Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Ranking the 10 BEST Prospects in the Seattle Mariners' Farm System

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

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Even with the departures of Harry Ford and Duranelos Sanja, the top 10 of the Marriss Farm System is still very, very good. We'll talk about it coming up here on the Lockdown Marers podcast. Colby, hit it. You are Locked on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Ahoy, Sailors. It is Friday, February 13th, 2026.

You're listening to the Locktime Marries podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. number one sports podcast network. My name is Tiding Gonzalez and I'm joined as always by my co-coast Colby Patnode. We're two lifelong Marys fans who've been covering the team for over half a decade. And today we're wrapping up our preseason re-rank of the Maris Farm System with the 10 best prospects in the organization. But before we do that, I want to shout out our title sponsor today, Fandul. The winner games are on and there's no better way to follow them than with a bet on Fandul.

Fandual, play your game. And we're just going to get right into the top 10 here. with number 10, your hair, Batista, 18-year-old outfielder for the Mariners, comes in at number 11 on Colby's list, number 10 on mine. He was 12th the last time we did this. He was the big international free agent signing of the Mariners during the 2025 international signing period a little over a year ago. And from what I've gathered, and there isn't much to gather, of course,

again, with, you know, these guys who have only played in the DSL or haven't even played in the DSL yet, but from what I've gathered, as is the case with, you know, most 16, 17, 18 year olds, Colby. Batista is an immensely talented baseball player. He's not yet a good baseball player, though. Yeah, which, you know, again, not all that uncommon for international free agent signings and, you know, really any 16, 17, 18 year old kids when they sign. but Batista has tools like a lot of them. It is double plus power. It is right now plus speed.

It is a rocket for an arm. He's 6.1, 62 in that range, about 180 pounds, give or take. And so there's room for him to add muscle strength. And if he does, when he does, which he probably will because, you know, 18-year-olds add muscle and strength as they train and all that. So there's a chance that. the run grade goes down a little bit, which means maybe he can't play center field. But he's definitely got the arm to play right field, and he's going to be at least average. I mean, there are still some things he has to take, he has to, you know, work on the routes

need to be better in the outfield. Right now, he's just kind of getting by on athleticism out there, which is fine because that's something you can learn. The swing has kind of a hitch in it. It's very like slow to the, to the zone, but it's quick through the zone. but he has incredible bat speed. So right now he's getting away with it because he's facing 88, 89 mile an hour fastballs. When he's facing 96, 97, can he get away with that?

I guess we're going to find out unless he's already made, you know, an adjustment there. But for now, it doesn't sound like he has and there's really not much of a reason for him to. He's got to put together, you know, better attack plans and all that. These are all things that come with just learning your swing, learning who you are as a baseball player and getting reps. He was okay in the DSL last year. I mean, he only hit 223, but he did have a 3-20. 26 on base as well,

but 67 strikeouts in 193 at bats. So even down there, he struggled. Yeah, I mean, like you said that, you know,

he's getting away with it. I mean, kind of, but like he struck out basically a 30% clip in his first year in the DSL, just a 91 WRC plus only put up a 223 average,

you know, in 53 games. Like, you know, he struggled. He struggled in the, in the pro games that he played in. Sure.

He did. But also, eight doubles, three triples, seven homers, stole 10 bags. Yeah. And that's where the immense talent comes in. Right. You, when he's at his best, when he's playing his best, you watch him and you're like, whoa. Like this guy could be an all star.

It's just you only get that every once in a while because he still has so many things that he needs to learn. Right. And so it's going to be it's going to be at least two or three years before we even think about this guy as a potential big leaguer. He may not pee in the org long enough to do that, but there's so much talent here, and it's easy to see why the Mariners are very excited. Frankly, it's not a profile that is all too dissimilar from Julio Rodriguez. Is he going to be Julio? No, no, probably not.

But when you look at the tools in terms of he's better runner than Julio was when Julio signed too, roughly the same raw power thoughts, and Julio probably better hit her overall. But this guy, you know, poor man's Julio, and they're very excited about him. ultimately it's going to be two, three years before I even feel comfortable throwing an actual real comp on him. Maybe he's just Hesu Sanchez, which is fine. Like that, that's still a good player. But we'll have to wait and see because the tools are amongst the best in the entire

organization. All right. Coming in at number nine is one of the mayor's 2025 draftees. Nikki Becker, 19 year old infielder, comes in at number nine on both of our lists. And he was number nine the last time we did this. So no change whatsoever for Nikki Becker. You and I both think he's the ninth best prospect in this farm system pretty clearly. Sure.

And by the way, you and I are in agreement on a lot of these guys. Just spoiler alert. Yeah. Nikki Becker, second round pick last year. Actually got some run in Modesto. He'll be back in inland empire to start this year. And yeah, there's a lot to like here. It's really impressive frame.

He's six foot four already at 19 years old, 190, 200 pounds. He's going to get bigger and stronger. He's a pretty good defender at shortstop. Maybe he has to move to third. Maybe he just outgrows that position. It's possible. But right now, he's a legitimate shortstop.

There is real feel for the zone and a real ability to, you know, find the barrel and all that. There's some good pop here. And there's probably more in there because just the frame alone suggests that he should have more than average power. So there's a lot to like here. His family is a baseball family. His uncle and his dad both played college ball.

I think his uncle even played in the minors for a couple years, maybe the majors. I can't remember the story from last summer, but there's just so much to like here. I know his brother is also a really good player, and I think he ended up at Virginia to play some college ball. So it's a baseball family. He's physically matured.

He's an above average runner. He's pretty much above average across the board in terms of tools. And yeah, he's got a shot to stick it short. I mean, because he's a big shortstop, a lot of people will throw around the Troy Tuilewinski, the Trevor Story, comps, which seem unfair. But yeah, I mean, this is a guy who could, in theory, played, you know, a pretty good shortstop, hit 20 home runs, maybe steal 20 bags and, you know, be decent all around bad. There's a lot to like.

It's either going to be that or it's going to be like, well, he's going to be a third basement eventually. That's going to be the narrative on Nikki Becker for the next few years. Right. So, you know, we'll see where he ends up. There's still a lot to work with here. He's 19 years old. But he is already in Modesto,

which is why he gets a slight bump over Batista for me. And I like the tools. I think the swing can get a little long. That's a bit of a concern. But again, he's got long levers. Like he's got long, he's six four. He's got long arms, you know, and it takes him a while to get the swing

through the zone. But I do think that, you know, because of his, because of, you know, his family ties and all that and because of his immense athleticism right now, he'll figure it out and he'll be able to hit. This is a guy who, you know, we could be talking about sometime next summer, not this summer. Sometimes next summer is like, hey, is this the future third basement of the Mariners? Like, maybe, maybe. Right now it's still a little too early to tell again. It just drafted last summer. It's the second round pick. But as an 18-year-old, they threw him straight to Modesto. So that should tell you what the Mariners feel about this guy. They think he's going to be a dude for them.

And the only time we'll tell. All right. Coming in at number eight is Felton and Seleson, who is now 20 years old, infielder, switch hitter, comes in at number eight on both of our lists. He was number 11 the last time we did this. So he not only gets a jump because of the departures of Harry Ford and Duranlo

Sanjup, but we actually put him over Nicky Becker, who was ahead of him the last time we did this list. and not really much has changed. The reason that I did that, Colby, was I think we've overreacted a little bit to some of Felton and Solicent's struggles. I know he disappointed this year, and obviously the injuries are a big part of his story so far

in his pro career. But I do think we've overreacted a little bit to a 19-year-old trying to kind of find his way as he starts to make his way up the ranks of minor league baseball. I still think Selleson is incredibly talented. He's going to stick up the middle. He's a plus runner.

I think the hit tool will eventually come. I'm hopeful of that, at least. Yeah, I mean, we've seen it in some spurts here and there, but, you know, power hasn't really matured quite yet either, and that's kind of a big part of it. If he's not going to hit for power, he needs to be plus defensively at shortstop and a plus runner, and he needs to get on base.

and right now he's not really doing it he's capable of it certainly again he's 20 years old he will be for most of this year uh i assume that he just goes back down to everett i don't think they would quote demote him to inland empire but maybe they do but i'm assuming he'll start the year in everett and again the tools are still all there to be a switch hitting every day plus shortstop certainly they still exist there it's just a matter of are we going to see it and most importantly can he stay on the field now he played up i think 105 games last year? 107 something in that range? 102. Okay. So not bad, but this guy who always... Sorry, 104. Not that it matters, but yeah.

So yeah, he ends up with hammies. He ends up with like strains and all that. Like it hasn't been any kind of tear or any kind of like broken bones or anything like that. So maybe it's just a bit of bad luck. We don't know. But the talent is still very much there to be in every, there's really no question that he's going to stick at shortstop or he should be able.

too. And, you know, there is that question with Becker. So I think that's another point in Felman's ledger. And he's a switch hitter who's got some pot from both sides of the plate. We just need to see it. Right. It's just kind of one of those things. Like right now, Felman is here because of the reputation, because of the raw talent and because he's had some production in the minors. He needs to take a big step. And you want to talk about like a guy who's, you know, value has fallen across the league. It's Felman because he hasn't played. like Felden used to be the guy that you'd be like, oh, that dude is going to headline, you know, a great trade package. And now it's like maybe he's a co-headliner, maybe he's a secondary piece.

We kind of talked about him in that light with the Brendan Donovan situation. Yeah. Right. Right. And it's mostly just because he can't stay on the field. And because he can't stay on the field, he's not getting enough reps to consistently produce and improve. So it's kind of stagnated in his development a little bit. But this is a big year for him.

He's 20 years old. So you still have a couple more years before you have to worry about anything. but it'd be real nice if you could play 120, 130 games this year and just stay on the field and see what happens. Agreed. All right, we'll pick things up with our top 10 prospects in the Maris Farm System in just a moment. But first,

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Lazaro Montes, 21-year-old outfielders slash DH comes at number seven on both of our lists. Number five, the last time we did this. So a little bit of a fall for Laz, despite the departures of Gerangelo Sanger and Harry Ford. Laz, you know the deal by now. We've been kind of the low men on him because he has really just one true path to the big leagues to be in a viable major leaguer. He has to hit, right?

He's not really going to give you much defensively. He does have a very strong arm, but the routes that he takes are not particularly good. And that's to be expected because he's a big guy, right? You know, I don't expect him to be a very good defender. I expect him to hit the absolute, you know what, out of baseballs. And for the most part, he has done that. But there's been some inconsistencies along the way throughout his minor league career.

You know, he just got to double A played 64 games there slash 213, 319, 433. It's a 122 WRC plus because he hit a lot of homers, just a lot of extra base hits in that time. But he also struck out 30 and a half percent of the time. That number typically doesn't go down the higher up and the ranks you go. So there's obviously concerns with that. But still, even though that we are the low men on Lazaro Montes, there's no denying. He's an incredibly fun prospect. Sure.

You know, best power in the organization, although I guess Cal hits 60s. So you kind of have to, you know. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Yeah. But like, you know, in terms of like realistic and like not outlier stuff, he's got the most power in the org. The problem is, is again, you have to get to it. And in order to get to the power, you have to. get on base and you have to avoid some strikeouts. Now you don't have to, you know,

you can strike out 30% of the time and still be fine, you know, so long as you're hitting 30, 35, 40 home runs. The problem is that when you're not going to provide any value on defense or on the bases, it's, it really does all come down to that power and putting up a strikeout rate that's at least decent enough that you can be in the lineup every day. And, you know, Laz, I don't know that he can do that. I think this is a guy who's consistently striking out around 30% of the time. And again, that's only going to get harder as he moves up the ladder. He's also a guy, you know, who kind of has to see the level for a second time. He hasn't, I mean, in A ball, he hit right away, and that was fine. Okay, he's too good for A ball. Whatever else, he's kind of had like an

adjustment period, and then he's kind of had to see the level again, and then he explodes. And so he'll probably start this year and double A again. And I suspect he'll fare better this year than he did last year. There again, last year he was fine, but it was mostly home run driven. And, And that's a problem. That's just not a profile I love. I like guys who can help you in multiple ways. I like players who have multiple paths to being big league regulars. And Laz has one.

And it comes with a swing that not as fast as you like for the power he generates. There's some holes in the swing. Sometimes he's incredibly easy to pitch to. He strikes out a lot. And again, I don't see that as being something that he's going to fix. So now again, he's only, it's last 21 yet. Did he turn 21? Yeah, he's 21 now.

Yeah. So, you know, he's only 21. He's already in AA. So, you know, we say we're low guys on him. It's not like we don't like him. Just we have questions on him. And if he could play a decent right field, he'd probably be higher. But I'm convinced he's a DA.

And also with how good this top 10 is for the marries, you have to nitpick. You have to net pick things with these guys. And so, yeah, with Lazz, we are nitpicking a little bit. But, I mean, look, with some of the. other guys that we're going to talk about later on in the list, they have multiple paths to be in a viable big leaguer. Laz again, really has just a one. Like he's got a hit and he's got a hit for a ton of power. Right. Um, you know, I, I, Kyle Schwarber is probably the absolute dream for Lazaro Montez. What's more likely to happen is that he's, you know, going to hit 200 with like a 300 on base. And if a team gives

him, you know, 600 plate appearances, he might pop 30 homers for you. But it'll be in a way that he's not going to be a very valuable player just because, again, he's not going to give you anything defensively or on the bases. So he might hit 30 home runs, but he's probably going to be a, you know, a one and a half two win player type of guy. I feel like he might be able to get on base quite a bit. Like he's shown pretty good, like even though he whiffs a lot. He's shown pretty good plate discipline overall, though. Right. But also these are guys pitching around him because he's, you know the power threat in the middle of the lineup and when you get to the big leagues guys are going to go after you so we'll see and and by the way if he's striking out 35 36% of the time

which is very possible at the big league level based on his current trend nobody's afraid to pitch to you at that point they're just going to throw pitches down the middle because you're going to swing and miss so laz has got work to do but the talent is like again he could be kyle schwarber like that is definitely in the path i don't see it i i really think that this is a guy who has just as good of a to be, you know, Carlos Biggerro as he does to be an everyday big leaguer. So we'll see what happens. It's a pretty big year for him. But I suspect he'll hit pretty well in AA this year and probably finish the year in

AAA. All right. Coming into number six is 21-year-old catcher Luke Stevenson comes in at number six on both of our list again. We are in agreement on pretty much all these guys in the top 10. Number eight, the last time we did this. So a little bit of a jump for Stevenson, one of the Mariners' top draft picks in 2020. and now with the departure of Harry Ford, Colby,

he is the best catcher in the Maris Farm system right now. Yeah, and he's a good one. He is a little bit different from Harry in that, like, his defense is not questioned. Like he is going to be a major league catcher. There's no doubt about it. Probably a pretty good one. He fields the ball very well.

He frames well. He throws very well, you know, understands, you know, working with his pitchers and all that. There's still some minor things he has to learn. all catchers do like Cal Raleigh had to learn. But he has such a higher like starting point for his defensive growth than Harry Ford does. Ford definitely more likely to get on base, definitely more likely to hit for some average.

Stevenson a lot more power. And it gets to it pretty easily. We're talking 25, 30 home run power. So overall when you look at the profile here, is Stevenson going to strike out a little bit? Yeah, I think he probably will. The hit tool is a little underdeveloped. I don't think he's going to hit for a high average or anything like that. could he hit, you know,

2.30 with a reasonable on base and hit 25 homers as a catcher, a plus defensive catcher. Yeah, he could. And that's why he's ahead of a guy like Laz, because he has multiple paths to be an everyday big leaguer. Because his defense alone, we know how you pour the, you know, the offensive environment is for catchers in the big leagues. So if you can play really good defense,

you're at least a solid major league contributor. And Stevenson can do that. And when you look at what he did, granted, you know, It's it's a ball. He's a college draftee. Still, he put up a 460 on base. Like that's impressive no matter what the level is. You know, only 22 games, so we'll see.

But 23 walks. He did strike out 19 times. So again, I think there's going to be some swing and miss here, but I think he's going to be a plus defender. I think he's going to have plus power, particularly to the pole side. His ceiling feels like he's Brian McCann. You guys remember him?

Maybe a more modern example would be Austin Well. I'm pretty good catcher for the Yankees. But he does also have a kind of like left-handed hitting Mike Zanino feel to him as a floor. Like I think this guy's a big leaguer at some point probably pretty soon. It's just a matter of how high does the floor get. And that's going to be dictated by how much contact he makes and, you know, how many balls he puts in play. So I really like Stevenson. And yeah, I mean, we'll see.

I will probably seem quite a bit this spring with Cal off to the WBC. he'll probably catch a lot of the back half of games in the Cactus League. And I'm sure we'll see some moonshot home runs from him because that's kind of what he does. But, yeah, as for, you know, what happens to him in the future with Cal like catcher. Well, you know, eventually Cal is going to move off a catcher sometime during that contract. I don't know when it's going to be. Won't be for Stevenson this year, but maybe next year, maybe two years from now, Stevenson, probably two years from now, Stevenson's the starting catcher and Cal is more of a first base DH type.

and they probably still split the job fairly evenly, but we're going to start to see them transition Cal away, probably not this year, maybe next year, if there is, I don't, I don't think we're going to see that for a little while, actually.

I think it's two years. I think Cal is the everyday, like undisputed catcher for at most two more seasons, 27, 20. Then I think you see him start to move into the Buster Posey, Joe Mauer, where it's like, yeah,

catch three or four times a week, play first base twice a week, D.H., twice a week, that type of thing. And Stevenson is good, enough defensively that you won't miss a beat behind the dish, uh,

defensively, of course. So I really like Stevenson, again, because he has multiple paths to be an everyday pick league player. All right. Coming in to number five is Johnny Farmello, 21 year old outfielder comes in at number five on Colby's list,

number four on my list. And he was number four the last time we did this. So one guy on this list that we're kind of in a little bit of disagreement on, but it's, that's one spot. So like two. Yeah, who cares, whatever.

Um, Farmelo returned from his ACL injury this year. Didn't go particularly well. The numbers are not that great, but it was just nice to see him back on the field. Um, I'm excited about, uh, his year coming up. You know, now he's fully healthy seemingly, you know, hopefully knock on wood. Um, I think the sky's the limit for this dude. Uh, if he can stay healthy and put it all together. Uh, he's just a super, super talented player.

Um, you know, he's just incredibly athletic, just super exciting. just an electric electric ball player truly. That's why I still had him right as high as I did, even with the disappointing quote unquote year that he's coming off of. Yeah, he's got to stay healthy like Felnan. Unlike Felnan, his injuries were like actual like trauma, whereas Felman's are kind of the tissue stuff, you know, soft tissue injuries.

So I don't think it's quite fair to put, you know, the injury prone label on either of them. But if you're going to put it on one of these guys, you put it on Felon before he put it on Farmello. But yeah, Formello needs to stay healthy. He needs to play. He needs to develop. The tools are there.

We know he's got, you know, average power, probably. The hit tool is kind of the question mark. He's got that arm bar and his swing still a little bit. So we've noted that when he was drafted. We'll see if that changes if he needs to or not. But it's good bat speed, you know, before the injury and even when he came back, he still looked like a plus double plus runner, 6570 speed. a really good arm and a totally viable center fielder.

So there's a possibility here you have, you know, a guy who, depending on the hit tool, right, he could hit 15, 20 home runs and he could steal 30, 40 bags and play really good defense up the middle. He's 21. He will be for most of this year. He's got to stay on the field. That's the big key here. He'll be an effort to start the year. There's a chance he ends the year in double A, but he's going to have to hit a little bit.

Like, again, last year, like you said, 23, 3, 18, 460 in 20. 29 games in Everett coming off of the surgery. He should be better. And basically a 30% K rate as well. Right. But he was really good to Modesto and his cup of coffee there in 2024. So we'll see how it goes for him. If he can produce and he can stay on the field, then he's got a real shot to be top three, even with, you know, the, and well, heck, by the time we do this again,

Colt Emerson's probably graduated. He might be number one or number two if he can stay on the field, even with the new players coming in after the draft. He's got that type of talent. He's got that type of upside. So yeah, for Mello, it's not a make or break year for him, but we're kind of getting there a little bit where he's just, you got to stay on the field.

Let's stay on the field. Let's develop. Let's get there. He's only 21 again. But like, this guy we could be talking about making his big league debut next summer, perhaps, but probably closer to 2028. All right. We will wrap up with the four best prospects in the various farm system in just a moment.

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That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply hiring. Do it the right way with Indeed. And you're listening to the lockdown Mariners podcast. part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. As always, if you want to hear from me and Colby of Amoran, help support the show, we have a Patreon.

It's called Control the Zone. And on there, we talk Mariners, Seahawks, all that good stuff. For more information, go to patreon.com forward slash control of the zone. Link in the description of this episode. So we talked about a lot of prospects over the last three days, Colby. And now in our top 30 re-rank of the Marys Farm System, leading up to the 2026 season,

and we're down to four. Coming in at number four is Michael O'Royo, 21-year-old infielder slash outfielder. Seems like he's going to get some run in a corner outfield spot. Finish his season in double-A this past year. Comes in a number four on your list. Comes at a number five on my list. He was sixth the last time we did this. So a little bit of a jump here for O'Royo who just continues to hit.

Now, I put Johnny Farmello a head. ahead of him just because I feel pretty good about where Johnny Farmello is going to play defensively. I don't with Michael Rowe yet. I feel like he's going to wind up being a left fielder specifically in Seattle so long as he stays with the organization moving forward. But there is that question of what is his defensive home ultimately, but the guy just rakes. So I get, I get why you have him over Formello. He'll start the year again at double A and, you know, the numbers look fine, 250, 35, 376.

The 341 slug is what drags it down a little bit. But again, that home ballpark he plays in is not right-handed hitter friendly. So that number is going to be down a little bit. But you look at what he did in Everett, like the dude just hits. Like he line drive, foul line to foul line. He's got some pull power. He runs okay. You know, again, if we knew he could play second base, he'd probably be a top, you know, 25 prospect in all of baseball.

because of that, you know, the ability to hit like he can at that position is just so rare and unique. With also the ability to steal some bags, you know, I don't think he's going to be a 20 stolen base guy at the big leagues, but could he be 10 to 15? I think so. Could he get 10 to 15 home runs? Yeah, maybe 20 even. Like there's still some, there's still some, you know, growth there. I don't think he's going to get much taller, but he could get a little beefier. You could add some muscle, but he's a good looking prospect who just, again, line drives all over the ball. Park, pull power, steal some bags. If you can find a place to play where he is average, which probably is going to have to be left field, then he's an everyday big leaguer and a really good one too. I mean, it's a cop that I've heard a lot, but I think it's a really good one.

It's Howie Kendrick. You guys remember him from The Angels? Like, dude hit 300 like every year and, you know, wasn't a great second baseman, but fine. You lived with it. He plays some left. You play some first base at the end of his career. I think Arroyo's on that path. And he also kind of reminds me a little bit of Michael Young.

You guys remember him from the Rangers way back when not as good of a defender. So he won't be as good as Michael Young was, a very good player. But I really think this is a guy who continues to develop. He could be a 300 hitter. He could be Louisa Rice with a lot more pop, a lot more athleticism, and a lot better defense. Not to say it'll be good, but that's how bad Luis Reyes's defense is. But it's that type of player. He'll strike out a little bit more, sure, because he's not just trying to swat

the ball. He's trying to do some damage on his approach, too. But I really like Arroyo's bat. I think he's going to hit. I think there's a pretty good chance we see him at some point this year, probably after the summer. But we'll see how the transition goes to left field and all that and how, you know, the Mariners want to stick with it because obviously he's not going to, you know, take that job from Cole Young. He's not going to take shortstop from Emerson or third base from Emerson. He's going to have to learn to play the outfield a little bit if he wants to be an everyday big leaker in Seattle. But very much,

he could be the Randy or Rosarana replacement next year. Yeah, he begun the transition to left field in the Colombian Winter League. I don't know how that went. I don't have any information on that. But so he's already played it. And so we'll see what that looks like. I'm sure we'll get to see him at least a couple of times in spring training doing it. We'll play the WBC.

So, yeah. And again, like, yeah. And again, like you said, next year, we're kind of expecting that Randy is going to go elsewhere during the off season. Assuming that there's baseball played, it's possible Michael Royo is the opening day left fielder for the Maris in 2027. Yeah, there's a shot. But yeah, I really like a Royo. Do you really want to hyper-analize something like people love to do in spring training. he was listed as an infielder only on the non-raster invitees list.

So, you know, if you're one of those people who thinks that they can discern swing changes from a grainy video at spring training, and then maybe you want to read too much into that as well. All right. Coming in at number three is the third overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft, left-handed pitcher Kate Anderson, 21 years old, comes at a number three on both of our list. He was number two.

the last time we did this list we'll get to that a little later on but Kate Anderson who really changed the makeup of this Mariners Farm system which had really lacked in terms of you know top tier pitching talent and

now they have that with Anderson with another guy we'll be talking about here in a second it's really exciting and thinking about the future Mariners rotation with Kate Anderson in it yeah I mean it's pretty

good athlete on the mound, throws a ton of strikes. It's the fastball Velo doesn't jump out at you, 92 to 94, but he gets a ton of swing and miss on that pitch, especially at the top of the zone. So it spins it well, you know, good arm slot and all that, good control and command. There's a curveball and there's a change up and a slider. All three of those pitches are average to above average. Some think the slider is going to be plus. Something the change up already is plus.

And again, he throws a ton of strikes like he's. He's already got the fastball value is there. He can get guys out with his fastball. That's the big step. And then it's like, okay, now you need the secondary pitch. And if you have that second pitch, that makes you potentially like a high leverage reliever. And it's like, okay, well, pick one of his three other pitches. That's his secondary pitch.

Now you have three pitches. You can kind of work your way through the lineup a little bit. You can go six innings. You can get through a lineup two or three times. If you have three pitches and plus control and command, then you're probably a mid-rotation starter. Well, Anderson has all of that. and he might have a fourth pitch too.

And oh, by the way, he still might add VLOs. There's a chance he gets even more fastball value than he currently gets. There's just so much to like about this guy. He could probably get big league hitters out right now. Like if you asked him to start on opening day, he could probably give you five solid innings, maybe six solid innings. But the mayor's going to slow play him. He just had Tommy John not too many years ago.

He pitched a ton of innings last year for LSU, including that incredible 1-0 victory in the college world series final. So, yeah, a lot of wear and tear on the arm through a lot of innings last year. So I assume they'll slow play him this year. I don't know if they're going to start them in Everett or in Modesta or in Arkansas. I think you could start them in either one. Arkansas, maybe it's warmer, quote unquote, and they want to start him there. There's a shot he debuts this year.

My hunches, the Mariners would really, really like to slow play his innings and control his pitch counts throughout the minors all year. and then have him attack and have a real shot to be on the opening day roster into rotation to start 2026 but or 2027 but you know things happen and you might have to use them this year and if you do he'll be totally prepared for that he can absolutely handle it well if kate anderson is number three then that means number two is brian sloan 20 year old right-handed pitcher comes into number two on both of our lists it was number three the last time we did this so he leapfrogs kate anderson

why he's bigger stronger better athlete he's younger uh he throws just as many of not more strikes than kate anderson does uh do you need more reasons because that that's all i got actually so yeah i mean he's got more pro ball experience under his belt technically sure uh i mean you know the cc is kind of like pro ball it's it's probably pretty close to a ball which is or or high A, which is where Sloan pitched last year, also A ball as well, mostly an A ball. But yeah, I mean, what he did last year was incredibly impressive. He had 82 innings. He walked 15 guys, struck out 90.

There's an adjustment period when he went to Everett. That's to be expected. He was 19 years old. He just turned 20 two weeks ago. This is a young guy, 6, 4, 6, 5, 220 pounds. Like, he's built like a number one starter. He's got a plus fastball, good slider, plus. change up, 55 control, 50 command already.

And again, he's just 20 years old. There's a ton of upside here. He can miss bats. He can pitch up in the zone. He can pitch down in the zone. He can get ground balls. Like, he can do whatever it is you need him to do. And he is just flying.

He's going to fly through the system. And it's so much so that the Mariners have even like refused to shut the door on the possibility that Sloan could help the Mariners in 2020. Six. Like there's a non-zero chance that. Anderson and Sloan are teammates in Arkansas to start this year. Like the Mariners really like Ryan Sloan. I think he'll start in Everett, but you never know.

They really like him. Maybe he can stay healthy, probably try and get him to 110, 120 innings this year. And again, like Anderson, 2028 is probably, or sorry, 2027 is probably the first year he has a real shot to get to the big leagues. But I can't imagine he's not in the Mariners rotation by at least 2028. like he's going to move. So he'll make his, you know,

he'll be in a regular in the marriage rotation by the time he's 22 if he stays healthy. The sky's the limit with him. He's got number one upside. I like the pitch mix. Maybe there's a little concern about the fastball value, but I don't see it right now. And I think he's just going to fly through the system. So Sloan is a little bit,

you know, just a little bit better than Anderson, higher ceiling than Anderson. And honestly, not too different of a floor. So that's why you got the, the bump for me over Anderson. I think if you ask me, one of these two guys is going to become an ace, like a true ace,

like how you and I specifically define it in baseball, I would take Ryan Sloan over Kate Anderson. I think Kate Anderson's going to be great. I think he's going to be a very, very good pitcher for a very, very long time in Major League Baseball. I don't know if he'll be like a top five pitcher in baseball. I think Ryan Sloan, there's like the outside shot. Sloan can be one of the five best pitchers in baseball. I'm not saying these are going to be like these two guys are going to be these guys, but just to kind of like differentiate ace versus not.

Like Sloan is like Garrett Cole and Anderson's like Max Fried. Both are great, right? Cy Young contenders. But one is clearly like better than the other. One is an ace. The other one is more of a number one, number two. And again, I'm not saying either of these guys are going to get to that level. That would be ridiculous.

But. Yeah. And I'm not saying right. Sloan's going to be a top five pitcher in baseball. I'm just saying if I had to pick one to be, if I had to pick one of these two to be that guy, I would pick Sloan. Yeah. Yeah, agreed. Well, no surprise here. Coming in at number one is Colt Emerson. He's been the number one on this list for the last five times that we've been doing this. We'd do this twice a year and he was drafted in 2023 and he wasn't the number one guy after he was

drafted, but he was the number one guy pretty shortly thereafter. So, I think it's probably been four or five times that he's been the number one guy on this list. So no surprise here. We've talked about them all winter long. 20-year-old infielder comes in a number one in both of our list. It's number one the last time we did this, of course. And, you know, as we said, like, he's going to be a part of this thing at some point in 2026 for the mayor. It's just a matter if it's going to be opening day or if it's going to be a little later on down the line.

But he's going to get a real shot to make the club out of spring training. the arrival of brennan donovan kind of tamps that down a little bit of course but the path is there for emerson and the mayors can absolutely make that work roster-wise with donovan's versatility either way doesn't matter when cole emerson gets to the big leagues that's march 26 or may 1st it's going to be a big deal this is the best prospect the mayors are going to have debut since julio now that's not to say that he is Julio. I'm not saying that at all, but this is one of the best prospects in baseball. He's a guy that could, you know, legitimately contend for, you know, a rookie of the year.

And if he pops in that way, we've talked about this, this team, like the sky's the limit for this team. But in general, we're talking about the shortstop of the future for the mayor is here, a guy who has really taken big strides

in terms of his defense at shortstop. And it's not that he's just fundamentally a really good shortstop. He's also kind of got the highlight reel in his bag a little bit as well. He's a really fun defensive player. The offensive profile is like one of the seekers at least. It's probably more Kyle than Corey, but who knows? He's just overall just a really, really, really good prospect. And that's why he's number one on this list again.

Yeah. You know, just what's not to like? he's play shortstop for a while. Maybe he has to move to third base eventually. But for now, he's a pretty good shortstop, good hand, soft hand, strong arm. He just hits everywhere along the way. The ceiling's probably going to be dictated by how much power he gets to. He's got a lot of pull power, which is what you want at Team Mobile Park.

So it's a pretty good swing for the ballpark as well. Does he get to 20 homers? Does he get to 25? Does he stick around 15? And he's just hitting a lot of doubles. like that's kind of the big X factor here that will determine you know if Colt Emerson is you know an all-star or if he's an MVP candidate or you know maybe he's just an average everyday player like I mean those are all possibilities for him but those are pretty good outcomes for a player especially at 20 years old that we can already say that dude just finds the barrel he finds the gap he's got the pole power he draws walks he puts the ball in play just about the only thing he doesn't do and I don't above average clip is like steel bags and he doesn't mean he can't. I mean, he's pretty good smart base runner.

He's just not a burner per se. So yeah, I mean, this is a guy, I think pretty sure I said it when they drafted him. I do see a lot of similarities to Kyle Seeger. And Kyle Seeger was a very good baseball player for many years. I don't know if he's going to quite get to the 20 high 20s, low 30 home run power that Seeger had. But I think he's going to hit for a higher average. I think he'll have roughly the same, maybe a little bit better on base. And he's just a little bit better athlete than Kyle Seeger was.

So if he gets to Kyle Seeger, that is a home run for the Mariners. If he's even just an everyday shortstop for a couple of years, that's a home run for the Mariners. But this guy, Kyle might be the lowest bar of Seeger he can achieve. There are some Corey Seeger qualities to him too, including kind of some late blooming power, which would happen with Corey Seeger as well. So yeah, I wouldn't rule out that he could get to 30 home run power, but right now I think he's probably a 20 home run power guy. I think he's 280, going to be a two eight eventually, probably not right away. I think he's going to be 280 hitter, 350, 450, 450, 20 homers,

35 doubles, average defense at shortstop, maybe above average some years. And that just screams a walking four win player for, you know, a lot of years. And again, he's only 20. So we can't even really put a ceiling on him yet because he's younger than most of the guys we just talked about who were also in the top i mean he's younger than ryan sloan who's young well he might be a couple months older than sloan but um yeah i mean he's he's he's younger than he's younger than lads he's younger than michael oyle yeah yeah yeah he's uh i don't know months wise but he's the same age as fallen in celestim yeah he's younger than far mellow like yeah He's a young dude.

And we don't know what the ceiling is quite yet, but it's quite high. I can assure you that. So to recap, because that does it for a top 30 re-rank for the Maris Farm system, coming in at a number 30 was Brock Moore, right-handed pitcher. Coming in at number 29 was right-hand pitcher Grant Nip. Coming into number 28, outfielder Victor Labrata, coming in at number 27, infielder Diego Contreras, number 26, outfielder Jared Sundstrom, number 25, right-handed pitcher Chi-Shee-Schen, number 24 right-handed pitcher Christian Little,

number 23, right-handed pitcher Matt Tiberia, number 22, infielder Leandro Romero. Number 21, right-handed pitcher Michael Morales, number 20, left-handed pitcher Robinson Ortiz, number 19, right-handed pitcher Lucas Kelly, number 18, infielder Brock Rodden, number 17, outfielder Gregory Pio, number 16, left-handed pitcher Mason Peters,

number 15, right-handed pitcher Alex Hoppe, number 14 right-handed pitcher Teddy McGraw, number 13, outfielder Juan Rejo, number 12, outfielder Corbyn Dickerson, number 11, right-handed pitcher Griffin Hugus, number 10, outfielder, Your Hair, Batista, number nine, infielder Nicky Becker, number eight, infielder Felden Celestin, number seven, outfielder slash DH Lasromantus, number six, catcher Luke Stevenson, number five, outfielder Johnny Farmello, number four, infielder slash outfielder, Michael O'Royo. number three, left-handed pitcher Kate Anderson, number two, right-handed pitcher

Ryan Sloan, and of course, number one, infielder, Colt Emerson. So that does it for our list. That does it for Prospect Week. That does it for our show. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Merrers Podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

And once again, if you never miss an episode, it's time to make it official. Join the Lockdown Every Day or Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more. for our most loyal fans. For Colby Pat, note, I'm Taday Gonzalez. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Marrers.

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