Mike Saunders
From BR Bullpen
Michael Edward Brett Saunders
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.
- School Tallahassee Community College
- High School Lambrick Park Secondary School
- Born November 19, 1986 in Victoria, BC Canada
Mike Saunders played his third season in the minor leagues in 2007. He has also appeared for the Canadian national team, including in the Olympics.
Saunders was picked in the 11th round of the 2004 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners. He did not sign immediately, playing in junior college instead. He debuted professionally with the Everett AquaSox in 2005 and hit .270/.361/.474 and was thrown out in 7 of 9 attempts to steal. Baseball America named him the #13 prospect in the Northwest League. Saunders slipped to .240/.329/.345 with the 2006 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, though he did tie for third in the Midwest League with 8 triples and was stealing bases much more efficiently (22 for 29). He joined Team Canada for the Americas Qualifying Tournament for the 2008 Olympics and hit an impressive .448/.500/.586 with 3 assists in 7 games in left field. He led a team where four starting position players were former major leaguers in batting average and finished 5th in the tournament overall. Canada failed to qualify for the Olympics.
Saunders hit .298/.390/.470 with 99 runs, 15 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 40 tries in the minor leagues in 2007. He batted .299/.392/.473 in 108 games for the High Desert Mavericks and .288/.373/.442 in 15 contests for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. He tied Chris Nelson for 6th in the California League with 27 steals and was 9th in runs despite his late call-up to AA. Saunders also got the chance to shine in the 2007 Futures Game, in which he was the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for the World team. He faced Jeff Niemann to open the first and grounded to 2B Chris Coghlan, whose error put Saunders aboard. Saunders stole second, beating Bryan Anderson's throw. Chin-Lung Hu then doubled home Saunders for the World's first run in their eventual 7-2 win. In the third, he coaxed a leadoff walk from Joba Chamberlain and again stole second, then scored on a hit by Hu. Gorkys Hernandez pinch-hit for him in the 5th against Luke Hochevar. He led Mariners farmhands in OBP. Baseball America rated him the #16 prospect in the California League, between Hainley Statia and Andrew Bailey.
Saunders joined Team Canada again for the 2007 Baseball World Cup and hit .381/~.533/.870. His 3 home runs tied Andy LaRoche, Justin Ruggiano, Chia-Hsian Hsieh and Yulieski Gourriel for the lead. Saunders missed the All-Star spot at DH, losing out to Italy's Max De Biase.
Saunders was less successful in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, batting .214/.250/.357. He did drive in six runs in seven games and Canada won the tourney to clinch a spot in the 2008 Olympics. Mike played DH in the competition. He had his best game in a crucial match-up with host Taiwan, driving in two runs (including Stubby Clapp with the tying run with two outs in the 9th) and breaking up a double play to allow Stubby Clapp to score another in their 6-5, extra-inning win.
In the 2008 Olympics, Saunders was Canada's second-best hitter, after Nick Weglarz. He hit .286/.333/.571 with 2 home runs and 5 runs in 7 games for the 6th-place team, which had 5 losses - all by one run. Saunders hit homers against the host Chinese national team and Cuba, a 2-run shot off of Adiel Palma. He had a chance to tie it in the 9th against Cuba, down 7-6 with 2 outs, but struck out against Norberto González. In the preliminary round, his 2 homers tied Bryan Engelhardt, Chih-Sheng Lin, Weglarz and Alfredo Despaigne for second, one behind Dae-ho Lee.
Sources: 2007 Mariners Media Guide, 2005-2008 Baseball Almanacs, IBAF site, MILB.com
