After an eventful Major League spring training that saw him hit a home run off one of the best pitchers in baseball, Maple Ridge slugger Tyler O’Neill has been assigned to the Seattle Mariners minor league camp.
Highly touted as the Mariners’ No. 2 prospect in the organization, O’Neill had a productive spring in the Cactus League, batting .310 (9-29) with eight RBI, two doubles and a homer.
That big blast came on Saturday against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who has three times won the Cy Young Award given to the best pitcher in each league.
He helped the Mariners top the Cactus League with a record of 15-11, and also played three games with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. The left fielder had just one hit in 11 trips to the plate, but the Canuck team never got going, finishing fourth in Pool C with three losses. Canada will now be forced to quality for the next World Baseball Classic, scheduled for 2021.
Baseball pundits in the Seattle press predict O’Neill will start the season with the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, and at 21 would be one of the youngest players on the circuit.
Last season in the AA Southern League, he was named MVP after hitting 24 homers with 102 RBI and an .882 OPS for the Jackson Generals.
The Garibaldi secondary grad was selected in the third round of the draft by the Mariners in 2013.