Despite a knee injury that limited his playing time during his senior season at St. Bosco High School, the Seattle Mariners made him 39th player drafted overall in the country. Rumor has it, that Seattle was afraid Boston was going to nab him (could you imagine him and Nomar as a double play combo?!), before they got a second chance to pick, so Seattle took a gamble and made him their #1 pick in the 2001 amateur draft. There was a block in the road for Seattle though. Michael had already made plans to attend University of Tennessee. With the help of a lucretive signing bonus, he eventually did sign with Seattle that fall and reported to the Arizona Fall League. "(Nomar) told me it better be a good number because college was an opportunity that was hard to pass up," Michael said, "My family helped me out a lot, but ultimately it was my decision to make."
| Year | Team | Avg. | Games | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SB |
| 2002 | Peoria Mariners (Rookie) | .275 | 46 | 160 | 27 | 44 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 20 | 13 |
| 2002 | Everett Aquasox (A) | .161 | 9 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | Winsconsin (A) | .243 | 122 | 440 | 55 | 107 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 38 | 14 |
| 2004 | Inland Empire (A) | .226 | 70 | 234 | 12 | 48 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 31 | 5 |
