M's farm report: Middle man in the making

They could take Adam Jones out of the shortstop position, but they couldn't take the shortstop out of Adam Jones.

Jones, the Mariners' first-round draft choice in 2003 and a fast-rising prospect, certainly looks the part in center field. Playing for the Tacoma Rainiers, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Jones is fast and graceful and has a good arm. Those were reasons the Mariners moved him from shortstop to center field late last summer — that, and the emergence of young shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt with the big-league team.

Jones is working hard to become a better center fielder and said he will do what the Mariners want, but it's clear he's a bit homesick for his old position.

"I'd love to play shortstop again, but I guess if I am with the Mariners, I won't," said Jones, who turns 21 on Aug. 1. "It's their decision to put me where they want me, but I still want to play shortstop. I went out there the other day and took ground balls when we were on the road. I miss that feeling, but it's out of my hands.

"I played shortstop all through high school and then in pro ball, and that's where I was comfortable. And then, in the blink of an eye, I am not playing there anymore."

It's not that Jones dislikes center field. Although he essentially had no experience there before the position change, he said he used to shag fly balls after taking his regular infield practice. Even though he has made five errors at his new position, the Mariners are satisfied.

"We are very happy with Adam's progress and the transition he has made to center field," said Benny Looper, the Mariners' vice president of player development and scouting. "He is a great athlete, and we think he will be a very good center fielder."

Jones said the secret for him is not thinking too much.

"I just have a free mind," he said. "I see the ball, and I go get it."

A free mind might also come in handy at the plate for Jones, who is hitting .229 but with a team-high seven home runs and 27 runs batted. Jones averaged .284 through his first two pro seasons.

"I've been thinking too much at the plate, trying to do too much, instead of just staying within myself," he said. "The home runs, they just come. I didn't try to hit any of them.

"I know I'm not a .240 hitter, or whatever I am hitting. That's what I am doing now, but it's going to quickly change."

Looper isn't too concerned.

"His average is not where he would want, but that's a learning process that young players have to go through," he said.

Overall, the struggles have been few for Jones. He has performed well at each level, as might be expected from a first-round pick. Baseball America ranked Jones as the Mariners' No. 2 prospect behind catcher Jeff Clement — last year's first-round pick — entering the season.

Jones split last year between Class A Inland Empire and Class AA San Antonio before moving to Class AAA Tacoma this season.

The Mariners reportedly had considered calling up Jones earlier this month when Matt Lawton was released, but Mike Morse was brought up instead.

"I didn't know anything about that, but to even be in the conversation would have been great," Jones said. "I wish I was hitting a little better, to have given them more of a keen sense of [being ready]."

Jones said he has no personal timetable for making it to Seattle. He said his focus is on making himself ready so, if he gets called up, he stays in the major leagues.

"I need to improve on a lot of aspects of the game, and that's what the minor leagues are for," he said. "And that's what all the coaches here are for, to try to get you to the next level."

Around the Farm

Tacoma: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is error-free in 35 games. ... 3B Hunter Brown had hit safely in 16 of 17 games (21 for 62, .339) before going hitless in three at-bats Sunday. ... 2B Michael Garciaparra, drafted in the first round by the Mariners in 2001, is hitting .303 in 33 at-bats since being called up from Class AA San Antonio on May 13. ... RHP Kevin Appier, moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen, has allowed five earned runs in seven innings in three relief appearances. ... C Guillermo Quiroz, who began the season as Seattle's backup, is hitting .329 in 69 at-bats since being sent to Tacoma on April 16.

San Antonio: RHP Travis Blackley, who missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, is 4-3 with a 4.15 earned-run average. He leads the team in wins. In 2003, he was 17-3 with San Antonio and became one of the Mariners' top prospects. Blackley, from Australia, was 1-3 in six starts with Seattle in 2004. ... 1B Bryan LaHair is third in the Texas League in hitting at .328 (58 of 177), and OF Wladimir Balentien is tied for third with 10 home runs.

Inland Empire: LHP Robert Rohrbaugh, the Mariners' seventh-round draft pick out of Clemson last year, is 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA. In 27 innings, he has struck out 22 and walked just four. ... OF Michael Wilson, a second-round pick in 2001, is hitting .344 with seven homers and 24 RBI. He is second in the California League in batting average.

Wisconsin: After hitting .357 last year with Peoria in the Arizona League, 2B Ron Garth is having another good season, batting .268 with four home runs and 24 RBI. The Nicaragua native is tied for the team lead in homers and leads the club in RBI. ... Reliever Joseph Woerman, an 11th-round draft pick in 2003, has struck out 37 in 24-1/3 innings, with 11 walks. Woerman, who was born in Edmonds, has a 1.85 ERA and four saves.

Scott Hanson: 206-464-2943 or shanson@seattletimes.com. The statistics in Around the Farm are through Sunday.