[jaa36]

AG: Welcome, everybody, to this week's edition of The Wheelhouse. As always, I'm Aaron Goldsmith, he's Jerry Dipoto. Jerry, unbelievable that you were able to take time out of your schedule to join us today- Draft Day!

JD: I'm glad it worked out. A lot of work went into our draft board this year, and once we got through the first few rounds I was able to let the rest of my team handle things.

AG: That appears to have led to an interesting strategy- a lot of high school players that are likely to be difficult to sign.

JD: That's true. We know that the high school draft eligibles tend to have higher ceilings. But you can't sign all of them. And to be honest, if I had known just how many of those guys our team would actually draft, I might have paid more attention. (laughs)

AG: Talk to us a little bit about the top pick, Mike Siani. You got him with the 14th overall pick.

JD: We're really high on Mike. He's a high school draftee out of Philadelphia. He's demonstrated a lot of gap power already and we think that will translate into home runs as he develops. He's fast and athletic and should be able to play anywhere in the outfield. Plus his baseball IQ is way up there. Then on top of that, he's got a good left-handed arm with three developing pitches, and we think he could make it as a starter if he decided to go in that direction. A true five-tool guy, but one whose tools we think will translate well to MLB.

AG: Looks like you got your Ohtani after all.

JD: (laughs) Something like that.

AG: Give me a comp from your own playing days.

JD: Hmm... I would say maybe Garret Anderson? He was a guy who could beat in a lot of different ways.

AG: Anything to say about the rest of the draft class?

JD: This was a good year for us. We were thrilled with the caliber of player who was left on the board. Zach Haake, our second-round pick, is a starting pitcher who's not too far from the major leagues out of college. And Luca Tresh is a high school catcher from Florida who really projects to hit well for the position.

AG: Well, that pretty well covers the off-the-field doings for the Mariners this week. On the field, it was another very good week, with two series wins and a 5-2 record. Robbie Cano really leading the way on offense recently, with twelve hits this week. He's 17 for 32 in his last eight games and has raised his average to .311. What's he doing differently at the plate?

JD: You know with Robbie he's always fighting through some nagging injury or other. I think right now he's just healthy and playing at his full capacity. People forget about him, he's been in this league so long, but to this day there are few players I would put ahead of him at second base.

AG: Ryon Healy put together a good week too, with three home runs, including a two-homer game, one of which was a grand slam that really broke things open. Tell us a little bit about his performance so far this year.

JD: Ryon started off slowly in April but heated up later in the month and has really been a steady, consistent force for us. It's been helpful to have him to lengthen our lineup a bit this season.

AG: And Marco Gonzales coming out there with another outstanding start this week. Seven innings, ten strikeouts, no walks, just one run allowed. He's now 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA. Nominally the fifth starter in the rotation, but pitching like an ace.

JD: You said it. I can tell you I was not a popular guy in this town when we traded Tyler O'Neill to the Cardinals for him. We knew that in Marco we had a guy that could excel in the major leagues, especially as he built up his arm strength and his ability to work deeper into games. I don't think anyone could have predicted how quickly those things came together, but we're thrilled with his performance.

AG: Here's our mailbox question for this week. We have Kenny in Spokane, who asks us today, what the heck does Ben Gamel have to do to get a job in Seattle?

JD: Good question. He's been great in triple A, hitting .297, with a .391 on-base percentage. It really just remains a numbers games, we can't fit him and Ichiro and Guillermo Heredia on the same roster. Don't worry, Kenny, you'll see him this year. And his hair.

AG: Jerry, you head into a six-game road trip followed directly by a seven-game homestand, so thirteen games in a row. Plans for the week?

JD: I'll be staying back here actually, rather than traveling to Houston and Kansas City. Gonna catch up on some work post-draft.

AG: Sounds like a good plan, Jerry. Any parting words of wisdom for us?

JD: Um... nothing this week. We're just gonna keep trying to win series.

AG: OK. Thanks, Jerry, as always for being here.

JD: Welcome.

AG: We'll see you next week on The Wheelhouse.