PEORIA, Ariz. – There was a lot of time – 28 hours, to be exact – for Keegan McGovern to think about what the Mariners’ seven-week High Performance Camp might look like as he drove his Ford F-150 from Georgia to the desert last month.



But most of those thoughts at least involved him picking up a ball.



For the second consecutive fall, the Mariners have invited their top prospects to the team’s spring training facility in Peoria with the intention of assisting their growth. The team is offering a diverse curriculum as innovative as it is unconventional, which is perhaps most evident by the absence of baseballs. Here in Arizona, the Mariners have altered their player development model, eschewing the traditional instructional league format in order to improve the mind, body and character of its participants.



Some teams have utilized elements of this method before, but others appear to be sticking to the tried-and-true.