Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Seattle Mariners 2025 Midseason Farm System Re-Rank: Prospects 20-11

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

Ty and Colby continue their 2025 midseason re-rank of the Mariners' farm system with prospects 20 through 11.Check out our Patreon!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11Follow the show on Bluesky: @lockedonmariners | @tdg | @mlbcolbySupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYTime to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.  Supply HouseJoin the TradeMaster program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code S-H-5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!OpenPhoneStreamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonmlbGameday HueLet your colors talk—because colors speak louder than words. Right now, you can get 15% off with code MLB15 at GamedayHue.com. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our 2025 mid-season re-rank of the Marriss Farm System continues with prospects 20 through 11. 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 Wednesday, August 13th, 2025. This is Tadda Gazzalus and Colby Patton Head for the Lockdowneer's podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

This episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use the public code Locked-on MLB. That's L-O-C-K-A-D-O-N-M-L-B for $20 off your first purchase. And as always, if you want to hear from me and Colby, even more, and help support the show. You can check out our Patreon. All you have to do to check that out is click the link in the description of this episode. So it's time for prospects 20 through 11 in our mid-season rerank of the Marys Farm System. Let's take a quick look at where we left off yesterday.

with prospects 30 through 21 coming in at number 30 outfielder Carlos Jimenez number 29 right-handed pitcher Charlie Bilanson number 28 right-handed pitcher Christian little number 27 outfielder victor lebrata number 26 right-handed pitcher chia she shen number 25 right-handed pitcher matt tiberia number 24 utility man brock rodin number 23 catcher grant jay number 22 right-handed pitcher Jackson Steinsma and number 21, right-handed pitcher Walter Ford. So let's get into the top 20 here, Colby.

And coming in at number 20, it's another one of those 2025 draft picks of the mayor is another catcher selected by the mayors in 2025. Luke Heyman out of Florida. 22 years old comes in a number 20 on your personal list, number 21 on mine.

Tell us about Luke Kamen. Yeah, a 14th round pick out of Florida by the Mariners this year, six foot three, about 200 pounds, good build, tremendous power, who a lot of people thought was going to be, what used to be called a day two pick. Now it's just rounds three through 10, I guess. But he ended up going to the 14th. There were some swing and miss problems in his first couple years at Florida

that dragged his profile down. But he did post much better. with rates this year in his junior year. It was a strikeout rate that was below 20%, which was a big gain for him. But the power is the calling card here. He's going to swing and miss at the pro level. He's going to have some strikeouts.

But what he kind of sets up nicely to be right now is power first backup catcher with solid defensive value. So just like a really solid backup catcher, which is valuable. Like it may not be exciting, but again, how many teams have one good catcher?

Like half of the teams have one catcher we would consider good. Most teams don't have one good catcher, and Heyman is probably a number two type of build. We've seen Seattle chase this. It's not uncommon for them to draft catchers, college catchers, in this general area. You remember way back when Tatum Levens was the guy they drafted, Josh Karen, Carter Benz.

So they do like to take these shots on the catcher position where they really, they're looking for one tool offensively, and then they are looking for just solid defense that they can build on. And Haman certainly has that. He has the plus power. There's some trends that are going well for him in terms of contact rates, and he should have no issues sticking behind the plate and being a solid average defender back there. Again, good size too, good athletes. So there's a lot to like here, but I still think the profile is probably not,

everyday catcher, but like the ceiling of being like a one B or a one A to somebody's, you know, sharing time essentially, uh, kind of like Tom Murphy, who we talked a little bit about yesterday, uh, is certainly here, uh, for Heyman. So he's a nice prospect, nice find in the 14th round. Coming in at number 19 is another 20, 25 drafty of the mayor's left-handed pitcher Mason Peters out of Dallas Baptist. The mayor's fourth round selection comes in a 21 years old. He was 21st on Colby's list, 19th on mine.

Well, he's a lefty with a big curveball. Yeah. You love those. I mean, yeah, not a lot to hate on there. But yeah, it's pretty good stuff relative to expectation. He's a small guy. He's 6 foot, 511, right around there, about 180 pounds. So there's really not much projectability left.

But he's sitting in the mid-90s. He's touched 97-98 with a fastball that's got good speed. spin rates, 2,500 plus RPMs there. And a curveball that he spends at 3,000 RPM plus to go with it. So he's going to throw some strikes. Again, the question is, can he be

a starter? I think the marriage will give him that shot to be. Ultimately, I think he ends up being kind of a swing guy in terms of like, he might be able to start. He might be more of a multi-endent relief type. But again, because he's up to 97 with a killer breaking ball, it

gives him that opportunity to get big outs, you know, in high leverage spots or to get through a lineup two or three times. So it's a really interesting draft pick by them. A lot of people thought it was a huge reach in the fourth round when they snagged him. But you look at the metrics again, high spin fastball, really one of the best curveballs in the class. They're swing and miss level here. And he throws strikes. So this is a really interesting selection.

We'll have to see if they can maintain the velocity over these longer innings. But, yeah, Mason Peters is a really interesting arm. And, you know, I feel like he's at least Tim Collins, if you guys remember who that is, for Kansas City's bullpen back in the early 2000s. I think he was on those World Series teams. But we'll see what they can do. But I would say two above average, well, one above average pitch and one plus pitch to go along with probably average command and control.

That's interesting, athletic dude. Again, there's just not a lot of projectability left, which is going to knock him in these types of ranks. But, yeah, I'm, you know, again, I'm biased. Left-handed pitcher with a big curveball. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, my question here, really,

and this is more from the can he start perspective, is can he add a third pitch, getting out a third offering. I know he's tinkered with a sweeper, but maybe could he add a change up to the repertoire, something like that, just to allow him to flesh out his arsenal a little bit more. All right.

Coming in at number 18 is another 2025 Mariners draftee. Right-handed pitcher Lucas Kelly, 22 years old. Comes at at number 17 on Colby's list, number 18 on mine. He's a reliever. He's going to be a reliever. And typically we don't rank relievers that high, especially guys that have never thrown a single pitch of professional ball. and their lives.

So why, despite all of those, is Lucas Kelly this high on our list? Well, imagine if Paul Seawall through 99 miles an hour, next player. Yeah. No, Lucas Kelly is, you know, a freak. Now, it's up to 99. He's mostly 95, 96. Yeah. But again, it is a low kind of.

of three quarters release. It's not exactly sidearm, but it's not, I think low three quarters is the best way to put it. He's got two fastballs, four seamer and a sinker, and a pretty good slider to go with it. It's sometimes a cutter. It'll characterize as a cutter, but it's really a firm slider to go with, you know, fastball velo straight up. Some people have said that the fastball grades out as a 70 grade pitch.

So if the slider is even average and he can throw strikes, he's going to, he's going to be a great bullpen arm and one who could be up very soon, possibly next year. Yeah. You know, it's, again, it's a low slot. The fastball has plenty of ride and carry through the zone. It's the low, flat angle, so it's really tough to barrel up on.

And it's the velocity. So, I mean, right away Kelly might have one of the best pitches, individual pitches in the Mariners organization with that fastball. And then, yeah, just a matter of how much, you know, how many strikes can he throw? He hasn't been a problem for him. And how much refinement can they give on the, on the breaking ball. Again, there's no third pitch. You don't need it. He's not going to be a starter. So he's this guy who could fast track. He could be in the big leagues next year. And he could be getting some high leverage outs in Seattle relatively soon. And, you know, we have a high leverage upside

role that's a little more valuable than utility and fielder, right, for the most part. So yeah, Kelly is a really interesting dude and the stuff is, he's going to be fun to watch. I assume he'll probably start next year in Everett, but I wouldn't be shocked at all at the end of the year. You know, obviously, Arkansas, maybe even Seattle. So keep an eye on Kelly. He's the guy who can move really quick. All right. We are going to dive into Prospects, 12.

20 through 11 a bit more in just a moment. But first, a reminder of this episode of the lockdown errors podcast is brought to you by Open Phone. If you run into business, you know that every miss call is money left on the table. Think about the last time you had a service emergency, like a burst pipe. The first plumber didn't answer. Did you wait? No, you called the next one. That's why having a reliable business line is so important.

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Again, that is openphone.com slash locked-on MLB. Open phone, no miss calls, no miss customers. And you're listening to the Lockdown Marriss podcast for instant reactions following every Mariner's game. Be sure to tune in to the Marriss Postcast with Anderson Hearst and Christopher Crawford available on both the Lockdown Marys YouTube and podcast feeds. And again, yesterday's episode, today's episode, tomorrow's episode, all dedicated to prospects from us. So if you want to hear about the M's and the O series going on right now, check in with Anders

and Chris. They got you covered on that front on the Maris postcasts. All right. Let's get back into Prospects 20 through 11 here coming in at number 17, right-handed pitcher Teddy McGraw, 23 years old. Comes at at number 18 on Colby's list, number 16 on mine, and was 20th the last time we did this. So nice little jump in the rankings for Teddy McGraw. And obviously, this is kind of the area where the Mariners traded quite a few dudes from at trade deadlines. So that's part of the reason. But also, I am just so happy for Teddy McGraw because he is

finally healthy. He's not pitching a ton right now. They're really managing him at the moment, but he's actually on the field and throwing, which is a huge, huge step in the right direction for him. And he's actually had a little bit of success this season as well. He's missing bats. We've seen some good things out of Teddy McRaw. So how are you feeling about Teddy right now? Yeah, you know, he just got back on the mound about a week ago after taking about a month off. So they're being cautious with him. And it's that. That's the reason why he's not in the top, you know, 12.

But it does also speak to how, you know, high this guy's ceiling is. The Mariners selected him in the third round. He started that draft cycle as a pretty consensus first round pick. And then unfortunately he got hurt. Now he's 23 years old. So, you know, it's been, this is a second year since second draft year, or second year post draft, I should say. And he's only appeared in 15 games.

So, yeah, there's some concern here with the injuries. There's some concern about whether he can ever get back to being a full-time starter or if he's got to be moved to the bullpen. But he's got three above average pitches. Like, it's a fastball slider change-up. It's a true starter mix. he's a good athlete he's got really good size and you know he throws strikes for the most part

although not quite where he was a couple years ago so there is still some work to do there obviously but he for the most part will throw strikes command and control controls good command needs some work but again it is really good stuff some of the better stuff in you know the system it is a good frame it is a good build it's 97 with the fastball with some heavy sync to it

you know, an above average change up, a plus slider, uh, repeats his delivery pretty well. So like there's a shot here. Teddy McGraw could be a guy who we look up in, uh, you know, a couple of years and we're like, wow, this Mariners just created another mid-rotation starter out of nowhere, although this time will know where it comes from because with McRaw, it's not a question of stuff. It's not a question of command. It's not a question of pitchability. It is a question of health.

And right now we just don't know. We don't know how healthy he is or how healthy he's ever going to be. And that is what's holding back his prospect ranks. He just hasn't put out. He just hasn't played enough to really rise up these ranks the way he could. So he's got to watch next year. Hopefully he has a full workload next year and they feel comfortable with that. If he's a starter, I mean, he could go in the top 10 next year.

If he's a reliever, this is probably as high as he goes. But there's really good stuff here and there's a very good arm. And Teddy McGraw, he just has to get healthy. All right. Coming in at number 16 is right handed pitcher Michael Morales, 22 years old, comes in at number 16 on Colby's list, 17th on mine and was 15th the last time we did this. And Michael Morales has been perpetually in this range for God knows how long at this point. it was such a good year for Morales in 2024. He took some legit steps forward.

And it kind of feels like that progress he made last year has kind of just gone away this year. Just a 571 case per nine this year in AA repeating the level. 333 case per or walks per nine. 440 ERA, 391, FIPP, 477X FIP. none of those numbers are particularly exciting the stuff in general is not particularly exciting i i struggled with placing morales on this list i actually thought about having him drop considerably uh but i still feel like you know he's going to get to the major league global i just don't like is he just emerson hancock is he another emerson hancock that's kind of what i'm

that's kind of what i'm concerned about here and if he's another emerson hancock then he's not like he's a fringe major league starter at best. And it's like, how much value should that ultimately hold in this list? Right. The one thing he's got going for him is he's been incredibly durable. Throughout his career, he's made,

you know, 20 plus starts the last three years and he's well on his way to do it again this year. He was a high school draft pick, but, you know, 6-2-205. I don't know there's much there left to project on. Basketball, good command, but he's only 91, 92.

And the change-up is his best pitch. And like we've talked about, that's great. But as a starter, if your best pitch is your change-up, you need the fastball to complement it. And Morales just doesn't have it. He's got a couple of just kind of mediocre, slushy, you know, breaking balls that don't really do much. He's tried to add a cutter that really hasn't taken off quite yet.

Maybe it will. maybe that'll be the difference maker for him. But Morales is just he's a pitchability guy who probably can give you, you know, six innings and give up three, four runs. And that's kind of what he does. And so there's value to having a guy in your org that can eat innings without, you know, killing you every time he goes out there. I do think it's less likely that you're going to get the blowup starts that you get from Hancock

and sometimes Evans at a Morales. So like the floor is a little bit higher, but the ceiling is not. Like he is Logan Evans. he is Emerson Hancock. And I guess at least with Evans and Hancock, we've seen them be able to get more velocity there if they need it. And Evan or Morales just hasn't really shown that he has any more left in the tank. So this guy who's kind of stagnated a little bit.

I still think he's a number five start at the big league level, which is fine. But yeah, it felt like this was a year for him to really ascend and take that next step. And he just never did. And again, he's a good prospect. There's nothing wrong with being a number five. starter and those guys, you know, have long careers and they usually get paid quite a bit of money. But Morales, again, his best pitch is the change up and it's a good one, but there's just

not enough value off the fastball to allow him to throw the change up enough in a starter's role to get huge outs with it. So it feels like he's either got to add some VLO or he's got to refine one of his breaking balls or something that he doesn't currently have right now in his arsenal. He needs to add. Otherwise, he's just going to be this perpetual, you know, number five, probably back and fourth between AAA and the big leagues a couple times. And then just somebody needs 150 innings.

They'll go to him and he'll eat those innings for him. And then he'll hit for agency and sign another one year deal for a team that needs 170 innings or whatever. And sounds like that's kind of what he's destined for. But we'll see. He is also only 22. Like there still is a little bit of time here. But repeating the level, you're kind of hoping he'd take another step.

And he didn't. By the way, he turns 23 today. Oh, okay. Like today as in the day that we're posting this episode? Yes, today is in the day we're posting. Nice. Well, happy birthday, Michael Morales. Yes.

Go to drive line. Get some spin rates up on that fastball. Yeah. All right. Coming in at number 15, this is probably the first guy on this list. That's really going to turn some heads with where we placed him. But we'll get into it. Tai Pete outfielder falls from number nine the last time we did this.

and we were both an agreement on where we wanted to place him here at number 15. Just 20 years old, but it's been a rough year for Ty. No way around it. And obviously he's incredibly raw. There was a very high likelihood that this was going to happen. It doesn't mean that he's cooked as a prospector that we're giving up on him or anything like that. But we just didn't feel like we could place him any higher in good faith with the year that he's had. Yeah, the raw tools are all there, but he can't hit.

Like his hit tool is 40 grade, you know, on the 20-80 scale. The strikeouts are super high, but you also see things like, well, you know, he's got 19 doubles and three triples and 17 home runs and 21 stolen bases. Like he's going to go 2020 this year. But he's also probably going to strike out 170 times, give or take. He's not drawn a ton of walks either. obviously his 221, 282, 415 slash line in Everett is, you know, proof enough that he is not having a good year. But he's still, he just turned 20 yesterday,

or yesterday as we're recording this. So kind of a weird little thing there with dates. But yeah, he's just turned 20. So there's still plenty of time. He's going to repeat, he's going to repeat Everett next year. Hopefully he makes some changes to the swing here, but the power is legit. It is plus raw power.

It is above average in-game power. He's a plus runner with a plus arm, and he's pretty darn good center fielder already, and he's barely played that position. So there's no reason to give up on Typeet, but there's also no reason to have him near the top 10. I think anybody who has him, I would say, inside the top 12,

I think you're kind of lying to yourself, to be honest. I think there's a clear cutoff point here, And I think Pete is in that that tier of like, Uber talented. Definitely don't want to give up on the guy. But we just can't pretend that this year didn't happen because we really like the player and we really like the dude. And I do.

But I'm not going to ignore this year because it's been rough for him. Yeah. So great to see that he's handled the transition to the outfield well. And it's nice to see that he started to come around a little bit as of late with the bat. But still it's been a bad year for Ty overall. And so that's why he ultimately. fell so far on this list. Yeah.

All right, we got four more names to go over here in just a moment. But first, a reminder of this episode of the Lockdown Amara's podcast is once again brought to you by game. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to Ameras game either by yourself or with friends or family? You know, maybe it's game day and suddenly you realize I want to be in the stands. Well, that's exactly where game time comes in. It's the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress.

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Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem the promo code, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-M-LB for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. And you're listening to the Locked-on Marys podcast. We are ranking prospects 20 through 11 in the Maris Farm System coming in at number 14. It's another 2025 draftee of the Seattle Mariners. Griffin Hugis, right-handed pitcher, 21-1.

years old comes in at number 14 on both of our list by the way i believe you and i were an agreement on the placement of the next like eight guys on this list so even going into tomorrow so you and i were pretty locked in with one another on uh on a lot of these dudes uh including hugis who um yeah pretty interesting dude they they get him in the third round uh maybe this is another college success story for the Maris? Yeah, certainly could be. You know, he's, he's kind of an interesting pick in the third round. There's stuff here doesn't really blow you away.

The results in college weren't, you know, astronomically great or anything like that. But he is a very Mariners model type of pitcher. The fastball has good spin and he lives with it up in the zone, despite not having quite the velocity. like him to have. But it's a pretty good breaking ball. They really like the metrics on Hugus and they like to build. They like the makeup and they like his competitiveness. So you kind of look at this and you say, look, any college pitcher now, unfortunately,

is going to be, is this there Bryce Miller? Is this there Brian Wu? And any pitcher started after game, you know, or any pitcher drafted after round 10 is, is this Logan Evans? Is this Brandon Garcia? Like, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. it's not really fair to expect Hugis to be, you know, Bryce Miller.

But there are some similarities here and we'll have to see. And keep in mind, Miller's stuff was not what it was with the Mariners. It was not that way in college. They really went to work on Miller and they got the VLO up. They added the splitter. And I think Hugis is in that mold where it's like, look, we think we can actually increase the stuff. We like the control.

We like the command. We like to build. We like a lot here. But we think we can actually get more out of him than anybody else in this draft. And we're going to take them. It's two, you know, above average breaking balls, which is not something a lot of guys have coming out of college. It's a workable change up. And it's a fastball that there's more there than he's currently getting out of it.

We talked to Joe right after the draft. And Joe said that if, you know, the season had ended back in May, Hugis might have been a second round pick. Like he really performed. And then he faded down the stretch. There were some fatigue that set in. but yeah this is a guy who again the mariners really like him they like the the modeling on his fastball he's got two plus breaking balls he's a good athlete uh there's a lot to like here and

this does feel because the college numbers aren't overwhelming it's really easy to make a brian woo comparison here but i don't want to put that much pressure on the guy uh but uh yeah this is a really interesting pick and i'm really excited to watch him pitch next year uh because I think this is a Mariners type of pitcher, which is worth at least another two, three, you know, spots in any prospect ranks. Plus, nice mustache. Yes, of course.

Yeah, I mean, he's got a legit pitch mix that fastball eats at the top of the zone. Like, he's able to consistently get swing and miss there on the top rail. So it's a really fun profile. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Mariners do now that they have their hands. on them. All right, coming in at number 13 is outfielder Corbyn Dickerson, another one of these 2025 draftees. We've talked a lot about these guys on this show. Again, like I said, Colby and I are locked in on a lot of these guys. We both had him at number 13 on our respective list. And you've heard me throw out kind of the, the Jose Siri comp on Dickerson,

because it's huge raw power plus defender plus runner. Really exciting dude. He's just, he's only produced once at the college level. You know, he struggled and Louisville transferred to Indiana and then hit well this year. And so we'll see if he can,

you know, continue that and ride that wave of momentum into his pro career. But at the very least, there feels like some real probability here with Dickerson. It's weird saying that about a guy that just got drafted, you know, in the mid-rounds. But it does feel like he's going to be a major leaguer

just off the athleticism and the defense alone. And if he actually gets the bat going, cuts down on the swing and miss, actually gets to that power more so in game action, then you can have a real legitimate prospect here. And that's why he's so high on this list, despite where he was drafted. Yeah, I mean, we had their,

third and fourth round picks ranked lower than Dickerson. So, yeah, it does speak to his, uh, his, you know, raw tools. Uh, he actually doesn't have any problem hitting velocity. So it's not, that's not the issue. It's recognizing spin. And in major league baseball, you have to recognize spin. You don't have to absolutely destroy breaking balls, but you can't just be a guy who can't touch them, right?

Like you have to be able to get to the fast balls. And until you can do something against the breaking balls, they're not going to throw you any fast balls. So this is a guy who will crush the heater. He is plus defender, plus power, plus speed. So it really does all come down to that hit tool. And right now I think you probably have to give the hit tool 40, 45 at most, just because of the inability to pick up spin right now.

But that's something that you hope you can teach because the tools here, are outstanding. He is a, you know, 20-20, maybe gold glove caliber center fielder. And those guys aren't cheap. They don't come around that often. And for you to snag that guy in the fifth round, for about slot, by the way, they did not overpay him. So it is a really interesting toolkit here. And he does have the potential, even in this loaded Mariners system, to be at some point next year, top six or seven? Like, like that is the ceiling here, obviously depending on graduations and whatnot. Speaking of graduations, no Logan Evans, no Cole Young, just in case you guys are wondering.

I assume by now you know that, but whatever. Yeah, so this is a really interesting pick. He is kind of the college version of Taipei where the tools are very loud, but the hit tool is so questionable that it drags down the entire profile. Now, worst, I think this guy's. a fourth outfielder who, you know, going to hit some home runs before he play some really good defense. But I think there's a shot

here. Maybe he's Carlos Gomez. You remember Carlos Gomez? Yeah. Yeah. Like, that might be the ceiling here, but again, it starts with the hit tool. If you can't hit, a lot of the rest of your profile doesn't matter that much. Like, if you can't hit, you're a bench player,

regardless of what the rest of your profile is. And so we'll have to see how he does. This is one of those guys going to be really excited to track next year. A little surprised he hasn't been assigned to Modesto or anything like that. He's not playing yet, but maybe that's coming up shortly or maybe they just give him the year. But this guy learning how to read spin, learning how to, you know, hit the breaking ball the other way so he can hunt fastballs. If he can do that, he might be one of the four most four or five most talented dudes, raw talent in the entire

organization. And wait until you guys see the one through 10. That's saying something. All right. Coming in at number 12 is the Mariners big. signing of the last international signing period your hair Batista a 17 year old outfielder down in the Dominican Summer League comes at a number 12 on both

of our list he was number 11 the last time we did this so only falls one spot Batista is so hard for Colby and I to especially assess because we have no idea what's going on in the DL cell

right like we'll hear like we'll see some tweets and that's really it. We might see a couple of clips. That's really it. So like we talked about the first time we got a chance to talk about him, there's only so much we can work off of here when talking about you or Herr Batista. And so like this year he has, you know,

first year pro ball at 17 years old down on the DSL. He's had some some nice moments. He's hit for a bit of power. But overall, he hasn't wowed anyone. It's a 93 WRC plus. It's a 231, 327, 416 slash line. how much can you actually put into DSL numbers, whatever, you know,

but he's striking out 29 and a half percent of the time. Just to play it safe, I pretty much just kept him in the same spot as we had him last time. Yeah, I mean, the tools are still all there. It's plus raw power, plus run, plus, arm, really good defender, can currently stay in center field.

He's only 17. He'll turn 18 in about a month. And he's 6 foot 1. about a buck 80 so there is still room for him to grow and add strength and all that stuff but again like we just kind of talk about with dickerson if you can't hit the rest of your profile really doesn't matter that much and right now i think it would be charitable to say bautista is a 45 great hitter now that's all about projection uh projecting going forward so just because he's a 45 at 17 doesn't mean he's not going to be a 55 at you know 18

or 19. So yeah, just really tough to get a good feel on these guys. The reports that come in are limited. The video that comes out is limited. So we're kind of waiting for him to get stateside before we can have a really good sense. But just based on the raw tools alone, yeah,

I think he belongs here. It is, again, it is plus power, plus speed, double plus arm, a good center fielder who might be elite in a corner. Like, it's just,

you know, is this guy Taylor Tremel or is he the real deal? I don't know. So we'll have to wait and see once he gets stateside, but not the most encouraging year for him, but also way too early to write this guy at all off at all. This is not DeWald Joseph right now. We're a couple years away from that being the case.

All right. Last name on this list. This is probably another guy that is going to make a few of you go, uh, what? But we'll get into it. coming in in a number 11 felon celestine 19 year old infielder

down and low a Modesto comes in in number 11 on both of our list he was number four the last time we did this list so a pretty steep drop that might be the biggest drop outside of the guys that completely fell off the list like the the Josh Karen's of the world

yeah spoiler alert Josh Karen's not in the top 10 I know yeah uh fell in it's just been kind of an under well-in-year for Feldman. Yeah. Recently, he's started to put up the exit velo as we were expecting.

Recently, he's starting to get the ball in the air more. He was hitting a ton of ground balls early on. I think a big part of this fall, quote, unquote, is that, A, dude's just passed him. And B, he has had a little bit of a disappointing season, I think mostly because of the injuries. But those are a real thing. You have to be available. You cannot get better while you're on. on the IL and he has had some real hamstring issues over the last couple of years.

And, you know, it's gotten him a couple times this year and the numbers are underwhelming. So, you know, you kind of get built up as this five tool guy. And it's like, well, right now the power, we can't count that as a tool. It's not, it's not an average tool right now. It doesn't mean it can't be. But it's not right now. The hit tool still pretty good.

I still think it's about an average hit tool, maybe a little bit above. I mean, he's doing fine and Modesto for a 19 year old. Yeah. So I don't want this to come off like Felnan is like not a real prospect anymore, that he's not good. He is good. It's just the Mariners farm system is really, really good. There's probably, I don't know, half the organizations in baseball where Felnan would be the number one. It's just not true with the Mariners.

There are a lot of guys who are closer to the big leagues, a lot of guys who took steps forward this year. And Felman, it just kind of felt like he plateaued a little bit. I still think he's going to be a nice shortstop. I think he's going to hit for some good average. I just wonder if I look at this guy. Remember, the original comp was like, oh, he might be Francisco Indoor. And I just look at it and wonder, like, maybe he's Carlos Guyan instead, or maybe he's Eric Ibar. You know, like, good player, certainly, but not a star.

And that's where I'm at right now with Felon. Could it change in here? Absolutely. It could. And like I said, this year is still pretty solid, considering all the circumstances. But you gave this guy almost $5 million to sign here. And he was being built up as Francisco Lindor, the next Francisco Lindor.

And he might fast track his way to the big leagues. The hit tools so advanced. And he's just been fun. He's been disappointing, though, is the key here. And that's back to your year. And that's back to your age. Because again, he's 19 years old. And he's slashing 275, 341, 380,

and his first year of affiliate ball. against 21, 22 year old college kids. Yeah, like that's, that's pretty good, pretty good. But relative to expectations, he didn't really build upon, you know, what he did in the complex league last year where he dominated. He was awesome in the complex league. Obviously, he didn't play a ton and, you know, injuries obviously played a factor in that. Right. But, you know, this year is just he didn't really take that step forward that you were hoping he would take.

Right. And like you said, the, the Marinus Farm system got better in, you know, a lot of different ways, right? they added more talent to it guys just got better had better seasons than maybe we expected it's just a really good farm system and felon's more so a victim of that than really anything here uh but yeah he just he didn't have a uh he hasn't had a great year he's had a good year but he hasn't had a great year yeah i'd also say this like just to kind of put a bow on this i think starting with this uh this slot number 11 until about number seven. I think there's kind of a clear one through six and there's a clear hierarchy within the one through six in my mind. But from seven to 11, these players that were put them in whatever order you want. I don't care. If you think Felon Selen Selston's the seventh best prospect in the mayor system, I'm not going to argue with you. It's very funny you say that because you and I are completely locked in until about number seven, I think. Yeah. So, yeah, well, that's because you're dead wrong on one player and we'll get to that. Uh, technically tomorrow.

but yeah to me like if you want him to be number whatever you want him to be I could go as high as seven I think fine he's number seven I'm not going to argue with you I'm not going to debate with you 12 through seven 13 through 7 kind of put him in whatever order you want but felon is in that next tier it's just to me because of the injuries because of the somewhat disappointing year and because he just hasn't really taken a step forward yet. He just was on the bottom of this next tier of players. And again, 11th in the mariner system is nothing to scoff at. That's how good the mariner system is. All right. That is going to do it for us. So a quick look at where we are now. 20 through 11. Number 20, Luke Heyman, number 19, Mason Peters. Number 18, Lucas Kelly. Number 17, Teddy McGrath. Number 16, Michael

Morales, number 15, Tai Pete, number 14, Griffin Hugus, number 13, Corbyn Dickerson, number 12, Your Hair, Batista, and number 11, Felon Selson. So the top 10 coming your way tomorrow, but for now, thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Merris podcast for Colby Patnode. I'm Tadang Gonzalez. Be sure you give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Marrers. You can follow me at Tiding Gonzalez and Colby at C-Pat-11. We're also on Blue Sky.

Follow me at TDG, Colby at MLB Colby, and the show at Lockdown Mariners. You can also find us on Instagram at Lockdown Mariners. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day, and we'll see you next time. Peace.