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.
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 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.
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.
This is an fantastic slip up.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.