Seattle Mariners Minor League Update: August 4th

Jul 13, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; USA infielder

(right) slides in for a double past the throw to World infielder

in the 4th inning during the All Star Futures Game at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson Generals

The Generals had absolutely no chance of winning the First Half, as the Huntsville Stars (46-24) ran away with the Southern League’s North Division. Sadly, the Second Half has been a new type of struggle, as though Jackson is tied with the Stars, both clubs find themselves at 18-24.

After a miserable end of June and beginning of July that saw the Generals post a 2-8 homestand against Tennessee and Mobile, the team turned it around with good home series against Birmingham and Huntsville while keeping pace on the road.

But another 5-gamer against Mobile, this time on the road, was their downfall again, and the club could really use a win tonight in the series finale against Montgomery. Patrick Kivlehan has a season OPS exceeding .900, which led to plenty of speculation last week that he might be a piece in a David Price deal.

If he does stay with the team, though, a position change should come soon. In addition to Kyle Seager holding down the hot corner for the foreseeable future, Kivlehan has 15 errors on the year, second-most on the team.

Another hitter to watch is Ketel Marte. In AA since the end of Spring Training, the 20 year old shortstop has played in the most games on the team, (103 of the team’s first 111), and has a .300 average.

Again, defense is an issue (his 29 errors lead the team), but considering his upside at the plate as well as his youth, Marte has been impressive to say the least. The most famous General, at least nationally, is of course DJ Peterson, the M’s first round pick in 2013 who represented the organization at this year’s MLB Futures Game, but the former New Mexico Lobo has been in a slump.

Hitting just .118/.211/.235 over his last ten games is nothing to worry about yet, but his overall numbers are decidedly unimpressive in 31 games since leaving High Desert. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that he has been much better on the road, hitting a full 100 points higher away from The Ballpark at Jackson.

On the pitching side, the Generals are in the bottom half of just about every major team pitching stat. Stephen Landazuri has won 6 games while posting a WHIP of 1.02, but the bullpen is more of a mess. Once Stephen Kohlscheen was promoted to Tacoma (and later traded), manager Jim Pankovits had to rely more on Mayckol Gaulpe (now the team’s best reliever and leader in saves with 8), David Colvin, and Stephen Shackleford to finish games.

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