Developed Teams 2015 SNEAK PEEK: Seattle Mariners

Last night, I made a the decision that I would preorder a bundle including a brand new PS4 and the much-anticipated title Batman: Arkham Knight (Arkham KUUUUHHHHH-neegit in Monty Python speak). I made this decision because I cannot, in good conscience, live in a world where this game exists and is within my reasonable grasp, and for some reason choose to deny myself the experience of playing it. For better or worse, that's not the person I want to be in 2015. This is arguably the culmination of most impressive depiction of the character of Batman that we've ever seen in a video game universe, and I would like my front-row seats, please.

This game doesn't come out until June 23, which also happens to be one day after my wedding anniversary, which I took as a good omen - also making it a day I'm sure not to forget. That means I have a little over a month to finish up all my outstanding business with the PS3 games: not only the journey of Hunter S. Batman, professional baseball player (his picture is at the top of this blog), but also a spousal run through of The LEGO Movie: The Video Game, and a recent spousal gift of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - a veritable blast from the past that I somehow missed and am excited to finally check out.

But with the new system comes the possibility of new games on which to stage new baseball related projects. This is the area of my social media space that usually gets the least traffic, but it's the topic about which I'm most compelled to write, for some reason. I guess not all amateur journalists are created equal. In any event, the project I am envisioning is a rehashing of my Developed Teams project, presented on the shiny new stage of MLB 15: The Show.

As a preliminary first step, I created projected lineups for all 30 Major League teams, in preparation for simulating a season (or at least a postseason) with all (or at least 10) of these teams. I'm providing this sneak peek because it seems right to riff on my findings so far, even though this project is weeks from phase 2, so to speak - I likely won't get started building rosters or simulating games until after the All-Star Break, using the half-season's worth of sample size to inform my choices, somewhat like my Hometown project last year. Plus I'll need time to finish Arkham Knight, hopefully with a blog-related project attached! But for now, here's the first look at this year's version of the project: the developed starting lineup for the Seattle Mariners:

As a spoiler alert for my whole project: this team might not just be the strongest developed team in the AL West, but it might even have what it takes to win it all. Every player on this squad except one has spent time with Seattle’s big league club, but it’s that one who might tip the scales in this team’s favor. Most baseball fans know that David Ortiz made his major league debut with the Twins before becoming a star with the Red Sox. But I’ll bet a lot fewer people know that Big Papi spent his first three professional seasons in Seattle’s minor league system (where he was known as David Arias), as opposed to just part of one in Minnesota before his first call up to the majors.

A great deal of this team’s success, however, hinges on Ortiz being able to strap on the glove regularly, because after him on the 1B depth chart are guys like Willie Bloomquist (who will be around until he’s Jamie Moyer’s age), Jesus Guzman (currently playing in Japan), and Greg Dobbs (currently unemployed). One other option is to slide Alex Rodriguez across the diamond - he has one game at 1B this year (or one fewer than Ortiz), plus two more in Spring Training, but his superior athleticism could make him a better fit for the position.

The fact that Ortiz was traded for just 28 games of Dave Hollins in 1996 is just slightly less cringe-worthy than looking at the deal that sent Adam Jones and Chris Tillman (among others) to the Orioles for Erik Bedard, who managed just 46 games for Seattle. Tillman spent enough time in the O’s system before making his debut that I awarded him to Baltimore, but at least the Mariners get the AL’s batting leader Jones back into the fold for this project.

Felix Hernandez is a legitimate homegrown talent, but the presence of Hisashi Iwakuma brings up an inherent problem with the Developed Teams project. Iwakuma was already a known quantity with 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball before being signed by the Mariners, and he didn’t need any “development” in the minors. But guys like him and Ichiro (on this team’s bench) and Masahiro Tanaka are too talented to leave off any roster, so I guess I’ll just have to reward the teams that are savvy enough to import them.

The fact that Rafael Soriano doesn't have a team for which to play right now (although that might change soon as he's reportedly in discussions with the Marlins) doesn't change the fact that he still has shut-down ninth-inning stuff. It's also a deep group behind him: Tom Wilhelmsen has closed before, and he's joined by such solid yet lesser-known arms as Yoervis Medina, Shawn Kelley, Scott Atchison, Dominic Leone. There's even another plus lefty (Eric O'Flaherty) in case Thornton falters. The rotation also has some upside if top prospects James Paxton and Taijuan Walker ever get their acts together.

So there you have it: your first taste of my Developed Teams project updated for 2015. Stay tuned for more analysis leading up to the actual game simulation!