Ranking the Top 10 Mariners prospects for 2016 season

Let’s start with this: Last year was a disaster in the Mariners’ farm system.

Outfielder Alex Jackson, the system’s brightest light, flat-lined when over-promoted to Low-A Clinton as a 19-year-old, and first baseman D.J. Peterson, a first-round pick in 2013, saw his power and production sharply plummet.

Outfielder Gareth Morgan, a second-round pick in 2014, continued to strike out at an alarming rate. Outfielder Austin Wilson, a second-round pick in 2013, stayed healthy but didn’t hit.

Dominican bonus baby Brayan Hernandez, another outfielder, bombed in his pro debut. Catcher Tyler Marlette stopped hitting. Even outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who hit 32 homers, raised more eyebrows by striking out a ton.

“I was a little disheartened at the overall strikeout rate in the minor leagues,” new general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “You’ve got a lot of guys striking out a lot.

“(The Mariners have) very talented players with a lot of upside to tap into, but it’s only going to happen if we can somehow develop more contact. That’s going to be step No. 1 from a development aspect.”

It’s too early to give up on any of the above-mentioned prospects. Each one appears either on this year’s Top 10 list of the organization’s top prospects or its accompanying Watch List.

Jackson remains No. 1 on the list despite batting a combined .207 with just eight homers and 38 RBIs in 76 games at Clinton and Short-A Everett. But Peterson, 24, slipped from No. 2 in last year’s ranking to Watch List status.

Their struggles and others prompted Dipoto to clean house in the player-development staff, which now operates under Andy McKay, whose primary charge is to change the attitude and reverse the malaise of the underachieving system.

“We will be creating a plan in spring training for every player,” McKay said. “The way this process will work is every 25 days that player will sit down with his plan and his coaching staff to update the plan and check in on the plan.”

A key element in every player’s plan will be improvement at controlling the strike zone. It’s telling that this spring’s list of nonroster invites to big-league camp includes outfielder Dario Pizzano, who shows laudable on-base skills.

Pizzano, 24, ranks No. 7 on this year’s list after batting .308 last season with a .363 on-base percentage at Double-A Jackson while limited to 58 games because of a hand injury.

While the Mariners rewarded Pizzano for his approach, there might be no prospect who better represents the organization’s goals than shortstop Drew Jackson, who merged plus (above-average) speed a year ago with a refined hitting approach.

Jackson, 22, flirted with .400 for much of the season at Everett after being selected from Stanford as a fifth-round pick. He ended up at .358 in 59 games with a .432 on-base percentage and was picked as the Northwest League’s top player.

The Mariners then included Jackson in a select group of prospects for a January hitting summit at their year-round complex in Peoria, Arizona, to reinforce the organization’s new approach under hitting coach Edgar Martinez.

“They went over this hitting philosophy,” Jackson said, “and it was a lot of what I had been working on the past year or so. It was really refreshing to hear. My approach caters toward trying to get on base as much as I can.

“I feel my biggest asset is my base-stealing threat. Their whole system, I think, works well with me, and I’m just going to keep trying to work with it.”

Jackson is No. 3 on this season’s Top 10, which is compiled each February after consultation with Mariners officials plus scouts and player-development experts from rival organizations.

The annual ranking seeks to combine an evaluation of a prospect’s high-end potential and his likelihood of reaching that potential. Weight is given to players likely to contribute to the big-league club in the short-term future.

The latter factor played a major role in placing reliever Tony Zych at No. 2 in the rankings. The only qualification for inclusion is that a player meet rookie qualifications — generally fewer than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched.

Drew Jackson isn’t likely to come close this season to playing in the big leagues. Instead, club officials expect to face a choice this spring of starting him at Clinton or High-A Bakersfield.

Jackson’s challenge this year is to do what several of the organization’s top prospects couldn’t do in recent years: build on his success as he advances through the minor-league system.

“I’m sure I’m going to have to adjust (to playing a full minor-league season),” he said. “Learn how to take care of myself better. Eat healthier and do the little things that are going to increase my longevity throughout the season.”

Beyond that?

“Just stick with my type of baseball,” he said, “and don’t get outside of my planned approach. That’s what the new front office is preaching: stay within your approach.

“As long as I stick to my same approach all season long, I think I’ll be happy with the result.”

Chances are, the Mariners will be, too.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Ranking the Top 10 Mariners prospects for 2016 season."