33-year old righty swinging Jack Wilson will be the Mariners starting shortstop once again in 2011. They need him to stay healthy. Wilson played in only 61 games for the Mariners last season and he was 48 of 193 (.249 avg, .598 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has played in 1,251 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is a career .267 hitter with a .681 OPS, so the Mariners hope a return to health will help his bat. Wilson made 8 errors in only 60 games at SS last season (too many) but he showed off excellent range. Wilson is a great defensive shortstop and the Mariners’ pitching staff will be better as long as he can stay in one piece.

29-year old righty swinging shortstop Josh Wilson was forced into way too much action for the Mariners in 2010. He played in 108 games for the Mariners last season and he was 82 of 361 (.227 avg, .572 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Wilson made 20 errors in only 98 games at SS last season for the Mariners but he did show good range. The Mariners really hope that they don’t need Josh Wilson too much in 2011.

30-year old switch hitting Luis Rodriguez will compete with Josh Wilson for a bench job. Rodriguez played in 94 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 101 of 345 (.293 avg, .856 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 16 homers, 56 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He last played in the majors in 2009 with the Padres. Rodriguez has a career batting average of .243 with a .639 OPS in his first 363 games in the majors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARINERS SS IN 2011: C-

Gone is Jose Lopez (signed with Rockies) and last year’s starter at 2B (Chone Figgins) is moving to 3B. That means the Mariners will have a shiny new look at 2B in 2011. 28-year old righty swinging Brendan Ryan will likely be the opening day starter for the Mariners at 2B but he will have to perform well to keep it. Ryan played in 139 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 98 of 439 (.223 avg, .573 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Mariners hope that Ryan’s bat returns to more like his career norms of a .259 batting average with a .658 OPS. If Ryan can hit around .250 in 2011, he will be a huge asset to the Mariners because of his mitt. Ryan showed outstanding range in 139 games at SS for the Cardinals last season while making 17 errors. He will likely cut his errors at least in half by moving to 2B in 2011.

35-year old lefty swinging Adam Kennedy will challenge Ryan for the starting 2B job this spring. Kennedy played in 135 games for the Washington Nationals last season and he was 85 of 342 (.249 avg, .655 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 3 homers, 31 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Kennedy has a career batting average of .275 with a .717 OPS in his first 1,491 games in the majors so I look for his bat to rebound this year. Kennedy had 7 errors in 86 games at 2B for the Nationals last season but he showed off outstanding range. Kennedy will be an asset to the Mariners in 2011.

29-year old righty swinging Josh Wilson was the Mariners’ top backup infielder last season but he spent most of his time at SS in 2010. He only played in 2 games at 2B for the Mariners in 2010 and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range. Josh Wilson is not much of a hitter though so that puts him behind Adam Kennedy heading into spring training.

22-year old lefty swinging 2B Dustin Ackley is the Mariners’ 2B of the future. He played in 134 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 134 of 501 (.267 avg, .775 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 7 homers, 51 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Ackley had 18 errrors in 121 games in the minors at 2B last season. Last season was Ackley’s first as a professional, so the Mariners will likely start him in AAA-ball in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARINERS 2B IN 2011: C-

The Mariners have signed 28-year old righty reliever Manny Delcarmen to a minor league deal. Delcarmen pitched in 57 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox & Rockies last season and he was 3-4 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has now pitched in 298 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 11-8 with 3 saves, a 3.97 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. I really like this signing for the Mariners as Delcarmen should be able to help them in the pen in 2011.

The Mariners hope that 24-year old switch hitting Justin Smoak will take over at 1B in 2011. He was the key to the deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Rangers last year. Smoak played in 100 games for the Mariners & Rangers last season in which he was 76 of 348 (.218 avg, .678 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 13 homers, 48 RBIs and 1 stolen base. I have a feeling that Smoak is going to hit for a much better average in 2011 while maintaining his power stroke. Look for a batting average of around .270 with 20-25 homers and 75-80 RBIs in 2011 out of Smoak. Smoak made 5 errors in 94 games at 1B last season so he needs to work on his D as well as hit bat this year.

24-year old lefty swinging Mike Carp played in 14 games for the Mariners last season and he was 7 of 37 (.189 avg, .512 OPS) with 1 run scored. Carp also played in 110 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 105 of 409 (.257 avg, .844 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 29 homers, 76 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Carp will likely start the season in AAA and get a call to the show if Smoak isn’t playing up to his ability or if he gets injured. Carp didn’t make any errors in 9 games at 1B for the Mariners last season but he still has work to do on D.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARINERS 1B IN 2011: C-

The Mariners have signed 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Gabe Gross to a minor league deal. Gross played in 105 games for the A’s last season and he was 53 of 222 (.239 avg, .601 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 657 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 349 of 1,461 (.239 avg, .716 OPS) with 203 runs scored, 40 homers, 186 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Gross is what is, as he has no real upside. Hopefully if he makes the Mariners in 2011, they won’t need him too much!