Seattle Mariners Prospect Trade Target List: AL West

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.