Player Profile : Matt Tuiasosopo

Player Profile : SEA – Matt Tuiasosopo IF

Year	Level	AB	PA	ISO	BB%	K%	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wRC+
2007	AA	446	548	.143	13.9	25.3	.330	.260	.371	.404	112
2008	AAA	437	500	.172	9.4	23.8	.344	.281	.364	.453	110
2009	AAA	226	269	.212	13.4	36.7	.364	.261	.368	.473	124

Quick Bio – Tui was the Mariners 93rd overall pick, out of HS, in the 2004 MLB draft. At draft time he was more projection than anything else. He’s sort of a hometown favorite having grown up in WA and being part of the Tuiasosopo family. Next year will be his age 24 season and he still has untapped potential. How much potential is left and how good can we expect him to be?

Short Term (2010-2013) – Tui came up as a SS but doesn’t figure to play there at this point and was coming up as a 3B until this year where he was tried out at second base. Most reports say he has gotten much better with the glove and figures to be an average defender at the ML level, although I haven’t gotten any sort of look at him to give my opinion so we’ll have to assume that what they say is true. As far as long term position goes it’s kind of confusing because his best asset is his strong arm, but with Chone Figgins locked up at 3B and Dustin Ackley possibly taking over 2B (pending how the experiment goes) he may not have anywhere to play at the ML level which is sort of a problem for someone as close to the majors as he is. I asked Jason Churchill over at Prospect Insider what he thought of Tui playing in one of the corners and he told me this :

Tui’s athleticism would certainly allow for such a move, but he’s never played there with any regularity at any level of baseball and it’s not something you do in the big leagues. But I like him in a corner OF spot long term much better than at third. Enough arm, good feet.

If he does move to RF/LF, which I think he should do, he’d likely spend the entire year at AAA, which he probably would have regardless, but there’s a problem. Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez are going to be back next year and that only leaves one spot in the OF open which would likely go to the better prospect, Michael Saunders.

So where exactly does Tui end up in the short term? My guess is that he either becomes trade bait or takes over Griffey’s bench spot in 2011 as a backup 1B/cOF. There’s a possibility, depending on what happens to the OF prospects behind him, that he could take over for Ichiro in RF, but I’d bet against that.

Long Term (2014+) – This is the year that Chone Figgins has a vesting option depending on if he reaches 600 PAs in 2013. Tui would be entering his physical peak at this point and if Figgins is still in good shape then I see no reason why he would be any worse because of the style of game he plays and his athleticism. At this point, if Tui is still playing for the Mariners and they’ve committed him to being an OF I don’t see any way he has a starting job if the cOF positions are taken by some of the guys in the system (Pimentel/Saunders/Triunfel/Jones/etc…).

I think Tui will have a pretty long career and should be starting by this point because he should be a solid/above average regular in his peak. I think from a production standpoint you’re looking at a guy who will strike out around 20% of the time while walking half of that and providing 25+ home runs during his peak while making below average contact.

Summary – I think Tui has a great shot at making the team in 2011 on the bench and playing all over the field. Eventually I think he’ll end up being traded after he’s established some value at the ML level because I just can’t see him beating out the other OFs that are lower in the minors and I know that we can’t expect every prospect to work out perfectly, but there’s just a lot of quality down at the lower levels that I have to assume at least one of those guys should work out. Tui should have a good career and a very nice peak, but what position he eventually ends up playing, and how well he handles it, will decide his value.

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