In acquiring Drew Smyly, the Mariners have made another big addition to their rotation. The 2017 rotation, comprising of Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton, Drew Smyly, and Yovani Gallardo (with Chris Heston in case of injury), now looks very different than 2016's Hernandez, Iwakuma, Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Wade Miley/Nathan Karns lineup. Smyly is one of the most talented young left handers in baseball today, but he has never quite been able to put it all together for a full season. He came closest in 2014, when he was 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP over 28 games (25 starts), though it wasn't the 30 start/200 inning season you look for. A torn labrum limited him to 12 starts in 2015, where he was 5-2 with a 3.11 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, but again, not a full season. He did manage to stay healthy for all of 2016, but he never quite got going, finishing 7-12 with an unsightly 4.88 ERA, though his 1.27 WHIP was much stronger. The home run hurt him, as his 32 allowed placed sixth in the major leagues, so maybe a move to a pitchers' park like SAFECO in a pitchers' division like the AL West will help him put it all together for that big season we've been waiting for in 2017. For his career, the former Arkansas Razorback is 31-27 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP over 156 games (85 starts).
The Rays brought back a trio of players for Smyly, most notably outfielder Mallex Smith. Smith, who was acquired from the Braves by the Mariners just minutes earlier, is a speedy center fielder but an innate ability to get one base. Even without power, that on-base/speed combination can be deadly. In his four full minor league seasons, Smith never put up an on-base percentage below .367 and stole at least 57 bases in each season. Reaching the bigs in 2016, he struggled at the plate, hitting .238 with a three home runs over 72 games, but his 9.3% walk rate wasn't bad at all, especially for a 23 year old rookie. He also went 16-24 in stolen base attempts (67%, could be better but not bad for a rookie). As you read in the Colby Rasmus article, the Rays' outfield is pretty crowded at the moment, but Smith has an opportunity to break through. Just 23 years old, he could has a ceiling similar to Denard Span. A Tallahassee native, it's always to see a player move to his hometown team. Also going to Tampa is another North Florida native, Ryan Yarbrough began his college career at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a teammate of Smith's. Yarbrough then spent another two years at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, so he didn't begin his pro career until he was 22 years old in 2014. He's moved quickly through the minors, spending all of 2016 at AA Jacksonville, where he was 12-4 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 25 starts. He struck out just 99 batters in 128.1 innings, but he also just walked 31, showing major league-ready command. The 25 year old is likely a back-end starter, but he could crack the rotation as early as this season, especially with Smyly vacating a spot. Lastly, Carlos Vargas is about as far from the majors as they get, as he doesn't even turn 18 until March. He spent 2016, his first pro season, with the DSL Mariners, where he hit .242 with seven home runs, eleven doubles, and a very strong 35/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 62 games. Just his power/plate discipline combination will enough to help him ascend through the low minors, making him a very intriguing prospect as far as kids go (he is just 17 years old). Obviously, the fact that he's just 17 years old and has just that 250 plate appearance sample means we can't be all in yet, but the Dominican shortstop has had a solid start to his pro career.
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