The Mariner Monitor

1)  Jesus Montero  C
2)  Taijuan Walker  RHP
3)  Danny Hultzen  LHP
4)  James Paxton  LHP
5)  Nick Franklin  2b/ss
6)  Francisco Martinez  3b
7)  Chance Ruffin  RHP
8)  Tim Wilhelmsen  RHP
9)  Vinnie Catricala  3b/1b/OF
10)  Phillips Castillo  OF

The Mariners look like they’re going to fill the spot that Michael Pineda will soon be vacating.  The Jesus Montero deal isn’t official yet but assuming it happens, veteran Kevin Millwood is being signed to take his spot.   He’s only getting a minor league deal and he’d get a shot at a rotation spot in spring training.

Millwood pitched in the minors most of last season before he latched on with the Rockies for nine starts.  He threw 190 2/3 and 198 2/3 innings in 2010 and 2009 respectively so he can still pile on the innings.  2009 was a solid year but that was sandwiched between five other mediocre at best seasons.  I like this because it’s low risk and you have to like the veteran presence.

The Mariners traded another one of their young pitchers but they got a blue chip prospect in return in their trade with the Yankees.  The Mariners get stud prospect Jesus Montero and minor league pitcher Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda and pitching prospect Jose Campos.

Pineda was really sharp in his major league debut season in 2011 but Montero is a stud at the plate.  Montero raked in a September call up with a .996 OPS in 69 plate appearances and he has a career .867 OPS in five minor league seasons.  He’s just 22 as well so there’s plenty of time for him to become an All Star catcher.

Noesi is also major league ready.  He had a nice season in his first full season at the Triple A level.  He pitches a little bit too much to contact but he was able to keep his ERA at 3.28 last season.

The Mariners look like they got a gem.  Jesus Montero was picked as the sixth best prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com.  The guy can rake and he’s major league ready, the question is, will he be a good catcher.  He got off to a rough start in 2011 but bounced back strong and even had a really nice stint with the Yankees.

Mobility behind the plate is an issue and while he has a solid arm, he doesn’t always move well so it’ll be interesting to see how much base runners attempt to steal on him.  Of course if he hits like he should, then people won’t be caring too much about his defense.