Blue-chip M's prospect Marte set to swing against C's at Nat
Ballyhooed Seattle Mariners prospect Noelvi Marte coming through Nat Bailey Stadium this week with the Everett AquaSox is further evidence of how much more compelling things can be for Vancouver Canadians fans with their team two rungs higher on baseball's development ladder.
The C's, who are a Toronto Blue Jays farm club, and AquaSox open a six-game set today at The Nat.
The C's, the AquaSox and four of their traditional Northwest League rivals were bumped up from short-season, single-A to high-A prior to last season as part of the remake of the minor leagues. They're now one level above single-A instead of one level below it.
The jump takes them from a 76game season that started in June to a 132-game season that began in April. Being that much closer to the big leagues also makes it more likely that they're going to feature more top up-and-comers like Marte, a 20-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic who was named baseball's No. 11 prospect by mlb.com and No. 18 by Baseball America ahead of this season.
C's fans remember all too well Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette skipping past the short-season, single-A level on their way through the Blue Jays' system.
The Mariners signed Marte in July 2018 as a 16-year-old and he's in his third full season in their system. The six-foot-one, 181-pound right-handed hitting Marte has been batting leadoff lately for Everett, and comes into the series hitting .260, with three home runs and eight runs batted in through 19 games. He's tied for second in the Northwest League in runs (14), trailing only Hillsboro outfielder Tim Tawa (16).
MLB.com suggests Marte may well top the Mariners' system in terms of raw power, explaining that he can go can “toe to toe” with Julio Rodriguez when it comes to “batting practice displays.” Rodriguez, a 21-year-old outfielder, stuck with the Mariners out of spring training this season.
Vancouver (10-9) lost four of six last week to the host Hillsboro Hops. Everett (7-13) lost four of six to the visiting Spokane Indians.
With few exceptions throughout the summer, teams across minor-league baseball are playing six-game series every week with Mondays off for travel. It's part of the changes in the setup to the minors, in a bid to further enhance player development via more structure and routine.
Vancouver comes into the series led offensively by outfielder/ infielder Trevor Schwecke, 24, and infielder Addison Barger, 22.
Schwecke is third in the Northwest League in batting average (.311), second in on-base percentage (.415) and first in slugging percentage (.622). He has three homers and eight RBIs in 13 games.
A 13th-round draft pick in 2019 by the Jays out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schwecke has seen duty at first base, second base, third base, left field and right field this season.
He played for the C's in 2019 when they were still a short-season, single-A club.
Minor-league baseball was called off entirely in 2020 because of COVID-19, and last summer Vancouver shared the Hops' home ballpark in Hillsboro, Ore., due to border restrictions.
Among those key to Vancouver's pitching fortunes has been righthander Trent Palmer, 23, who is the reigning Northwest League pitcher of the week for his six perfect innings in Vancouver's 7-0 win over Hillsboro on Sunday.