Seattle Mariners Instructional League: Taylor Trammell scuffling

Taylor Trammell is playing in the Seattle Mariners Instructional League right now and is not playing at his best. Should fans be worried?

The Seattle Mariners just finished its 14th Instructional League game in Arizona. The Instructional League is an extremely crucial opportunity for many Mariners prospects who have not had much practice and playtime this season due to the unprecedented circumstances. Trammell is one of the big Mariners prospects who is preparing for an MLB debut in 2021.

Trammell is the Mariners’ fifth-ranked prospect and the 51st ranked prospect in the MLB. He played in Double-A during 2019, so he would have been playing in Triple-A during 2020 if the minor league season happened. Trammell is on schedule to play in 2021, and the Mariners are expecting him to be ready to start. This makes the Instructional League so important for the Georgia native and he has not impressed thus far.

Through 14 games, Trammell has posted these stats:

• 52 at-bats (leads team)
• .173 batting average
• 0.346 OBP (HBP not included because Mariners have not published it)
• 1 home run
• 6 doubles (leads team)
• 14 strikeouts
• 98.5mph average maximum exit velocity

The stats above may be inaccurate. The Mariners did not publish too many stats from the Instructional League so the numbers above should be considered as approximations.

The speedy outfielder has struggled to record hits in Arizona. Only nine hits out of 52 at-bats. Despite his unimpressive batting average through 14 games, there are some good signs from his stat line.

Trammell leads the team in doubles during the Instructional League. This gives us a glimpse of his potential in the big leagues. Trammell is a fast outfielder who will get on base and steal bases, and stretch singles into doubles. Trammell has nine hits, and six of them are doubles. He is either being extremely aggressive on the base paths or is hitting with decent power. Although, Joe Rizzo is in second place with five doubles but has only had 39 at-bats, compared to Trammell’s 52 at-bats.

The former first-round pick is drawing walks and getting on base often, even when he is unable to hit his way on. This is a good sign because Trammell has the potential to be a great leadoff hitter in the MLB. Trammell has also hit a home run in the Instructional League which you can watch below. His hardest-hit ball traveled 110.6mph which is very good for a contact hitter.

Although the stats catch the eyes of people, the Instructional League is meant to be more for practice so the performances do not mean as much. Trammell has proven his skills in the minor leagues so his current performances should not worry fans. The left-handed hitter has a career .270 batting average in the minor leagues. He has accumulated 1,552 at-bats and in those at-bats, he has hit 64 doubles, 24 triples, and 33 home runs.

Trammell is the 51st ranked MLB prospect and for good reason. Mariners fans should be extremely excited about Trammell just as much as they are excited about Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, and Logan Gilbert.