What’s different about this group of Seattle Mariners prospects

With a number of Seattle Mariners regulars away at the World Baseball Classic, there has been a lot of interest in seeing the young players who will get reps they wouldn’t normally on the major league side while filling in for those who are away. Interest and excitement in Mariners prospects is nothing new with fans, and what prospect X, Y or Z does in any given spring is often a worthy storyline.

This year, I’ve seen something different.

There was a hint of it in the live batting practices, and then it jumped out at me almost immediately when the games began. It was the answer to a question I have asked for years and really never received a satisfying answer for. It is somewhat hard to put into words, but there was no mistaking what I was seeing with the large number of young players on the field. What stood out with the youth is, finally, you could see a cohesiveness with the offense. You could look at an at-bat or watch them run the bases and think, that’s a Mariner.

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This time last year Cal Raleigh was in negotiations with the Mariners on a long-term contract. Of interest to him was more than years, salary and perhaps perks many seek. He wanted to know the team would be equipped to win in the near and long-term future. He had taken an active interest in what the Mariners had in the minor leagues and development became a part of the conversation. He liked what he saw then and before he left for the WBC Sunday, shared what he has seen this year, and yes, the cohesiveness has jumped out at him, too.

“They play a game maybe a little differently than what I saw coming up through the minor leagues,” he said. “They play a different kind of ball game where it’s, they’re athletic, they’re running, they’re using all fields. They’re invested in longer ABs. They’re not trying to be so one-dimensional. They’re very, very fun to watch.”

Years of drafting the right players, developing the systems in the minor leagues, teaching, offseason programs, hiring of staff and rehiring after that staff gets hired away because there are only so many spaces to fill at the big league level has resulted in the consistent teaching and effective messaging in the minors. It is different from when Raleigh was coming up and interestingly enough, for all that is new in the game, Raleigh sees a nod to the old school in what the Mariners are doing.

“I feel like baseball is just kind of cyclical and it’s funny how the game works back to certain ways that it used to be,” he said. “It’s fun to see guys care about hitting with two strikes. It’s fun to see guys choking up and trying to put the ball in play, trying to move runners. It’s fun to talk about those things in meetings and know that those are important and we’re not trying to just be one-dimensional or being a certain type of hitter, because at the end of the day, that’s what wins ball games.

“It might not be the sexiest thing, but those are the tangibles that don’t show up in the stat line. And that’s what creates winning ball games. And I think we did a good job of that last year, taking ourselves in the right direction. And you can look at the Blue Jays, they do that. The Brewers, the Guardians, guys that are in the playoffs, people that do that tend to be (playing) in October late in the year, and I think those are important things to do.”

The Mariners added two more players, Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder, this offseason who do those things. They understand roles and situations. They do the right things at the plate, and Raleigh believes they make the lineup more complete and move the needle forward. At some point of the season, young players in camp now will make their debuts either getting the call because a need has arose, or they have kicked the door down. With the work that has been put in by and with these players, it should be a comfortable transition, and if all goes right, they should contribute.

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“It’s obviously hard to get a gauge on it right now because spring training doesn’t give you the full story in a way. But at the same time, you can see the tools are there, you can see the skills are there,” said Raleigh. “And to me, it’s just about us guys in the clubhouse helping them along, trying to help mentally prepare them for the big leagues when they get there and when they get their name called. And that’s a really hard thing to do. But like I said, it’s a good group and fun to be around.”

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