Today: SEA Prospect Wladimir Balentien
Seattle's Wladimir Balentien is a hard-hitting proto-outfielder with a cannon arm who should get an extended opportunity to stick in the big leagues in 2008.
Signed by the Mariners as an international free agent out of high school in Curacao way back in 2000, Balentien has come along slowly, but as his body has grown in strength his power has most definitely arrived. In 2007, hitting cleanup for PCL Tacoma, Wladdy swatted 24 homers in only 477 at-bats, posting a .509 slugging percentage. He did, unfortunately, strike out 105 times, but that's to be expected from young thunder like Balentien.
| Yr | Tm | Age | Lvl | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2003 | Az Marin | 18 | R | 50 | 187 | 42 | 53 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 52 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 55 | .283 | .363 | .658 | 1.021 |
| 2004 | Wisconsin | 19 | A | 76 | 260 | 39 | 72 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 46 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 77 | .277 | .315 | .519 | .834 |
| 2004 | Inland Empire | 19 | A+ | 10 | 38 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | .289 | .357 | .474 | .831 |
| 2005 | Inland Empire | 20 | A+ | 123 | 492 | 76 | 143 | 38 | 8 | 25 | 93 | 9 | 2 | 33 | 160 | .291 | .338 | .553 | .891 |
| 2006 | San Antonio | 21 | AA | 121 | 444 | 76 | 102 | 23 | 1 | 22 | 82 | 14 | 7 | 70 | 140 | .230 | .337 | .435 | .772 |
| 2007 | Tacoma | 22 | AAA | 124 | 477 | 77 | 139 | 24 | 4 | 24 | 84 | 15 | 4 | 54 | 105 | .291 | .362 | .509 | .871 |
| 2007 | Seattle | 22 | MLB | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .500 | 2.000 | 2.500 |
Balentien might have the best raw power of any Mariner, including current major leaguers. His plate discipline, however, lags far behind, and questions about his makeup and work ethic slowed his development in the minors. He's most often compared to Wily Mo Pena, another high-ceiling power bat who hasn't developed the secondary skills needed to harness that power. In the field, Balentien's limited range but strong arm make him ideally suited to right. He has less-than-average speed in the field and on the bases, but he's serviceable.
When the Mariners traded their super-prospect Adam Jones to Baltimore, it cleared the way for Balentien to take over full-time in the outfield. His future in Seattle depends on whether he can improve his contact rate and learn to take bad breaking balls. If he flounders this year, look for the M's to shop for a veteran outfielder for 2009 instead.
Update: Called up from Triple-A and given an everyday job on April 30, Balentien brought his legendary power but underperformed in other areas, hitting only .224 with four homers. He lasted until June 17 when he was sent back to the minors for more work. He needs to improve his eye if he's going to return to the majors in any serious capacity.
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