Mariners Add Another Strike-Thrower

PEORIA, Ariz.—Even righthander Chase De Jong says he won’t “wow you” with his stuff. So what was it about him that prompted the Mariners to acquire him from the Dodgers in early March for shortstop Drew Jackson and righthander Aneurys Zabala?

General manager Jerry Dipoto responds by likening De Jong to two other righthanders in the club’s system—Andrew Moore and Max Povse—who also typically don’t draw raves from scouts.

“We see pitchers differently than, maybe, your ordinary scout,” Dipoto said. “All three (pitchers are) cut from a very similar cloth. We saw Povse throw (recently) at 92-94 (mph) with a pretty good changeup.

“Two days prior, it was Moore out there pitching 91-94 with an excellent changeup and filling up the strike zone. Polished strike-throwing means something.

“You pile up enough of those guys and someone is going to wind up being a No. 3 starter. Someone is going to wind up being a No. 4 starter. They’re going to wind up being durable, innings guys.”

De Jong is coming off a breakout year at Double-A Tulsa for the Dodgers, where he went 14-5, 2.86 in 25 starts and earned the Texas League pitcher of the year award. The Blue Jays made him a 2012 second-round pick out of high school in Long Beach.

“I’m a flyball pitcher,” De Jong said. “Developing a cutter at the halfway point with (Tulsa pitching coach) Billy Simas helped me become more of a groundball pitcher—but I understand (Seattle’s) Safeco Field is pretty friendly to flyball pitchers.”

Don’t look for De Jong at Safeco just yet. Barring injuries in the projected rotation, he will open the season at Triple-A Tacoma.

“Not every guy you get is going to be a marquee name,” Dipoto said. “These are guys who get you through the long season as strike-throwers who know how to manage at-bats.

“One day you look up and Kyle Hendricks turns into Kyle Hendricks. Every scout in the world is wearing egg on their face because sometimes guys like that turn into (something more).”

MARINADE

• The Tacoma rotation is falling into place with some combination of righthanders De Jong, Chris Heston and Rob Whalen and lefthander Dillon Overton occupying the first sour spots. All four are offseason acquisitions.

• The Mariners were willing to trade Drew Jackson because they believe he is more of a fringe hitter than the .358 hitter he was at short-season Everett in 2015.

— Bob Dutton covers the Mariners for the Tacoma News-Tribune