I'm probably gonna sound crazy, but...

[SeattleSportsNerd]

Here's what I would love to see...

Since its pretty much a foregone conclusion that Lee will be dealt sometime in the next month, why not figure Lopez into the package (or a separate trade for that matter), shift Figgins back to third and call up Ackley and see what he can do. I know it might be a little early to bring the guy up, but he's cleary found his stroke in AA and his patience and plate discipline would be second to only Figgins at the major league level. Call me crazy, but I'd love to bring him up and see if we can get a glimpse of the future. I remember talking with Jason Churchill before the season began, and he was of the opinion that Ackley could play in the major leagues right away. Just a thought...

[JosephC]

I'd love to see Ackley called up too, but at the moment he's not hitting so well. He's got a .255ish batting average in AA. Granted, he's been hitting near .300 for the last few weeks but not a lot of power. Gotta remember that there is another stop from AA and that is AAA. I think the team believes that if they were to call him up, it could backfire on him if he were to hit poorly. Half of baseball seems to be mental and if he doesn't believe in himself he could end up just being another Clement.

With the recent promotion of Pineda, I think the M's are making their thoughts pretty clear. When/if/ever we trade off Lee, Pineda may very well get the call. I'd say it is way more likely to see Pineda in the major leagues than it is Ackley. Right now, Ackley looks like another prospect whereas Pineda has been lighting up the radar gun and getting people out all season so far.

But I hear ya loud and clear. Ackley will hopefully bring something new to the Mariners team and that is a bat. We may see him called up or not, but at least it would give us something to root for, right?

[SeattleSportsNerd]

I feel ya...when I said that Ackley is coming around in AA I was referring to him having raised his average into the mid-.200's after spending the first month or so below the Mendoza line. The last thing I want to do is rush a player with the kind of potential Ackley has, but the one stat that stands out to me above all is the 45/32 K/BB and .390 OBP. You don't see many players in AA with such patience and discpline at the plate and hell, we don't even see that in the bigs! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Ackley skips AAA and joins the club in September when the rosters expand. I'd bet money that we'll see a glipse of him in September and probably sometime midway through 2011 after spending some time in AAA.

On to Pineda...I've read a lot about this guy and while the stats are something to drool over, Prospect Insider had an article saying he'll have to use his changeup more in AAA, and won't be able to rely on just throwing his fastball by hitters. I'm super excited about the guy as well but we'll have to see if he can get PCL hitters out. We also need him to stay healthy, which seems to have been his downfall in past years.

[clarknova]

First of all, welcome to SeattleSportsNerd (which aptly describes me, as well). Nice to have some new meat! Stick around, this is a cool site- also, no "lord of the flies" effect like you see in other blogs and forums where you get shredded for suggesting something someone else thinks is "stupid". Looks like (based on this thread, and another) we read a lot of the same stuff.

Ackley is definitely coming around. I definitely cut him some slack early after switching positions, bat types, and facing pro (albeit AA) pitching. He went on a tear the last few weeks that was crazy. He was making those pitchers his bitch. His plate discipline is awesome for a 1st year draftee. He's going to be a stud. I don't think those Chase Utley comparisons are far off. I would be surprised to see him play in the bigs this year, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. I think a gradual change would be better for his development, but he's shown he can handle where he's at for sure.

Pineda I've seen video on and read quite a bit. That fastball is indeed (as Niehaus put it) DIABOLICAL!! I agree with Jason Churchill that he's going to need that change up more- because he projects more as a starter than a reliever.
As far as the pending trade, yeah, if you can fleece J-Lo in with that it would be an absolute robbery. I'd be surprised due to his year thus far and that if I were another team's GM I'd think that the M's are unlikely to use the option at the end of the year, and they could probably get him for cheaper if they really thought they could get him turned around. I suppose I just have kind of a hard time seeing a contending team thinking Jose Lopez would be an upgrade over anything. Then again, I can't stand the guy.

Just read that Tommy Everidge was traded to the Houston Astros today- likely for "future considerations". Man, could it get worse for that guy?

[SeattleSportsNerd]

The best part about it is that we can actually have conversations regarding the farm system, lol!

On another note...I saw that Edwin Encarnacion was DFA'd by Toronto...depending on the size of his salary, I wouldn't be against taking a flyer on him...not that we need another third basemen, but I know he's shown he's capable of hitting big league pitching...just a thought.

[clarknova]

Yeah, I hear Ian Snell LOVES Canada!

[Igoe4Mariners]

The only question is would a team even take Lopez for a bag of plain lays potatoe chips?