Mariners Send A Message To Prospects: Earn Your Promotion

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High school first-round picks in their second full season of pro ball don’t stay back in extended spring training. They head to high Class A, Double-A if they are truly special, low Class A if their development is behind schedule. But when the Mariners’ new front office looked at 2014 first-round pick Alex Jackson, they decided they didn’t need to be conventional.

Jackson, the sixth pick in the 2014 draft, is being held back in extended spring training. It’s a virtually unprecedented move.

There have been 87 high school outfielders and infielders taken in the top 30 picks in the 2001-2014 drafts (catchers weren’t counted because the demands of pitch calling and defense slow their development in many cases). Jackson will be the first healthy, non-suspended player of those 87 to be held back in extended spring training in his second full pro season.

Before Jackson, the only high school first-rounder of the 21st century who didn’t make a full season team’s Opening Day roster or disabled list two years after his draft year was Rays outfielder Josh Sale. Sale was on the restricted list after testing positive for a drug of abuse. He was released a year later.

But as they try to kickstart a farm system that ranks 28th in Baseball America’s latest organization talent rankings, new GM Jerry DiPoto, new farm director Andy McKay and the rest of the new front office is trying to send a message–every step will be earned.

“Part of it is a cultural thing. It’s not just Alex, it’s everyone,” McKay said. “Your performance will dictate the level you play at.

“It really is a positive. It’s not a negative assessment at all. Alex couldn’t have played better than he did in spring training. You had to be impressed with what you saw. This guy is the real deal. When the performance is consistent and predictable and a foundation of the work ethic is beneath it, he’ll probably move.”

The Mariners have sent that message up and down the organization. Last year the Mariners promoted 2013 first-round pick D.J. Peterson from Double-A to Triple-A at the end of a season in which he hit .223/.290/.346 at Double-A Jackson. This year he’s headed back to Double-A. Mike Zunino, the Mariners’ starting catcher in 2014 and most of 2015, was promoted to the big leagues in 2013 when he was hitting .238 while striking out in 29 percent of his plate appearances at Triple-A. He will be the Mariners’ Triple-A catcher this year.

”When you pass this test, it will be because you truly pass it,” McKay said. “When you allow a player to move a level that they didn’t earn, you’re not building confidence. Confidence is having a goal in mind and then truly reaching it.

“Do you want the easy thing or the right thing? Do you want to feel good today or have success in the long term. Our guys are buying into what we are trying to do. I have no concerns for how this will end up for Alex or Mike or D.J.”

Jackson was considered one of the best high school bats in the 2014 draft class. The sixth overall pick was expected to be a fast mover. He was as a polished hitter with plenty of experience on the showcase circuit and against top-level Southern California high school competition. The Mariners opted to move him from catcher to the outfield in hopes that it would ease his path to the big leagues by reducing his defensive responsibilities.

It didn’t turn out that way in 2015. Jackson hit .157/.240/.213 before being sent back to extended spring training. He was better in the second half at short-season Everett but still hit only .239 while striking out in 31 percent of his plate appearances. Along the way, some scouts also raised concerns about the consistency of his approach and his makeup.

“You play your way to the next level or back a level,” McKay said. “When you look at his performance last summer, it probably warranted coming back to extended. When he does what we think he will do it will warrant a promotion.”

McKay said that Jackson’s promotion to low Class A Clinton later this spring/summer or a return to short-season Everett will not be based on more than how well he hits.

“It’s the whole package,” McKay said. “It’s the consistency of his daily effort, his approach at home plate. How hard he plays the game. The teammate he is. Everything that goes into being a professional athlete. We need the consistency of the process and the consistency of performance.

“The education of playing outfield in Safeco Field is not easy. We need to develop really competent outfielders to play in that outfield. Most kid,s they live and die by their at-bats that day, there is a lot more that goes into it. It’s part of the process.”