Mariners Minor League Recap, Week 17: July 29 - August 5

The push for the playoffs begins!

Having braved past the trade deadline, the minor leagues have returned to normalcy and players are no longer at risk of being shipped across the country for major league contributors. The system lost some legitimate talent, but perhaps not as much as many people thought it might. Losing Hopkins and Smith obviously stings, but seeing so many of these guys stick in the organization is a welcome sight. First up: Tacoma.

Tacoma Rainiers

17-16, 4th in PCL West

Tacoma ended up splitting their series this week, however moved down a rung in the standings thanks to a competitive PCL West division that has four of its five teams above .500. A late season surge for a playoff spot is always possible, but it’s not looking all that likely for Tacoma’s finest. Stay healthy, keep developing, and get some of these young guys contributing in 2024.

A rehabbing Dominic Canzone has dominated thus far, collecting seven hits across his first four games to pair with a 1:1 K:BB ratio. Canzone has been clubbing the ball for extra-base power as well, launching two homers and a double over the weekend. It’s been reported that Canzone could rejoin the big league club as soon as this homestand and would provide some valuable depth to an outfield that’s hurting right now. He’d likely replace Vosler on the roster, though Cade Marlowe could easily be the odd one out if they wanted to keep giving Vosler a shot.

Having settled into more consistent playing time, both Ryan Bliss and Tyler Locklear had excellent weeks against Salt Lake. Bliss (9-29) slugged two homers and stole two bases while Locklear (7-18) settled for a two homer game in Friday night’s contest. A stretch run for both of these players where they are consistently seeing the field and can develop without the added pressure of a playoff run will do wonders for their futures. I look forward to seeing how they fare with a month and change left in the season.

Quick shoutout to Blas Castano for absolutely shoving on Sunday. 12 Ks across 7 IP is no small feat, but only allowing 2 ER on three hits in an offensive happy PCL is perhaps even more impressive. A fantastic day on the bump.

Arkansas Travelers

17-16, 4th in Texas League North

The Travs took their series against Midland by a score of four to two, closing it out on Sunday with a dominant team pitching performance and just enough offense. Despite their fourth place standing, the Travs are just three games back of first in the division and a subsequent playoff spot, leaving a shot at the postseason as a real possibility. They’ll need to continue pitching their hearts out to pick up this inconsistent offense, but they certainly have the capability to do just that. Logan Evans, Brandyn Garcia, and Michael Morales are some of the better pitching prospects in the Seattle system and headline this Arkansas rotation that will (hopefully) carry them the rest of the way through. It’s no sure thing, but the talent’s there.

Having both survived the trade deadline, Cole Young and Harry Ford both had good weeks, with Young producing at the plate and Ford returning to action from his concussion. Young, who lofted his eighth homer of the year on Friday, totaled five hits on the series and continues to post good plate discipline numbers. Ford only logged one game this series, but getting healthy makes it a good week regardless. It’s easy to forget that both of these guys are just 21 years of age due to their maturity on and off the field, but both of these players have as good of a chance to contribute to the 2025 big league club as anyone in this system and remain in the upper-echelon of this minor league system. I wouldn’t call them up just yet, but they’re very much at play at some point next season.

Sunday’s Brandyn Garcia bump day was yet again electric, striking out six across four innings of shutout ball. Despite getting shelled in one of his six starts in Arkansas for six runs across five innings, Garcia still boasts a 3.04 ERA at AA and a 1.16 WHIP thanks to his massive strikeout stuff. Over his 26.2 IP for the Travs, Garcia has K’d 31 and walked 10. His deceptive slot as a lefty certainly help him out, but the stuff by itself is absurd. He’s certainly made his way up prospect rankings this season and has firmly planted himself amongst the best arms in the system.

Everett AquaSox

16-20, 4th in Northwest League

Yet another split for the AquaSox. Everett just can’t seem to get any serious momentum rolling this season, often hovering around .500 and splitting series they probably should win. Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives to take away from this week of baseball, particularly with the play of one Lazaro Montes.

Having struggled to adjust to his new level of competition, Montes has now logged three straight multi-hit games for the Frogs. Montes still has considerable swing-and-miss in his game and that’s spiked with the improved competition, but some of Montes’ poor numbers could be attributed to bad luck. Montes had several hard-hit outs and seemingly couldn’t buy a hit for an extended period of time. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come for the hulking Cuban slugger.

Armed with his excellent barrel control and budding power, Michael Arroyo has had little difficulty adjusting to his new level of competition and accumulated another nine hits this series. With two of those knocks leaving the yard, Arroyo has added to his career best homer total and now sits at 17 for the year, a truly remarkable development. The Ks have ticked up since joining Everett, but that’s to be expected. Arroyo has never had an issue with strikeouts in his career and I would expect those to normalize a bit with a larger sample size. Arroyo’s bat is his calling card, and it looks to be a damn good one.

Modesto Nuts

17-19, 2nd in California League North

The Nuts dropped their series this week and have continued to falter after their dominant first half. With a completely revamped lineup that features plenty of new faces, Modesto’s playoff run will look considerably different than it did last year. They’ll have their trusty leader in Colt Emerson and other familiar faces like Tai Peete and Milkar Perez, but it’s largely unknown territory for most of these Nuts. They’ll have to get things back on track to make a meaningful run at it, but they’ve got the capability to make it happen. Send the city of Modesto off right, Nuts. Go and win the dang thing.

Newcomer Carlos Jimenez has been dynamite thus far for Modesto, working near the top of the lineup and showing an intriguing power-speed combo. Riding a nine game hitting streak, Jimenez is slashing .310/.399/.486 with his new team and can man centerfield. He’s not a big guy and can be somewhat strikeout prone, but he’s an interesting player to monitor. A hot streak down the stretch could really help boost his stock.

Professional debut! Teddy McGraw has battled his way back from injury and made his first organizational appearance in Sunday’s game. Logging two innings of work, McGraw flashed electric stuff on the mound and looked to be every bit of his old self. With a sinker sitting 96-98 and touching 99, McGraw also spun a nasty slider and a changeup that he commanded well. It’s quite literally a two inning outing, but his stuff was as advertised. If he can stay healthy, he’s got the highest upside of any arm currently pitching in the system (I’m not counting Jurrangelo or Ryan Sloan just yet).

DSL Mariners

12-30, last in Dominican Summer League Central

A winning record this week! Progress! This DSL squad still doesn’t have much offense at all, but they’ve had a few pitchers post some good numbers. In particular, Ruben Ramirez, a 19 year old out of the Dominican Republic, has posted excellent numbers this season with 35 strikeouts compared to 11 walks and a 1.73 ERA. Here’s to hoping the Marineritos can keep scraping together some wins.

That’s a wrap on this week’s prospect roundup. As always, GOMS!