Mariners Right-Handed Power, Is Corey Hart the Answer?

In 2013 the Mariners were characteristically awful again in most offense categories and have begun this off-season with a plan very similar to years past, right handed power. The Mariners are very left-handed heavy and currently have lefties at 1B (Smoak is a switch hitter but can't hit right-handed), 2B, SS, 3B and CF. After failed experiments in Mike Morse and an unknown in Jesus Montero the search continues for an impact bat from the right side. 

On Wednesday the Mariners agreed to terms with Corey Hart, a right-handed hitter coming off of two knee surgeries. Hart is reportedly fully healthy after missing all of the 2013 season and will be playing the majority of his time in the outfield. Hart is a proven hitter who has hit 30+ home-runs in two seasons, 2010 and 2012. Could he be the right-handed power bat the Mariners have coveted for years.....? Signed to a one year deal, there is very little downside in this deal for the Mariners and while Hart could have chosen a more hitter friendly home ballpark for his comeback season Safeco did see a significant increase in long balls in 2013 (116 to 170).

Home-runs hit in 2013 at Safeco Field with an overlay of Miller Park
www.espn.com

As you can see from the graphic above, the dimensions of Safeco Field are actually more favorable to power hitters than Miller Park, the only home ballpark Hart has known. If Hart can hit 30 home-runs while playing his home games at Miller park then he should be able to at Safeco. I am not suggesting that he will hit 30 but I believe 25 is an accurate projection and would be seen as a success by the Mariner's organization.
 Steamer projects Hart to hit 23 home-runs, 74 rbis and a triple slash of .257/.325/.456 in 2014, making Hart essentially a right-handed Kyle Seager (22 homeruns, 69 rbis, .260/.338/.426 in 2013). I would be fine with that from a guy who hasn't played in over a year but I'm not sure he's the right-handed savior Mariner's fans are looking for. In the end the game is played on the field and could be another Mariner bust but at the very least he can't be any worse than Mike Morse.

Midseason Acquisitions

By Ryan Craighead

It’s now hovering around the midway point in fantasy world and the division races are starting to heat up, both in the big show and fantasy leagues nationwide. Maybe your team is healthy and performing, maybe your team has been well out of the playoff since week three or maybe your team is in the majority, fighting to stay above .500 and plagued by multiple injuries. All in all, you need some help.

This time of year is very fluid for fantasy owners looking for one or two difference makers that will give them breathing room in the standings or put them back in the race. Owners are willing to move players, so get out there and make trades. The best trades are not blockbusters shipping star players but small ones trading role players.

MLB front offices are also very busy in early summer trying to fill holes in their club with minor leaguers who have been playing well to replace big leaguers unfit for their roles. A key point in fantasy success is to pay attention to minor leaguers; these misty-eyed young bloods are eager to prove that they belong and will play hard. The ones that get a lot of buzz do so for a reason: they can play. Guys like Moustakas and Rizzo will be difference makers down the stretch and deserve to be owned in all leagues.

Finding role players is no easy task; it requires scouring stats for many (and sometimes fruitless) hours. Often times it involves no small level of risk to go with a guy who’s hot. Take Sam Fuld, for instance. Earlier this year, good ole Fuldie was on fire for a few weeks in a row, hitting for average, stealing bases and scoring runs. Highlight reel catches will only keep you in the line-up for so long, however, as poor Sammy is now struggling both to hit and see the field. Rightfully so, he has been consequently dropped in most leagues.

One of the more pleasant surprises has been Corey Patterson, who has been a consistently average producer since coming on to the scene in mid-April, hitting .278 with 35 runs, 29 rbi and swiping 9 bags. While definitely not exciting, he is a perfect fit in deeper leagues, in a shallow outfield.

Pitching is like the weather: almost impossible to predict. Sure, the big guns like Halladay, Lincecum and Verlander are going to be stand-out performers, but asking about those guys is like asking if there will be tornadoes in the mid-west or earthquakes in California. Who knew that the Pirates would have a respectable staff? More than just a staff-filler but who will still be available is Jeff Karstens. He does only have 47 strikeouts in 71 innings, he has only given up 12 walks on the year. That’s a walk and a half per nine innings! The Pirates are above .500 for the first time since the ‘90s at this point in the season and his 2.66 era will earn him more wins and keep your team era down.

The weather’s heatin’ up and so will the sticks, so stay active! Make trades and keep a sharp eye on rising prospects!  

Chase D’arnaud Interview

By Ryan Craighead

I-5 Sports

Chase D'arnaud, SS PIT

      The most important thing in professional baseball is attitude; not just how they feel about themselves, but how they feel about the game. For Chase D’arnaud, the game of baseball is fun. Admittedly it can be a grind, and times can be trying, but overall it’s still fun.

      The average workweek during the season is an almost nightmarish onslaught of games on a nightly basis; they get only two days off a month. To stay in shape, D’arnaud works out twice to three times a week by showing up to the ballpark five hours before game time.

      D’arnaud played for the Altoona Curve this past season, the double-A affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not the ideal vacation spot, but it is a distraction-free environment that can be advantageous for people that need or want to focus.

      The past year was not an ideal one for D’arnaud, and he said he was not happy with it. This lead to a discussion of the battle of complacency; at the start of the year, D’arnaud was a highly-touted prospect who was guaranteed chances to make the big league club and started to not play the day-to-day battles, but had the mindset of turning everything into the major leagues. The quest for the big leagues is a very big picture; it is imperative to leave that up to those white-collar office-holders to make those decisions. D’arnaud has been dedicating himself this offseason to getting back to the blue-collar, yeoman’s work that got him to this point.

      D’arnaud has been invited to the big-league spring training this year, after 10 separate non-invitee visits last year. Keeping with the theme, all D’arnaud would say about expectations for this spring training is that he’s going to take advantage of big league coaching to help him get ready for this season. With a little encouraging, he went on to say that increased exposure means good things and is the reason why he was invited back so many times last year.

      The atmosphere of a minor league clubhouse is as expected: 30 guys, all in their young adult life, being in close quarters everyday for long periods of time. The best teams, D’arnaud says, have the lightest-atmosphere clubhouses, where jokes run rampant and those that can’t take a joke are at the mercy of the majority. Hell, they are all big kids that do not need to grow up; it is baseball, after all.

      He only had positive things to say about Andrew McCutchen, the phenom that currently patrols centerfield for the Pirates, citing his cool demeanor as the thing he would want to emulate most. D’arnaud has the goal of not letting his body language or demeanor give away what type of game he had; he doesn’t want anyone to tell whether he hit for the cycle or had a golden sombrero (he’s hit for the cycle already in his career and never a golden sombrero, which equals 0 for 4 with 4 k’s).

      There is a group of players in D’arnaud’s draft class that he has grown with the past couple years that he enjoys playing with and can see himself at PNC Park with: Josh Harrison, Matt Hague and Anthony Norman. D’arnaud also has a great deal of respect for pitcher Rudy Owens, saying that his lower body strength is impressive.

      As a kid, D’arnaud was just like everybody else and had his favorite professional ballplayers. He liked Omar Vizquel, the slick-gloved middle infielder who is a professional in every sense of the word. For the other half of the game, D’arnaud watched A-Rod and was enraptured by how easy the game comes to that guy. When asked if he models his swing, stance or playing style after anybody, D’arnaud said no, he does not, but has been working on his own style, which is respectable.

      The thing that D’arnaud wanted people to know was that everyone’s path to the show is different; more often than not a minor leaguer will get to the bigs with a different team than what drafted him; his own brother, catcher Travis D’arnaud, has seen this happen when he was traded to the Blue Jays before last season. Then, on a more sober note, there are the long-term minor league guys, whom are known as 4-A players who spend an eternity in the minors. If D’arnaud is ever one of those guys, he said, who keeps getting jerked around and winds up playing nothing but minor league ball for years on end or when the game becomes just a job, he will hang it up and return to Pepperdine University to finish his degree; upon hearing Chase talk about his desire, drive and ambition, this is not what he has to worry about. It is more appropriate for Chase to continue his charity work that he started this year , as his ascension to the majors is all but assured.