett until mid-July. To have your top pick debut on June 19 is a major step in the right direction.

The jury is still way out on where the twelfth overall pick projects in the field. Most see him as a first baseman, but Peterson himself wants to stick at his college position, third. I put an interesting tweet up on our website when he was drafted that implied he was the next Edgar Martinez. Whoa. Easy there. One step at a time. At least for now, it’s nice knowing he’s in uniform ready to improve and show fans what he’s got at the pro level.