SEATTLE -- By the end of the year, the Seattle Mariners clubhouse looked like its entire Triple-A affiliate had made the 30-mile trip up Interstate 5.
It wasn't all that unexpected. Seattle went into 2011 with the idea that some of its young prospects would get their first taste of the majors and with that the expected headaches that come with learning at the big-league level. But the final numbers astonished even manager Eric Wedge, with 12 different players making their major league debuts during Seattle's 67-95 season. "Whether it's some of these young players (making the) transition this year or next year, it was going to happen," Wedge said. "Now you look at contracts and the players that were going to be here and the path of the minor leagues for some of our kids, it just so happens that some of them are up here earlier." That youth that overwhelmed the Mariners clubhouse by the end of the season was a mix of those called up to fill spots and those bringing promise that the Mariners could be on the right track with a rebuilding plan that'll likely continue in 2012. The Mariners' future is most notably tied to rookie second baseman Dustin Ackley, former Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez -- still just 25 years old -- and rookie pitcher Michael Pineda. But others made a case in 2011 for finding a place in the plan Seattle takes forward. Guys like do-everything hitter Mike Carp, outfielder Trayvon Robinson, pitcher Blake Beavan and infielder Kyle Seager all had debuts that left the Mariners wanting to see more. Meanwhile, others who were expected to do more, like shortstop Brendan Ryan, first baseman Justin Smoak and center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, will need to be better in 2012 to prove they belong in Seattle's long-term plans. Then there is right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who will go into the final year of his current contract with the Mariners coming off the worst season of his major league career. He hit a career-low .272 and failed to reach 200 hits for the first time since making his debut in 2001. Suzuki, who turns 38 in October, doesn't fit with the Mariners' overall youth movement. But with Japanese ownership and a track record of staying loyal to franchise players, there is little doubt that Suzuki will be incorporated however the Mariners move forward. "You see a lot of raw kids with decent talent and potential. They all look positive, that's what I like about their attitudes. Obviously we haven't spent time through the course of a long season since spring training," Suzuki said through his interpreter following the Mariners finale. "It's hard for me to evaluate how good they are but I like the way they stay positive. It's easy to point out the negatives because they are young, but this game is all about balance and you have to look at the positives, too. "When you look overall, I think we have a lot of positives." There wasn't much good offensively from the Mariners this season. Seattle's final team average of .233 was the lowest in franchise history. They also set a new team record by getting shut out 16 times. The only offensive highlights came from Ackley and Carp, each of whom proved themselves as major league-quality hitters. Ackley, the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, made his debut in June and didn't disappoint. His .273 average in 90 games was second on the team, despite the pressure of hitting in the No. 3 spot for most of the season. Ackley hovered around .300 into early September before fading late, had a team-high on-base percentage of .348 and played a solid second base while still learning the position. Carp was even more impressive. He arrived in early June and for a month, with spotty playing time, struggled to hit .200. He was sent back to Triple-A Tacoma and returned to Seattle in late July. Carp then proceeded to excel over the final two months. He had a 20-game hitting streak, the second-longest in the American League this season. He was the AL rookie of the month for August and finished the year hitting a team-best .276 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs in just 79 games. "Coming back the next time they said you're going to play and the confidence built right away. I had a lot of fun with it," Carp said. "I knew I was going to be in there, whether I went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, I knew I was going to be in there the next day. ... That makes a big difference." Finding Carp a position next season is one of Seattle's tasks after he played first base, left field and designated hitter. So, too, is thinning a glut of outfielders that includes Robinson, Suzuki, Gutierrez and Casper Wells, and filling out the rotation behind Hernandez and Pineda. Seattle needs to also find a solution for Chone Figgins, who was a major disappointment for a second straight season, played just 81 games and still has two years remaining on his contract. But thanks to its youth, Seattle has only a few players not under club control going into 2012. "I think sitting here right now looking at this squad versus coming into spring, it's night and day, literally," Wedge said. "So I think we have a tremendous idea of what we have, we just have to make sure we see it through."
