Seattle Mariners: One Thing That Has Me Excited About Jason Kanzler as Manager

Earlier this week, the Seattle Mariners made an outside-the-box hire by naming Jason Kanzler as the team's newest manager.

Kanzler, 36, previously served as a hitting coach for the Houston Astros organization and the director of player development for the Chicago Cubs.

Kanzler comes highly lauded, and there's been a lot of praise for his ability to communicate and to command a room, but there are certainly questions.

For instance: How will he handle a bullpen? How will he handle a losing streak? How will he reach veterans in the clubhouse who are barely younger than him? How will he gain their respect?

And those are all fair questions that we will only learn answers to with time. But for me, there is one part of Kanzler's hire, specifically, that has me very excited. And that is the idea that player development will continue at the big league level.

Speaking at the end of season press conference, Jerry Dipoto indicated that some of the feedback he got from players was about the team essentially abandoning its minor league systems and minor league philosophies in the big leagues. Kanzler's player development ability should allow the systems put in place in the minors to be reinforced in the big leagues in a way they haven't been previously.

While the Mariners have a fairly experienced roster, they are still counting heavily on the growth of young players like Cole Young, Colt Emerson, Michael Arroyo, Lazaro Montes, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan. If you want to see those players get better, even after reaching the big leagues, then Kanzler seems like a guy who can do that.

We all remember what happened to Mike Zunino and Jarred Kelenic, who weren't able to take massive steps in the big leagues. No one wants to see that happen with any of the young players just referenced above.

We also spoke with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the latest "Refuse to Lose Territory" podcast to get his thoughts on the situation:

"And I also think, look, I mean, we've seen examples of that on both ends of the spectrum in Major League Baseball.

The Milwaukee Brewers are champions. And what do they do really well? They get guys to the big leagues, develop prospects, and they continue to get better. Cooper Pratt, he has huge impact in the World Series, just learning as he goes along.

Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, all these guys, as time went on, they're getting better.

And then you see an organization like the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals in recent years, where it just felt like players just stalled and they don't get better. And I'm not smart enough to know why each of those individuals, with the Orioles, or with the Cardinals, stalled.

But that is a thing. And in this era, when guys get to the big leagues faster than they ever have before, when they're promoted into position, you have to keep developing.

You know, so that's something on the plus side..."

And to Olney's point, he's correct. Guys do get to the big leagues faster than ever before, so they aren't finished products once they arrive. They have to keep learning and keep developing and that's something that Kanzler seems like he can do.

I also liked what Dallas Braden had to say on the "Baseball is Dead" podcast recently, saying that Kanzler is well-versed in modern baseball teaching, language and data, which is what the current players coming up know about and care about. He's able to speak their language, which should only help.