Shawn O’Malley Is Having A Great Spring Training (Again). Can It Continue Through The Year This Time?

Shawn O’Malley Is Having A Great Spring Training (Again). Can It Continue Through The Year This Time? by Adam Levi

If you’ve been looking for the eighth wonder of the world, your search has ended. I present you, Thyago Vieira.

What qualifies Vieira to be the eighth wonder of the world you ask?

Why Vieira is only the mightiest flame throwing Mariners reliever in the franchise’s 40-year existence with potential of becoming one of the best relievers in the history of baseball.

The surface of the sun feels like north pole ice when compared to the heat of Thyago Vieira’s fastball. A pitch which furiously rushes past opposing hitters who stand there in awe, not comprehending what they have just witnessed

Now you can begin to understand who Thyago Vieira is.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times wrote a great piece about Vieira’s journey from Brazil, to almost getting released, to making the Mariners 40-man roster.

See, Vieira has always struggled with his command and was not progressing through the Mariners farm system quickly or at all.

You would think someone with Vieira’s arm talent would catch a scout’s eye but because of his command issues, Vieira spent five seasons in the Mariners organization and had not made it above Single-A ball.

In Divish’s article, it entails how Mariners minor league pitching coach Ethan Katz helped Thyago gain command while still possessing his incredible velocity.

Katz worked with Vieira every day during Spring Training last year to improve his command and develop a slider with more cutting action.

All that hard work finally paid off for Vieira during the 2016 season when he recorded a sub-three three ERA and recorded the best strikeout to walk ratio of his career.

From the 2015 season in single-A Clinton to the 2016 season in high-A Bakersfield Vieira’s ERA dropped from 6.97 to 2.84, his WHIP decreased from 1.77 to 1.24, and as previously mentioned, his SO/W ratio improved from 1.1 to 2.94 as he punched out 53 batters while only walking 18 over 44.1 innings pitched.

Now Thyago is on the cusp of making the big league roster.

His heat has been clocked at 103 mph, something that should excite Mariners fans.

Mariners fans should expect Thyago to be lighting up radar guns and electrifying Safeco Field for many years to come.

So far this spring training, Vieira has appeared in one game, Wednesday against the Indians. He tossed one scoreless inning striking out one batter while giving up one hit.

He topped out at 100 mph and his one strikeout came on a devastating slider.

Vieira looks like he will make the jump to the big league very soon and the idea of him beginning in the bullpen on Opening Day certainly isn’t out of the question.

The young hard throwing three-headed monster of Dan Altavilla, Edwin Diaz, and Vieira should be a daunting task for opposing hitters for years to come.

Thanks to Vieira and the rest of Mariners bullpen, the ‘pen has far fewer questions surrounding it than year’s past.