Seattle Mariners Prospect Trade Target List: AL West

The Seattle Mariners are going to be active this summer on the trade market. Such is the nature of GM Jerry Dipoto anyways, but the team is still in the midst of their rebuild and the farm system needs more assets.

The Mariners farm system is much improved, particularly as top end talents are concerned. But the system still needs more talent and Dipoto will certainly be looking for depth in the system as well as some potential upside.

But while it is easy to fantasize about big-name prospects heading to Seattle, it isn’t likely. But the two “site experts” of Sodo Mojo decided to go through every farm system and highlight a few of the prospects that we think might be available for the Mariners. Let’s get started with a look at the AL West.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Colby’s pick: 1B Matt Thaiss

The Angels are in a weird place as a franchise. They refuse to embrace a rebuild but have a pretty nice farm system. Ultimately, the plan might be to wait for the farm system to replenish the team around Mike Trout while just treading water at the big league level.

But with this exercise, we are still looking to add prospects from every team. My selection from the Angels system is the first base/ designated hitter prospect, Matt Thaiss. The Angels first round pick from 2016, Thaiss is ranked 8th in the team’s farm system by MLB Pipeline.

A pretty standard “bat first” 1B, Thaiss has some similar qualities to Daniel Vogelbach. He shows a good knowledge of the strike zone, an ability to hit to all fields, who focused more on line drives more than flyballs early in his career, but is starting to make strides as a power hitter.

Thaiss is actually an average glove at first and is probably ready to hold his own at the MLB level. The power is still a question, but Thaiss could develop into a .280/.360/.450 bat with average or better defense at first.

Ty’s pick: RHP Jose Soriano

It’s weird saying that I want a pitcher from the Angels organization, considering their history of, you know, not keeping their pitchers necessarily healthy or whatever. So before the Angels run Jose Soriano into the ground, it’d be great if, say, the Mariners swoop in and see the 20-year-old reach his high ceiling.

With that high ceiling comes a relatively high floor for Soriano as well. Now in his fourth season in the Angels’ organization since signing as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, Soriano has exclusively worked as a starter. While his secondary and tertiary pitches have improved with time, neither are plus-pitches for him yet.

But his fastball will play. Soriano’s velocity has gone up since he signed, now sitting comfortably in the mid-90s with an ability to touch an upwards of 97-98 with some room to grow still. It’s been an easy pitch for him to command and lean on, and will certainly help him fall back into a high-leverage bullpen role if he can’t effectively use his curveball and changeup at higher levels.

The curve, however, isn’t far off from being a plus for him, so his potential as a mid-rotation starter is still well in reach for him. On occasion, Soriano has shown an above-average spin on the curve and has been able to successfully utilize it more and more as he develops. His changeup still needs some work but can be an effective and deceptive pitch for him if he continues to work on his arm speed.

While the potential is there, Soriano hasn’t really shown the results and his stock is starting to take a hit for it. Like in years past, Soriano hasn’t posted the high strikeout numbers his stuff should afford him, and he’s greatly struggled to keep walks at a minimum this year. In 25.1 innings thus far, Soriano has a 4.45 xFIP with an 8.17 K/9 and 6.04 BB/9.

If confidence in Soriano has diminished within the Angels’ front office, now might be the most opportune time to inquire about him. At the very least, Soriano should wind up an above-average reliever at the MLB level, with some upside to develop into something more. It’s just a matter of what the Angels will actually look to do as the deadline approaches, or heading into the offseason

Oakland Athletics

Colby’s pick: SS Jeremy Eierman

The Seattle Mariners aren’t afraid to make trades in the division, and neither are the Oakland A’s. More than likely, the A’s will be fighting for a playoff spot this summer and have an interesting plethora of talent to consider.

My choice is shortstop Jeremy Eierman. I was a big fan of Eierman leading up to the 2018 MLB Draft and was bummed to see the A’s snag him with the 70th overall pick. In college, he was a well-rounded player who could hit for power, steal bases, and had a chance to stick at SS.

However, pro ball has not been kind to Eierman, who has posted a .224/.281/.368 in his career. But the tools are still there, including his above-average power, foot speed, and plus arm. He is a good athlete and has more than enough arm to handle shortstop, though a move to third could be in his future.

The move to third would put more stress on his bat to develop. But the Mariners have a big hole in their farm system at shortstop and betting on Eierman’s talent isn’t a bad idea.

Ty’s pick: OF Luis Barrera

The Mariners have a ton of exciting outfield prospects in their system already, but Jerry Dipoto has a type. If an outfield prospect with above-average speed and athleticism is on the table, he’ll surely grab Dipoto’s attention. In this case, that would be 23-year-old Luis Barrera.

Of all the outfield prospects the Mariners currently have in-house, none are surefire center fielders in the MLB outside of Braden Bishop. Jarred Kelenic and Dom Thompson-Williams are the two most likely to stick in center, but neither has cemented the position in their profile.

Barrera isn’t likely to win any Gold Gloves in center, but he has the tools to be an above-average everyday player out there. That is if the bat can produce in the majors. If not, he’s likely destined to be a fringe major leaguer or a fourth/fifth outfielder.

He has little-to-no over-the-wall power, but his gap-to-gap potential has shone through after an underwhelming 2017 campaign. Barrera has elite speed, though he hasn’t put up elite stolen base numbers thus far in his pro career. He’s also shown the ability to work counts on occasion, hovering around a 9% walk-rate while striking out at a ~15% clip most seasons.

Barrera got off to a hot start this season with Double-A Midland before landing on the Injured List with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games, he hit .298/.365/.574 with two home runs, eight RBIs, and one steal.

Barrera’s profile feels very familiar for the Mariners, and that’s why he jumped off the page to me as someone who makes a lot of sense for them. There isn’t really a current Mariners prospect or player who directly compares to Barrera, though he does have a little Mallex Smith in him—much better defender, though.

Texas Rangers

Colby’s pick: UTL Eli White

Finally, we have reached a team that is in the most similar situation to the Mariners, the Texas Rangers. Not really committing to a full-scale rebuild, the Rangers have a veteran-heavy team but also has the solid, young pieces to trade depending on which direction they want to go.

For this farm system, the name I have zeroed in on is Eli White, an infielder with an opportunity to be an everyday utility man. White, who was acquired in the Jurickson Profar trade, has an interesting set of tools to work with.

He is an above-average hitter, though he has little home run power. He takes walks, hits a lot of line drives, and uses the whole field. He also has above-average speed, arm, and defensive abilities. He reminds some of former Mariners prospect Chris Taylor, except White has flashed the type of upside in the past.

He reminds me more of Ben Zobrist and should be able to handle any position on the diamond. His best spot is probably second base but won’t kill you at any position. White’s versatility and a solid approach at the plate make him an exciting option for whoever he plays for.

Ty’s pick: C Sam Huff

Sam Huff is a massive dude. At 6’4″, 230 pounds, Huff is one of the bigger catchers in the game of baseball right now, which has brought up questions about if he can actually make it at the position. For now, Huff has kept these concerns at bay, for the most part, showcasing above-average framing and throwing mechanics.

Life in professional baseball was tough on Huff in his first two-and-a-half years in the Rangers’ system. Last year, Huff slashed an abysmal .242/.292/.439 line with a 31.3% strikeout rate at just the Low-A level. Still, his massive build and athleticism have kept his outlook fairly optimistic, and he’s certainly making a name for himself thus far in 2019.

Through 29 games at Low-A Hickory, Huff has already hit 14 (!!!) home runs with 27 RBIs, slashing an outrageous .317/.355/.769—good enough for a 218 wRC+. Defensively, Huff has caught 13 of 22 steal attempts and has looked well improved in all facets of catching, though he’s only seen 14 games of action at the position.

The strikeouts are still an issue, as Huff currently sits at a career-high 33.6% rate. Considering he’s never seen this kind of success at the plate before and is likely bound to regress to some degree, the consistency of his strikeout woes won’t be overlooked, especially when they’ve come at such a low level in the minors. If the defense is still an issue in addition to the strikeouts, Huff’s production likely won’t raise his stock very far.

Huff makes a lot of sense for what the Mariners have looked for and what they need. Seattle is paper thin at the catching position behind Cal Raleigh in their farm system. Huff is similar to Raleigh in the sense that both may wind up at first base rather than catcher, though the former is well ahead of the latter defensively. At the very least, Huff has done enough to be given a look at catcher as he climbs the minor league ranks.

As we continue our series across the rest of the divisions in baseball, remember that these are prospects we like and think could be traded this summer. We would love to trade for Vlad Guerrero Jr., but it isn’t going to happen.

The Mariners will undoubtedly be busy this summer, so just file a few of these names in the back of your mind.