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The Mariners made the call to Ackley after their victory Wednesday, and the 23-year-old second baseman will officially be promoted (and in the starting lineup) when the Ms return to action Friday at home against Philadelphia. "It's time to get him up here," manager Eric Wedge conceded. Prospects hounds and Seattle fans are thrilled at the move; we get to watch an exciting young player, and we no longer have to watch Jack Wilson flail away at the dish (.239/.266/.265, a dreadful slash).
Ackley was off to a tidy .300/.418/.487 start with Triple-A Tacoma this year, with nine homers and seven steals (10 attempts). He's also collected 55 walks against 38 strikeouts, a clear sign he's outgrown minor-league pitching. He was the second overall pick in the 2009 draft (following Stephen Strasburg), and he was Baseball America's No. 12 rated prospect entering 2011.
Ackley's bat is probably more ready than his glove; he's in his second year of second-base play after originally being drafted as an outfielder and first baseman out of North Carolina. The Mariners already have plus defenders at a lot of key spots; for now, they'll be happy if the kid can offer some offense right away.
The learning curve varies for this type of prospect — some hit the ground running, some struggle in their first exposure to big-league pitching. But in a standard mixed league I'd suggest looking for a free roster spot; there's a plausible upside here, and that's what our fake numbers racket is all about. (I won't bother pitching him to the AL-only crowd; in those deep formats, anyone with a pulse is a welcome sight.) We'll watch him closely in Friday's debut and offer some thoughts in the ensuing edition of Closing Time.
If I were pricing Ackley for a Shuffle Up right now, I'd go in the $7-8 range. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's a double-digit stick right out of the box. Ackley only carries the outfield tag in Yahoo's game for the moment, but he'll quickly add the second-base tag as well (a dual-position hitter is always welcome).*Feel free to offer your expectations, and price range, in the comments.
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Image courtesy Associated Press