Mariners' Top Prospects

Keith Law of Scouts Inc. put together a list of the top 100 MLB prospects for 2008, as well as a listing of the top five prospects by position and top five for each individual organization (ESPN Insider required for the latter two lists). You'll notice Adam Jones is not on the list, because only includes players who are still eligible as rookies. Jones is no longer defined as a rookie, because he has more than 130 at-bats in the major leagues.

Mariners Top Five Prospects
1. Carlos Triunfel, ss
2. Jeff Clement, c
3. Wladimir Balentien, rf
4. Chris Tillman, rhp
5. Juan Ramirez, rhp

Here also are the Mariners prospects who appeared in the top 100 overall.

#18 - Carlos Triunfel: "A minor league hitter who makes a lot of contact and hits for average against pitchers three or four years his senior is marked for stardom, and Triunfel's physical tools bear that out," Law says. He adds, "He also has a laser of an arm."

#44 - Jeff Clement: According to Law, "But his power is big enough that if he can provide Mike Piazza-like defense behind the plate, he will be an everyday catcher in the majors." Law also says, "Behind the plate, Clement is barely adequate as a receiver or a thrower."

#95 - Wladimir Balentien: Law simply says, "Balentien's swing is long and he doesn't take a consistent path to the ball, but he's strong and hasn't had trouble making contact. He plays a solid right field with an above-average arm."

While this is only one scouts take, there are a few things that stand out to me about this list. First off, in 2005 the Mariners had the #3 overall pick after losing 99 games in 2004 and Clement is the player they took with that pick. Now Clement is only considered the 44th best prospect in baseball. Meanwhile, five players taken in the first round of that draft after the M's selected Clement are playing in the major leagues. That includes the two players chosen immediately after the Mariners picked, Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Braun. Not to mention Troy Tulowitzki taken at #7 by the Rockies.

The other thing that stands out is a little bit more positive. In the supposed deal for Erik Bedard, besides giving up Jones the M's appear to have managed to trade only one of their other top prospects, that being Chris Tillman. While they will be giving up arguably their best young player, the M's will have managed to get one of the best pitchers in the AL without gutting their farm system.