Collection ReCollection: Joey Curletta, 1b, Seattle Mariners

I got this autograph in-person back in 2014 while the Dodgers Low-A team was visiting Lake County.

Joey Curletta was originally a 6th round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2012. He has been traded twice since then–being sent to the Phillies in 2016 and Mariners in 2017.

This season he spent his entire campaign in AA and had the best campaign of his career, hitting .383/.482/.865 with 23 HR. This was not his first season in AA–he first dipped his toe at that level in 2015–but this is the first season he seasons he stuck there the whole year. I am not the only person to notice him, as he was an All-Star and the Mariners Hitter of the Year.

#Mariners 1B prospect Joey Curletta has had a career year in his seventh Minor League season. The work has paid off with an MVP-caliber performance for Arkansas: https://t.co/YDVlPhdqeV pic.twitter.com/uEO1eQ4I9G

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 24, 2018

Matt Festa, the #Mariners No. 8 prospect, has been named the @Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Joey Curletta was named the organization’s @Milb Hitter of the Year: https://t.co/RRjZq52CKy pic.twitter.com/QPo6GIHhh8

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 26, 2018

He is a prototypical corner infielder–slow, but with pop. He has only cracked one Top 30 prospect list in his career (#30 with the Dodgers in 2012), but I think that speaks more to his profile than talent level. He is an interesting player, and could very well see some major league at-bats in the coming seasons.