Danny Mars, OF: 2014 MLB Draft 6th Round

mabrowndog

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Danny Mars, OF, Chipola (FL) Junior College
Selected: 6th round (#224 overall):
B/T: S/R
H/W: 6'0"/195
Hometown: Sarasota FL (Sarasota HS)
 

 

 
BA scouting report:
 
After an injury-riddled first year at Chipola, Mars has emerged on a talented team that as usual should contribute several players to the draft. Scouts like the way Mars plays the game. The switch-hitter should be able to produce a good average with a line-drive stroke that is quick to the ball, and he batted .380/.460/.584 this year. His below-average power is mostly to the gaps and he shows on-base ability with walks in 15 percent of his plate appearances versus strikeouts in 10 percent. Mars is a plus runner who gets out of the box well. While he has the ability to play center field, he is not a plus defender. The 20-year-old has a below-average arm and his power doesn't profile in a corner, but he has the versatility and athleticism to play all three outfield spots. The 6-foot, 195-pound Mars has a strong, athletic build and is committed to Florida State.
 
Jackson County Floridian
 
Chipola's Danny Mars became the second Indians player taken in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on Friday after being selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 194th pick in the sixth round.
 
His teammate and fellow Florida State commit Michael Mader was picked in the third round by the Miami Marlins, though no other Indians have been taken through the first 10 rounds of the draft.
 
Mars was the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year in 2014 after batting .364 with four home runs, eight triples, 37 RBI, 54 runs, and a .470 on-base percentage.
 
Like Mader, Mars said he intends to sign a contract and begin his professional career, and he’ll do it for the team that made the biggest impression on him during pre-draft visits.
 
“My first time in Boston, I fell in love with the city. I came home and talked to my parents and told them that was the team I wanted to get drafted by. By the time the draft came around, there was no other team I wanted to go to,” Mars said. “It’s unbelievable how it all happened. It really was a dream come true. I’m kind of at a loss for words.”
 
Mars came into the weekend hoping to get selected in the first six rounds and just barely made it in after being picked the second-to-last pick of the round.
The switch-hitting outfielder said that, while he was able to keep his cool through much of the build-up to the draft, it became increasingly stressful as the big day arrived.
 
“When I heard my name called, it was literally a dream come true. I couldn't ask for a better organization to get picked by.”
 

For the two who were picked, Chipola coach Jeff Johnson said it was especially satisfying for him to see their dreams come to fruition.
 
“What makes me as proud as anything is that Danny and Michael are two guys who were never drafted before they got here, but their development has been great,” he said. “Danny bought into what we’ve done here and really developed himself since he’s been here and honed his talents. I’m just proud to see a guy do that and be successful. He had a great year and I look forward to him playing professional baseball.”
 
While the dream of getting drafted is the first big step, the ultimate goal is to make it to the big leagues and Mars said he believes he has what it takes to get there sooner rather than later.
 
“I’m so excited to get started. I’m the type of guy who is confident in my abilities and I’m really excited to get going with my professional career,” he said. “My goal is to win a World Series. That’s about as far as I think. I don’t really think too much about the time frame (to get to the majors); I just want to get up there as soon as I can and try to win a World Series.”
 

mabrowndog

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Mars is now batting .353/.416/.510/.926 on the season in 113 PA for Lowell. He's hit in 10 straight games and has a 15-game on-base streak, while reaching safely in 25 of 27 games so far.
 

SaveBooFerriss

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mabrowndog said:
Mars is now batting .353/.416/.510/.926 on the season in 113 PA for Lowell. He's hit in 10 straight games and has a 15-game on-base streak, while reaching safely in 25 of 27 games so far.
 
It wouldn't be particularly impressive line if he was coming out of a 4 year college program, but that is a great line for a JuCo kid.  
 

mabrowndog

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Five straight multi-hit games since July 31, as he goes 11-for-21 with just 2 K.  That brings his season line to a robust .363/.419/.496/.915 over 149 PA.
 
The only negative attribute might be his splits. A switch-hitter, he's crushing RHP from the left side (.400/.439/.540/.979 in 108 PA). When batting righty vs southpaws he's reaching base at a nice clip (.366 OBP) but is hitting just .257 while slugging .371 in 41 PA.
 

mabrowndog

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A bit of a slump over his 8 games since the last update (4 S, 1 D, 1 T, 2 BB, 9 K in 33 PA) for a .194/.242/.290/.533 line over that span.
 
But that didn't stop SoxProspects.com from vaulting him from 59 to 40 in their Top 60 Prospects rankings. However their notation that he was promoted to Salem on July 29 is incorrect. He's still with Lowell for the time being, though that might change soon. Manuel Margot's promotion today from Greenville to Salem could mean Danny is headed to the Drive for the season's final few weeks. If so, it'll probably happen after he plays in the NYPL All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.
 

mabrowndog

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mabrowndog said:
Manuel Margot's promotion today from Greenville to Salem could mean Danny is headed to the Drive for the season's final few weeks. If so, it'll probably happen after he plays in the NYPL All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.
 
I'm not always right about baseball. But when I am, I prefer to make this place stink with my gloat-farts.
 
https://twitter.com/Dmars22/status/501928549918707714
 
Danny Mars @Dmars22  ·  14h

Unbelievable night at the all star game tonight! Heading to Greenville tomorrow, very thankful for the opportunities I have been given!
 

https://twitter.com/Dmars22/status/502064815121391616
 
Danny Mars @Dmars22  ·  5h

SC bound
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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I may have to do some work in this thread, as Danny Mars has now become my boy's favorite Sea Dog, with the loss of Devers and Chavis for some reason not inspiring him.

We now refer to him solely as "the Incredible Danny Mars" and are doing our best to brand him that way at the games (this mostly involves shouting this loudly when he does something good).

He had a great moment Saturday night: In the third inning, threatening skies finally turned into full downpour and basically the entire crowd started to make for the concourse to get out of the rain. It was absolutely dumping rain. And we all got halfway there when Mars ripped a bomb to right center and everybody stopped in their tracks and gave him a huge cheer as he ran around the bases. Then we all kept heading for the concourse.

He was 4-5 in that game, and is up to 315/363/429 on the season. Have to wonder if he has a little of the Tzu-Wei-Lin career turnaround in him, too, as his career GO/AO is 1.29, but this year he's at .85 and he's added .040 to his SLG.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Currently, Mars is on a 12-game hit streak, which leaves him fourth in the Eastern League in hits, with 122 in 97 games, 5th in BA at .311, but 17th in OBP cuz he just doesn't take many walks (only 27). 29th most Ks in the league, too, with 80, though that's not terrible since he does get a lot of ABs leading off most of the time.

Also, 11 SB against 10 CS is atrocious. But that's got to at least be on the manager a little bit. Febles seems to send everyone.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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While Chavis and even Jeremy Barfield got a lot more notice than Mars in Portland this year, he really had a nice season, reflected by his selection, with Barfield, to the end-of-season All Star team for the Eastern League.

Finished up with a 304/351/403 (754 OPS vs career 729) slash line, continued to completely up-end his GO/AO rate, with a .83 vs. career 1.23, and belted 6 HR, which equals his entire career total previous to the season.

Some Eastern League leaderboard hits, too:
Hits: 3rd overall
Batting average: 5th overall

It's pretty amazing, actually, that he posted almost the exact same slash stats as last year in Salem (293/353/401) where his GO/AO was 1.58. Not sure how to explain that. Basically, he lost 6 triples and gained 4 HR.

For a relatively fast guy, though, he does not play an especially good left field. I saw him 6 times this year and thought he was unable to get to balls I was expecting him to catch a number of times, and his arm is probably below average. Definitely not "good."

At age 23, it seems like he's probably ready for the Bucket next year, and he could play a Jeremy Lin role sometime in the future. It wouldn't surprise me if he was mentioned in trades, since he's blocked in the Big League outfield for some time to come.
 

kenneycb

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While Chavis and even Jeremy Barfield got a lot more notice than Mars in Portland this year, he really had a nice season, reflected by his selection, with Barfield, to the end-of-season All Star team for the Eastern League.

Finished up with a 304/351/403 (754 OPS vs career 729) slash line, continued to completely up-end his GO/AO rate, with a .83 vs. career 1.23, and belted 6 HR, which equals his entire career total previous to the season.

Some Eastern League leaderboard hits, too:
Hits: 3rd overall
Batting average: 5th overall

It's pretty amazing, actually, that he posted almost the exact same slash stats as last year in Salem (293/353/401) where his GO/AO was 1.58. Not sure how to explain that. Basically, he lost 6 triples and gained 4 HR.

For a relatively fast guy, though, he does not play an especially good left field. I saw him 6 times this year and thought he was unable to get to balls I was expecting him to catch a number of times, and his arm is probably below average. Definitely not "good."

At age 23, it seems like he's probably ready for the Bucket next year, and he could play a Jeremy Lin role sometime in the future. It wouldn't surprise me if he was mentioned in trades, since he's blocked in the Big League outfield for some time to come.
This is an fantastic slip up.