Victoria's Saunders Makes Debut with Mariners
The dream of every young baseball fan finally came true for local boy Mike Saunders this week, as the Seattle Mariners prospect was called up to help bolster the team's struggling offence. Mariner's outfielder Wladimir Balentien was sent down to AAA Tacoma to make room for Saunders.
An 11th round selection the 2004 draft, the 22-year old Saunders has spent the entire 2009 season with the Tacoma Rainers of the Pacific Coast League batting .310 with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs.
Following a 0-4 outing against the Indians in his major league debut on Saturday, Saunders went 2-4 with an RBI single in his second start on Sunday.
"Michael is a versatile player capable of playing all three outfield positions," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a release. "We've been very pleased with his development and work at Triple-A this season and felt he earned the right to join the big league club at this time."
A 2004 graduate of Lambrick Park, Saunders is no stranger to high pressure situations, as his resume includes representing Canada at both the Little League World Series with Gordon Head in 1998 as well as being a member of the 2008 Olympic squad in Beijing. Saunders also went 1-2 with a run scored in the 2007 Major League Futures All-Star Game in San Francisco.
The rest of Canada got the first opportunity to see one of the country's next great ballplayers on Monday, as the Toronto Blue Jays make their only trip to Seattle through to Wednesday. Sportsnet announcer Jamie Campbell was quick to point out the young outfielder's skills as well as his potential to be a major part of the Mariners for years to come.
Following an 11-4 loss to the Blue Jays on Monday, Seattle sits at 51-48, seven games back of the American League West division leaders Los Angeles Angles.
If the team hopes to make their first appearance in the MLB playoffs in seven years, both Saunders and the rest of his teammates will have to play impressive baseball for the remainder of the season.
