Raben worth the wait for Mariners

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Patience and tenacity are key assets for a hitter. They're also key assets for a scouting department. In the case of the Seattle Mariners and power-hitting outfielder Dennis Raben, it was a perfect match.

The Mariners first drafted the Hollywood, Fla., native in the 49th round in 2005 out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Pedro Grifol, the area scout at the time, loved his power potential and makeup. But Seattle also knew taking that kind of talent that far down in the draft was more a signal that it'd keep an eye on him and stay in touch while he headed off to the University of Miami.

For three years, the Mariners waited and watched as Raben developed, keeping an eye on what he did at Miami and in his summer leagues.

Raben continued to blossom until, as a junior, he hit .291 with 51 RBIs in 53 games for the Hurricanes, helping lead them to the College World Series, where they eventually fell to Stanford. In a game against Arizona, he drew six walks, tying an NCAA record.

In three seasons at Miami, Raben combined for 30 homers and 131 RBIs in 173 games, splitting time as a left-handed pitcher and outfielder his first two years before focusing exclusively on offense in his junior draft season.

Though Raben would have loved to have been an early-round draft pick out of high school, in retrospect he realized things have a funny way of working out.

"I was definitely signable out of high school in the first five rounds because I wasn't really into college and didn't even enroll at Miami until a week before school started," he recalled. "But looking back now, going to college was the best thing I ever did."

Fast forward to June 2008. With their first pick, No. 20 overall, the Mariners took perhaps the best reliever in the Draft, Georgia closer Josh Fields, a Scott Boras client who has yet to sign (though as a senior he does not fall under the "sign by Aug. 15 or lose him" rule and can negotiate with the club until next spring).

When their second pick rolled around, 66th overall, Seattle didn't hesitate to finally get its man, and Dennis Raben was finally a Mariner. The results have both sides smiling.

"He got stronger and matured more as a baseball player and did the things we were looking for," said Seattle vice president of scouting Bob Fontaine. "He hits the ball hard and a long way."

Unlike the club's first pick, Raben signed relatively quickly once his College World Series stint was done. And by early July, he was making his pro debut with short-season Everett in the Northwest League.

In that debut, fittingly on July 4, Raben produced some fireworks as he homered in his first professional at-bat and went 3-for-4 with three runs scored.

He started his career with a nine-game hitting streak in which he was 15-for-31 with 13 runs scored, usually batting third in the lineup and playing right field, though he also got in some time in left.

Raben finished his first campaign with a .275 average, five homers and 14 RBIs in 27 games to go with 24 runs scored and a .560 slugging percentage.

However, he missed most of August with a nagging finger injury that continued to bother him as he spent the instructional league season with the Mariners in Peoria.

Though not serious enough to warrant surgery, the sprained ligament would swell up and get irritated every time Raben got jammed or hit a ball off the end of the bat. It reached the point where it made the most sense to shut down his hitting and let him take in the many other aspects of instructs.

That layoff was still frustrating for the ebullient Raben, but he's managed to find a positive spin on it.

"My teammates are joking that this has been a paid-for vacation, but I've been out here learning the way they do things around the organization," he said. "Around the clubhouse, I've gotten to meet a lot of the coaches throughout the organization and even some big-league coaches. I've gotten to talk to people about hitting, the mental side, and I've also been learning a lot of the plays."

With the possibility that he'll also be seeing some time at first base in 2009, he's been doing a lot of studying and a lot of observing.

"It eases my mind to hear them say that it's not a big deal that I can't participate," he said, "that they're just glad I'm here."

But that's not just lip service from the Mariners brass, it's the truth.

"Right now, we just want to get him healthy and back on the field playing," said Greg Hunter, the club's director of player development. "We want him to learn the 'Mariners' way,' the fundamentals and get acclimated."

And the club looks forward to seeing a healthy Raben in 2009, doing what he does best.

"The power that he brings to the game," Fontaine said. "In a ballpark like ours, where he can drive the ball to right field, he has a chance to be a very, very productive hitter. He'd do that at any ballpark, but ours is very attractive to him. He's also gotten a lot better defensively, but ideally, we like the power and the aggressiveness when he plays the game."