Churchill: My Mariners Prospects of the Year

In year's past, it was simple: The most ciritical development year a pitcher and hitter had, they were the winners. I'm not interested in gaudy numbers, I'm interested in overall development. A lot of times my picks don't match the club's own minor league players of the year, or even the choices of other outlets, because I'm not interested in a stats-driven result. That's likely to continue, but I want to extend the spotlight.

Starting this year, I'll not only choose the prospects of the year like always and use the same development-grounded formula, but will also identify three additional players in a trio of year-to-year, floating awards.

This year, in addition to the position prospect of the year and the pitching prospect of the year, there will be The Nelson Cruz Award, awarded to the hitter who best maximized contact, The Unicorn Award, given to the player most unique to the system, and The Electric Avenue Award, which goes to a reliever prospect with the current best chance to get high-leverage outs in the majors at some point in the relatively near future.

Alright, let's go.