Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
March 18, 2002

Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Mariners' Christianson a born catcher
March 19, 2002

Take one look at Seattle prospect Ryan Christianson, and there is no doubt what position he plays. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, the stocky, muscular Christianson has a prototypical catcher's body.

The native of Riverside, California, who will turn 21 on April 21, has been ordained as the Seattle Mariners' catcher of the future since he was chosen in the first round (11th overall pick) in the 1999 draft.

Christianson has made a steady progression through the Seattle organization, advancing one level each year. He spent all of last season at class A San Bernardino, just 10 miles from home.

The pressure of playing in front of friends and family nearly every game didn't affect Christianson's performance. The right-handed hitter played 134 games for the Stampede. While he batted only .248, Christianson slugged a very impressive total of 42 doubles to go with his 12 homers and 85 RBIs. He also showed good plate discipline by walking 53 times.

The conventional wisdom for projecting a young hitter's future offensive potential is that those doubles will usually translate into homeruns as the player matures.

But it's not Christianson's offense that will necessarily be his ticket to the major leagues. When asked which of his skills will get him to Seattle, Christianson answered, very definitively, "Defense." He added, "As a catcher, if you say 'offense," you should probably be at a different position."

In fact, Christianson's catching has drawn raves from around baseball. A bout of shoulder tendonitis affected his arm strength while in the low class A Midwest League in 2000, but he came back strong last season, throwing out 38 percent of runners to rank third among fellow catchers in the California League.

Ryan Christianson Christianson credits the Mariner minor league coaching staff with helping him improve his defense. He said, "Receiving, blocking, throwing ... a lot of the credit is due to the guys working with me."

Another factor helping Christianson's early development as a catcher was working with high school teammate Nick Neugebauer, now the top prospect with the Milwaukee Brewers. Neugebauer's fastball has often been clocked in the high 90s.

"It gave me the opportunity to handle someone better than the majority of guys I'm catching here," Christianson said about his work with a pitcher of Neugebauer's caliber. "So it wasn't a big shock like it is to some people when they come here and are catching these pitchers for the first time."

Christianson acknowledges that his hitting is the part of his game needing the most improvement, and that's what he's working on most this spring. "Right now, I'm just working on more of a consistent path to the ball when I'm hitting," remarked Christianson.

The Seattle organization is expected to send Christianson to their class AA Texas League affiliate at San Antonio for the 2002 season. If the past is any indication, they will leave him there for the entire season and not rush him to AAA or to the major leagues.

But it won't be long before Christianson settles in for a long stay behind the plate for the Seattle Mariners. It's what he was born to do.

--- Bill Mitchell