I was originally planning on posting profiles of four or five players that the Mariners may be considering with the 37th pick for the draft preview. However, everything I hear points back to one guy, and its almost unanimous that he’ll be the pick unless something crazy happens. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to the likely next first round pick of the Seattle Mariners.
Greg Moviel, LHP, St. Ignatius High School (Cleveland, Ohio)
There may not be a more influential scout in the organization than Ken Madeja, who covers the northern midwest for the M’s. Madeja was the man who scouted and signed Ryan Anderson in 1997, than convinced the M’s to gamble on Matt Thornton with the 22nd pick in 1998 when most had him rated as a 5th round pick or later. He also added Andy Van Hekken (now with Detroit) in the 3rd round of the 1998 draft. More recently, he’s signed 1999 5th round pick Clint Nageotte, 2001 6th round pick Justin Ockerman, and the first ever player signed out of Russia in Oleg Korneev (who was released last week).
Besides being pitchers, these guys have one thing in common. They’re huge, and almost all left-handed. Anderson is 6’10. Ockerman is 6’10. Thornton is 6’6. Van Hekken is 6’6. Nageotte is 6’4. Korneev is 6’7. Nageotte’s the only righty in the group. Madeja is extremely fond of supersized southpaws, and Moviel fits the bill. At 6’7, 220 pounds, he’ll fit right in to the Mariners collection. It doesn’t hurt that Madeja is a big fan of Moviel and is pushing for his selection.
Most sources rank him as a reach in the first round. I’ve seen him projected from the late second to early fourth rounds, though signability may have a bit to do with that. Moviel has a commitment in place to Vanderbilt, who has a great track record of keeping their recruits. With pressure on scouting director Frank Mattox to get the picks under contract this year, Moviel’s willingness to turn pro will be the final piece in deciding whether they call his name tommorrow afternoon or not. Slot money for the 37th pick will be approximately $800,000, and the M’s aren’t interested in going much over that for the player they select. If Moviel is giving indications that he’ll take an offer near that range, expect him to be introduced to the media as the newest member of the organization.
The Future Forty has been updated for June. We wave goodbye to Rafeal Soriano’s status as a prospect and welcome Matt Thornton back to the fold, among other things. Find out how waiver claim Cristian Guerrero compares to the other players in the system and what Justin Leone’s huge start in San Antonio have done for his status. You won’t find a more in depth ranking of the Mariners farm system anywhere else, and it is updated at the beginning of every month for your viewing pleasure.
In other good news for prospect hounds, I’m going to be hitting the airwaves in the great Northwest later this month. I’ll be joining Pat Dillon on the June 20th pregame show for the Everett Aquasox game against the Vancouver Canadians. The Aquasox games will be broadcast on 90.7 FM KSER and will also be streamed via the internet from the Aquasox home page. I encourage you to check out the broadcasts as Pat Dillon is truly a joy to listen to and brings excitement to the game.
I’ll also be posting a draft preview on Monday as the Mariners are narrowing down the field of potential candidates. Early word has them leaning towards yet another high school pitcher, but things will almost certainly change between now and draft day.
Enjoy.
After a sweep of the Twins, the Mariners now stand at 24-6 against the American League Central. In other words, if they played the Twins, Royals, White Sox, Tigers, and Indians all year, they’d win 130 games. In this land of the blind, Minnesota is king, but I’m not convinced they even have one eye. More like a walking stick or a crippled boy scout helping them across the street.
So, what does our thumping of the Central tell us? I’m not sure, honestly. We’re clearly good enough to beat the dregs of the American League. However, in games versus the East and West, we’re an ordinary 13-12. I don’t think its coincidence that the top two teams in the AL West are the ones who have played 30 games apiece against the AL Central.
Also, before people count out the Angels and Rangers, remember that they have played a combined 11 games against the central to date. The Angels are 5-0 vs the division of craptasticness, and get a month against the central from August 8th to September 7th. If Anaheim is hanging around, they could make a big push simply based on scheduling. This certainly isn’t a two horse race just yet.