21-year-old Italian third baseman Alex Liddi (picture, left, during the EC U21) is part of a month-long mini-camp, which is currently held by the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex, their spring training facilities. 41 of Seattle’s top prospects train under the eyes of more than two dozen coaches. The camp is an idea of general manager Jack Zduriencik.
“If we’re going to be a really, really good organization, our best players should come through our system,” Zduriencik said. “The core of our team should be guys we’re building, developing and training ourselves. This is a step in that direction.”
According to the report in the Kitsap Sun, the camp is not only about hitting and throwing. Besides introducing a new strength-and-conditioning program, the coaches have prepared individual plans for each player, which are based on evaluations from the 2009 season.
Based on his breakout performance last year, Liddi should be a candidate to move up to Double-A. He batted .345 (OBP .411/SLG .594) with 23 homeruns, 97 runs and 104 RBI in 129 games in 2009, being named the best player of the California League (High-A).
Photo: © FIBS
