Mariners Move Alex Jackson To Braves For Povse, Whalen

THE DEAL

Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto continues to be the busiest man in baseball. The second-year GM swung his fifth trade in 16 days on Monday evening, his latest move to try and push Seattle over the top after it stayed in playoff contention until the season’s final weekend in 2016.

The Mariners sent outfielder Alex Jackson, the No. 6 overall pick in 2014, to the Braves in exchange for well-regarded righthanders Max Povse and Rob Whalen.

Jackson has yet to advance past low Class A, while Povse and Whalen have both experienced success in the upper levels of the minors and have a chance to contribute to the Mariners in 2017. It’s the same theme as most of Dipoto’s previous trades during this stretch with the Athletics, Rays, Yankees, and Diamondbacks: acquiring talent close to the majors largely in exchange for younger players further away.

“This move gives us two young, polished pitchers who immediately bolster our starting pitching depth, while adding to our roster flexibility,” Dipoto said in a release announcing the trade.

The Braves, meanwhile, continued their search for righthanded power, a major area of need in their system. They traded from their position of strength—pitching—in an attempt to partially fill that need with Jackson.

MARINERS ACQUIRE
Max Povse, rhp
Age: 23

The Braves drafted the 6-foot-8 Povse in the third round in 2014 and he hasn’t disappointed, using his size well to hide the ball and make for uncomfortable at-bats for hitters at every stop. His fastball sits 90-92 mph and can get up to 94 and his main secondary offerings are a solid overhand curveball and changeup with improving depth. His stuff plays up because his extension makes the ball jump on the hitter quickly, while his long limbs constantly move in his delivery to throw off hitters’ sense of timing and ability to locate the ball. As a result Povse keeps the ball on the ground and limits hard contacts, with 24 percent more groundouts than airouts in 2016 as he ascended to Double-A and only nine home runs allowed in 158 innings. As a 6-foot-8, ground-ball aficionado who throws strikes, Povse evokes comparisons to former Mariners righthander Doug Fister and could be ready to contribute in the majors as soon as 2017.

2016 Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG
Carolina (HiA)	5	5	3.71	15	15	87	89	44	36	5	17	91	.262
Mississippi (AA)	4	1	2.93	11	11	71	61	25	23	4	12	48	.236

Rob Whalen, rhp
Age: 22

Whalen came to the Braves from the Mets at the 2015 trade deadline, but had surgery shortly after joining Atlanta for severe patellar tendinitis in both knees. He returned at full health in 2016 and led the Braves system with a 2.40 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A before making his major league debut with five starts for Atlanta toward the end of the season. Whalen has a deep six-pitch mix, including both a four-seam and two-seam fastball in the low 90s and two different curveballs, one harder than the other. He rounds out his arsenal with a solid-average slider and changeup. Whalen is regarded as a cerebral pitcher who relies on his guile and ability to set hitters up more than his raw stuff, but the sinking action on his fastballs give him a chance to stick as a ground-ball oriented spot starter or long reliever if he fails to hang on as a starter. He will likely begin 2017 in Triple-A Tacoma’s rotation and see time in Seattle during the season.

2016 Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG
Mississippi (AA)	7	5	2.49	18	18	101	87	35	28	4	37	94	.232
Gwinnett (AAA)	0	1	1.93	3	3	19	12	4	4	0	7	18	.188
Atlanta (MAJ)	1	2	6.57	5	5	25	20	20	18	4	12	25	.217

BRAVES ACQUIRE
Alex Jackson, of
Age: 20

Jackson was one of the decade’s most touted prep players, a three-time high school All-American who led the state of California in home runs as a sophomore. The Mariners drafted him sixth overall in 2014 and gave him a $4.2 million signing bonus, but his star has since taken a precipitous fall in pro ball. Jackson has 223 strikeouts in 190 career games because of an inefficient bat path, which has raised doubts he’ll ever make enough contact to tap into his plus raw power. He still hits the occasional towering home run, but evaluators are increasingly beginning to grade Jackson a below-average hitter at best. The Mariners sent Jackson to extended spring training to begin 2016, the first time this millennium a healthy, non-suspended first-round infielder or outfielder did not begin his second full season assigned to a team. He finally responded to coaching after the move and was bumped to low Class A Clinton in mid-May, but even with improvement in his bat path still struck out in 27 percent of his plate appearances. He was a catcher in high school but moved to the outfield after being drafted and has average range in right field and a plus arm. Jackson is still young enough to recover from his poor start to his pro career, but has never shown the ability to produce except in small spurts. A fresh start in a new organization could be the kickstart he needs to avoid bust status, with the possibility he moves back to catcher to give him a different path to the majors than his current offense-dependent profile. He was ticketed for a third straight year at low Class A before the trade and is far away, both developmentally and age-wise, from helping in Atlanta.