Mariners Farm Report: Raben promises patience, power

The Mariners rank 24th in the majors in runs scored, and no team ranked below them has a record as high as .500. Needless to say, scoring runs is an essential part of winning games, and the Mariners have not scored nearly enough to compete this season.

A rather large part of the problem is that the Mariners' 25-man roster has been consistently littered with free swingers who tend to make things easy on opposing pitchers. The entire organization is void of the antithesis: the patient, professional hitter with power.

Almost void, anyway.

The Mariners selected Dennis Raben with their second-round pick in June's draft and the University of Miami product displayed his abilities at Class A Everett this summer, impressing scouts and the Mariners in his 113 plate appearances.

"Raben has always been that kind of hitter," a scout from an American League club said. "There were questions about him coming (into the draft) with his defensive position, health and his approach, but he's made an adjustment and looks to be on his way. Had he shown this leading up to draft day, he would have been a first-round guy."

Raben, a left-handed batter, ended his first taste of professional baseball with a solid .275 average, .411 on-base mark and 16 extra-base hits that led to his impressive .560 slugging percentage. It's a small sample as far as prospects go, but the skills are there to see in every at-bat.

"I like him as six-hole hitter in a strong big-league lineup," the AL scout said. "He has enough power to play a corner spot (defensively) as long as he continues with his plus on-base skills, and he really understands the hitting game. That's pretty rare these days."

It's even more uncommon in the Mariners' organization, which has not had a big-leaguer walk 100 times in a season since 2000 and has had just one batter -- Richie Sexson -- reach the 80-walk mark since 2004.

The best the Mariners will do this season is the 57 bases on balls on which Raul Ibanez is building upon as the team concludes its season. Twenty-four scheduled games remain.

Raben works the count, rarely swings at a 2-0 or 3-1 pitch unless it's something he believes he can drive, and consistently forces the pitcher to throw him something he can handle, or risk a free pass to first base.

"He's certainly not afraid to take that walk," the scout added. "And you know what else? He's definitely not afraid to hit with two strikes. That's big. If he can feel comfortable hitting with two strikes, he's ultimately going to get better pitches to hit prior to the two-strike count. That bodes well for a batter trying to maximize his power potential, too."

Raben is not without shortcomings, such as allowing balls to get deep on him, which turns him into a singles hitter, and occasionally becoming too patient and finding himself in a few too many pitcher's counts. But there wasn't much evidence of such problems for Raben during his time with Everett.

"Of the 25 or 30 at-bats I saw, he was very crisp," the scout said. "He hit a couple of home runs and drove the ball nicely. He stayed inside (the ball) and put a good swing on a fastball the very first day I saw him. He proved very quickly that he's a legit professional hitter."

A strong, left-handed power hitter with patience and a professional approach sounds like something the parent club could use.

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

The Mariners' top 10 prospects:

1. Carlos Triunfel, SS High Desert (High Class A): Finished a solid season with an eight-game hitting streak.

2. Adam Moore, C West Tenn (Double-A): A candidate for the organization's player of the year after big follow-up season.

3. Michael Saunders, LF Tacoma (Triple-A): Brief return to Tacoma after Olympics was cut short by shoulder injury.

4. Phillippe Aumont, RHP Wisconsin (Low Class A): Made successful return to mound after elbow injury, flashing plus stuff, as usual.

5. Juan Ramirez, RHP Wisconsin: Scout: "An underrated starting pitching prospect. He can pitch."

6. Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B Tacoma: Strong final three months earned local favorite a call-up.

7. Rob Johnson, C Tacoma: Johnson may be auditioning for a big-league job this month after a huge second half.

8. Michael Pineda, RHP Wisconsin: Projectable righty ended the year with a complete-game, one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts.

9. Jharmidy De Jesus, 3B Everett (Rookie): Shows plus power and above-average athletic ability. Where will he defend?

10. Dennis Raben, RF/1B Everett: May already be among the top six hitters in the organization. Yeah.