Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Seattle Mariners 2025 Midseason Farm System Re-Rank: The Top 10

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

Ty and Colby wrap up their midseason re-rank of the #Mariners' farm system with the top 10.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.

This Marrers Farm System is stacked. You'll see why coming up. Cooley, hit it. You are Locked-on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ohoy, Sailors, it is Thursday, August 14th, 2025. This is Tadning Azales and Colby Patnode for the Lockdown Marys Podcast.

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So we're concluding our 2025 mid-season re-rank of the Maris Farm System with the top 10 today. And before we get into the top 10, let's quickly go over how we got here with the first 20 names we went over. Coming in at number 30 was outfielder Carlos Jimenez at number 29, right-handed pitcher Charlie Bilanson. Number 28, right-handed pitcher Christian Little. Number 27, outfielder Victor Labrata. Number 26, right-handed pitcher Chia Shishin. Number 25, right-handed pitcher Matt Tiberia. Number 24, utility men, Brock Rodden.

Number 23, catcher Grant J. Number 22, right-handed pitcher Jackson Steinsma. Number 21, right-handed pitcher Walter Ford. Number 20, catcher Luke Heyman. Number 19, left-handed pitcher Mason Peters. Number 18, right-handed pitcher Lucas Kelly. Number 17, right-handed pitcher Teddy McGraw. Number 16, right-handed pitcher Michael Morales.

Number 15, outfielder, Thai Pete. Number 14, right-handed pitcher Griffin Hugus. number 13 outfielder corbin dickerson number 12 outfielder your hair batisa and number 11 infielder felon celestin so that leaves us with just 10 names to go over here and this top 10 coli is so good because they didn't trade anyone from it tyler locklear wasn't going to make our top 10 and they also added quite a bit of talent to it with a fantastic draft last month as well. So really excited to get into this new look top 10 for the Mariners, which I think bar for bar with any other organization is the best in baseball.

Starting with number 10, switch pitcher, Gerangelo Sanja, the Marin's first round pick a year ago, 22 years old, just recently got the college. up to double a comes in at number 10 on both of our list was number seven the last time we did this so takes a little bit of a fall here it's been a weird year for sanger because when you look at the overall numbers they're not particularly impressive but when you boil them down to what he's done throwing exclusively from the right side and what he's done against right-handed hitters those numbers are actually pretty good so just a weird year to assess for sanger and that's

partly why he falls here to number 10 from number seven last time, but it's also just because, you know, the talent in this organization is just better. They added more to the draft, all that. But yeah, it's,

you know, I know there's a lot of people out there that believe that they, you know, should have taken, uh, Trey Y Savage instead of Sanja. I was in that boat on draft day.

I liked Yash more than Sanja. So I was a bit disappointed than that. So yeah, I, I also agree. with the people that feel that they should have taken these savage still to this day. But that's not to say that I don't like Sanger.

I think he's a good pitcher and I think he's going to be a good major league pitcher. However, I think they need to kill this switch pitching thing. I just don't see the value in it, especially at the major league level. It just seems to me like a parlor trick. Yeah,

it's more of a side show. And it's, you know, ultimately I think the Mariners are, you know, this is Sanja. decision. It's his career. But I think the Mariners are going to strongly suggest he ditch it relatively soon.

And I think if San Jose is serious about getting to the big leagues next year, which he's in double A now. That is in the cards. He could reach the big leagues next year, although 2027 is more likely. Then he needs to give up on it as well. You know, it's a cool thing, whatever, but you're just not getting guys out. you know, by the end of June, opponents were hitting 346 against him when he was pitching left-handed. By comparison, as a right-handed hitter opponents were, or right-handed pitcher opponents were hitting 186. It's almost a 200-point swing in batting average against.

Like, as a lefty, he's got kind of a loopy slider and he throws 92, like in extreme circumstances, could he flip around and, you know, go with that low sidearm lefty to get a lefty out in the start? sure I don't think you have to spend a lot of time working on that but sure but from the right side he's up to 99 to 100 with run on the fastball he's a really good athlete he's smaller statured guy but he's 511 about 200 pounds just muscular and he is a really good athlete he's still young he's just 22 so despite being a college pick who's a sophomore draft eligible sophomore when he was selected but again it's it's like up to a hundred with the fast basketball with a really good slider, playable change up. He throws more strikes. The quality of the strikes are better right-handed as well. And lefty, he's just kind of a lugy. It's, you know, worse stuff left-handed than like Taylor Sosato.

Like we're not talking about this is Josh Hater from the left side. It's not. It's a non-major leaguer from the left side. From the right side, this guy could be a mid-rotation starter. He's got the athleticism. He's got the V-Lo. He's got the stuff. He's got the strike-throwing ability.

it's all there for him. And the numbers, if he wasn't throwing left-handed, would look significantly better. And we would be penciling this guy in to the 20-26 rotation at some point. He still might get there again, you know, an injury or two, and he's right there. He's on the doorstep right now. But yeah, I think the switch pitching thing is just a detriment to him at this point and his development. And it does feel like Seattle is slowly kind of moving away from it. We're seeing it happen less and less.

But I think it's just something that needs to disappear this winter. focus on throwing from the right side. And again, maybe every, every once in a while, very occasionally, he can go left on left when the good matchup dictates it. But for the most part, he needs to be attacking guys right-handed. And it has hurt his overall numbers this year. And it has slowed down his progress to the big leagues a little bit. So he's got to make that decision for himself.

But to me, the decision is pretty clear. Let's focus on what we'll get you to the big leagues. And let's, you know, put this. this i don't want to call it an act per se but let's let's put this fun little quirk you have behind you and let's focus here on on where the value actually is coming in at number nine is mariners second round pick in 2025 infielder nicky becker old nicky bats nicky sticks 18 years old comes in number nine on both of our lists yeah i mean i know joe was a big big fan of his is and he thinks the power is is plus to legit so uh it it's one of those things where big guy

going to get stronger should be able to stick at shortstop but even if he can't he'll be able to play third he's going to play a premium position for you he's going to hit or at least we think he's going to hit we think he may have you know above average to plus power uh and that he's pretty good runner too like he's a good shortstop right now uh again it's just a matter of he's six foot four buck 80 it'd be six foot for 220 230 does he have the same range of motion uh i don't know but the raw tools are off the charts here um again it's it's it is a you know above average runner above average hit right now average power with plus raw power plus shortstop defensively uh kit can do it all and it's it's on a really projectable frame so there's a lot to like here again when you have

the long levers, the long arms and all that. The swing can get loopy. You can be exploited with velocity inside. So that is something that he's going to have to work on, but he's 19 years old. You know, like, sorry, 18 years old. He'll turn 19 in December. So there's plenty of time here,

and there's plenty of tools to work with here. So, yeah, Nikki Becker is a really fun player and very nice pick by the Mariners in the second round. And he's the type of guy who, again, He adds to what the Mariners already have, which is tremendous amounts of up-the-middle talent, both in their high miners and, you know, in the international ranks and also at the big league level. So Nikki Becker is a really nice, fun addition to this farm system. Yeah, and this was the fruits of the mayor's unexpectedly getting that third overall selection on the draft,

adding more bonus pool money. they end up giving him $2.7,75 million, which is what a $1.1 million over slot at Pick 57, where he went. And they end up getting a talent that I think in maybe only a year or two's time, we'll look back on and go, how the hell did the league allow the merits to get that guy at Pick 57? So Nick Becker, Nikki Becker, however he wants to go by, really excited about him and his future in Pro Bowl. All right, we will continue going through the top 10 in just a moment. But first, a reminder, this episode of the Lockdown Airs podcast is brought to you once again by Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it's easy to lose track.

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available on both the locked-on marineries, YouTube and podcast feeds. Let's get back into the top 10 Mariners prospects here with number eight, another 20-25 draftee of the Mariners. Their competitive balance round a selection, catcher Luke Stevenson out of North Carolina, 21 years old. We both had them at number eight on our respective list. It's a fun pick. This is a guy that I know you really like. Yeah, it was a fun pick because a lot of people didn't get it. because Stevenson's a catcher and a pretty good one.

This isn't a bat profile that you just move off a catcher and get him to the big leagues in a couple of years. Like, no, he's a legit catcher, a very, very good one. Who has plus raw power from the left side. And, you know, there's some work to be done here, but he's definitely going to be a catcher. Nobody disputes that. It's plus pole power from the left side.

Really power that plays from left center field to the foul pole. So there's that going for him, plus arm, really good defender and really works well with pitchers, blocks well. Like this guy's going to be a big league catcher. I don't think that's really up for debate. The question is, is he going to hit enough to be an everyday big league catcher? And I think he is. I think this is a guy who's probably going to put up some relatively low on base

percentages and batting averages, but I think he's probably going to hit 25 homers and be, you know, plus defensively behind the plate. Who does that sound like? Hmm, I wonder. And so keep that in mind. Maybe he's probably not Cal Raleigh, although he's better now than Cal Raleigh was when he was drafted by a pretty hefty margin, too, by the way.

But could he be Austin Wells? Like, yeah, he might be Austin Wells. So this is a guy again. He's going to be an above average to plus defensive catcher. He's going to have moments where he's just crushing baseballs. And he can hit 25. If he has a starter catcher's, starting catcher's workload, he'll hit 20, 25 home runs. Yeah.

And so if he can add any kind of, you know, hit tool value, if he can hit 240, 330, with his power and with his defense, he's going to be a four win player. Yeah. Now that it's a big if, if he can get there, I don't know. But the defense and the power alone, he's a two-win player. He's an everyday catcher. I'd be shocked as shocked as you can be when it comes to prospects if he wasn't a good solid major league everyday type of catcher. And we'll see. He's also kind of a fun personality.

He's well liked by his teammates. And he loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So what's not to like? Yeah. Solid scouting report there. All right. Coming in at number seven, catcher, Harry Ford. 22 years old, currently in AAA.

Don't know how much longer he should be there, quite frankly. Comes in a number six on my list, number seven on Colby's. He was number eight the last time we did this. So one spot jump for Harry, despite the talent. A lot of talent, yeah. Yeah. And that's for good reason, because Harry has had a fantastic year. And I honestly was very close to putting him even higher in my,

individual list, which would have probably put him higher in the master list. I don't know how the points would have worked out there, but Harry has had, again, a fantastic season. He's answered a lot of questions. He's hit for the power you would hope that he hits for in the PCL. He's getting on base like a machine. He is shown no issue sticking behind the plate. He's a fun player, and I'm so glad he's still here. yeah like obviously if they used him to to go get better at the major league level like fine

but the fact that he did survive the trade deadline again i'm a big harry ford guy so i was pretty happy with that so i'm glad he's still in this organization because he's he's a real ball player and i think he's going to be a very good major leaguer like i think can we all agree as a community like the idea that like oh i don't know if he can catch like that's dead nobody's saying he's going to be a gold glover back there he doesn't need to be every time like oh they need to move him they need to move him he just gets better and better behind the plate he's fine he is a catcher that is not up for debate anymore anybody telling you oh i'm not sure if he can catch they don't know what they're talking about have you seen the quality

of defensive catcher out there in major league baseball right now harry for it is fine he's also a plus athlete who doesn't chase he draws a lot of walks he puts the ball in play rarely swings and misses. And oh, by the way, he's starting to post some real exit Velo numbers that are pretty exciting. And he's getting the ball airborne more. And there's still some more to go get. He doesn't pull the ball in the air as much as he could. And so there are still some more home runs to go chase. And this year, the only thing that he hasn't done better than last year is steel bases. Yeah. Which he's fully capable of doing. He has seven this year

as a catcher. That's not bad whatsoever. But he is still a plus runner. and it's still hit overpower, but that's fine because Harry Ford's going to walk. Like Harry Ford is going to be a guy who, if you just make him your everyday catcher, which the Mariners can't right now. But if he was, he's probably going to be J.P. Crawford at the plate

and probably pretty solid defensively behind it, probably still some more bases than J.P. would. But yeah, he's going to hit for a decent average. He's going to draw a ton of walks. The power is going to come and go, and he'll have, you know, moments where he looks like he's got 25 home run power and it'll go away for a little while. This is who Harry Ford is, but he's a plus athlete. He is putting up really good numbers. You look at his savant page.

It is littered in dark red. He is proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is at the very least an MLB quality catcher defensively, probably above that. And he's only 22 years old. It feels like we've had him forever. He won't turn 23 until after spring training starts. Yeah. Like he's still a young guy. They're still upside.

And he is performing this year. And he's also an awesome dude, hard worker. And it's great to have players like this in your organization. We'll see if Harry survives the winter. But if he does, I imagine he's going to learn how to play some outfield as well as continue to catch. And there's a very good probability. He's on your opening day roster next year. And I think he's deserved a cup of coffee.

in September. It doesn't have to be the entire month, but why not call him up for, you know, a week or so and give him a couple of that bats. Absolutely, yeah. So, yeah, Harry Ford, great year, exactly what we were hoping to see from him. And if it's not with the Mariners, some other team is going to get an incredibly good major league baseball player and a really good dude on top of it. Yeah. All right. We are going to wrap up the top 10 here in just a moment. But first, a reminder, this episode of the Locktime Airs podcast is brought to you by five. hour energy. All right, folks, it's time to fuel up and turn it up with five hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink minus the alcohol into a quick energizing shot. Whether you're sinking birdies or just making memories with friends, this one's a whole and one for your energy game. And let's be honest, some days on the course or off it, you just need that extra boost to stay sharp and energize. And golf is all about good times with good people and good flavors of, course. The grape ginger lime flavor gives you the best parts of your clubhouse go to without chasing

down the bevcart. If you go to five hour energy.com today, that is the number five hour energy. com, you can use my promo code locked on golf 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. Whether you're meeting up with friends or trying to turn 18 holes and to 36, get the energizing boost you need to power through, or to transfusion flavored five-hour energy shots today. All right. Coming in at number six is Enfielder Michael Royale.

All right. Yeah, we'll get into this. I assume this is what you were talking about at the end of the last episode. Yes. The guy that I'm dead wrong about. So we'll talk about that. 20 years old, infielder. I had him at number seven on my list.

Colby has him at number five. He was number five. the last time we did this. So a one spot drop. And I think that's really because of the addition of spoiler alert, Kate Anderson to the farm system. He wasn't in my top 30. So, yeah. So I assume your beef here is a royal under Las Montas.

I mean, anytime you could have a slow 29% strikeout rate guy ahead of the best pure hitter in the minor leagues. I guess you just have to do it. But sure. I hear you. But both of those guys, you don't know. where they're going to play defensively. Yes, but one of them can actually hit. But so, so I assume here the argument is hit tool over power.

Yes, because I can teach power. Okay. Las Montez is striking out 29% of the time in double way. And you can say like, oh, well, he's so young. He's the same age as Michael Morales. Michael O'Royle. Sorry. Again, we've recorded a lot of episodes today, guys.

Let me tell you. It's been a lot of podcasts. three. That's not even counting all the resets we had to do. But anyways, yeah, he's the same age as Michael Oroyo. Do you know what Michael O'Royal is striking out at? What clip he's striking out at, Ty? I think it's like 16%.

So not 29 is what you're saying. We have no idea if either of these guys can play anywhere but first base defensively. And you're just like, yeah, but you know, I just think, look at last. See, it's 450 foot bombs. I think Lazz could be a star. I don't think Michael, Michael O'Roy, I almost did it. He almost made me do it.

I don't, I don't think Michael O'Royle can be a star. I think he can be a very, very good hitter. Look. Maybe he's overall a better major leaguer at the end of the day than Las Montes. And I think the likelihood that that happens is higher than Lazz being a superstar. But still, the chance that.

Lazz could be a star is what made me put him over Michael O'Royle here in this situation. There's also a chance, probably a better chance. It's a one, it's a one spot difference, by the way. And it made all the difference. But look in all seriousness, am I a little bit negatively polarized in the Las Montes discussion? Yeah, I am because I'm tired of people being like,

he's Kyle Schwerver, he's your dog. Baby, Yoron. He's not. He's neither of those guys. Not yet anyways. could he be sure but I'm tired of people talking about him like he's some untouchable saint in the same category as Julio Rodriguez like he's not I can't tell you but many times I got asked this summer you know and thankfully it's it's died out now that they you know they added Josh Nailer and

a Yueni Oswears I got asked so 29% strikeout rate I still think I'm I would probably get asked about him even with the strikeout rates but like he had 20% maybe 20 plate appearances in double a and he was obviously doing well in those 20 plate appearances yeah he had like 20 played appearances in double a should they call him up this year no no and you're seeing exactly why he's going to repeat double a next year by the way we might as well we might as well just throw it up here last month this is we're talking about these guys yeah yeah yeah so 20 years old outfielder slash g h comes at a number six on colby's list number five on mine was number six the last time we did this. So,

yeah, Laz is now striking out 31.3% of the time in AA. Superstar. Yeah. He's slashing 228, 327, 4, 57. Now, we've seen this before. Superstar. Hold on. We saw this before last year. Yeah. When he started out in Everett, and then

he finally came around. This kind of worked in reverse where he... Yeah. It was amazing in his first, like, 10 games. Yeah, he was great in Arkansas. He was hitting, like, he had, like, two or three triples he had a bunch of bombs yeah i had a bunch of people tweeting me like you're an idiot look at how good this guy is he's ready for triple a those tweets mysteriously stopped recently i wonder why yeah he's a he's always had a really good understanding of the strike zone though

yeah even though you know he's striking out of the time he has been able to counteract the strikeouts a little bit with the walks like he's walking 13.3% of the time right now in double a so that's nice but the strikeout rates typically don't go down the higher into pro ball you get. And if you look at his trajectory, they haven't. Yeah. So that's obviously the big red flag here with

Las. But again, he's, he hits. Or allows Montez to carry any value. He pretty much has to be hit 40 home runs. And he has to be like a 360, 370 on base guy. Because he

he's not going to hit for a high average at the big league level. That's fine. You don't have to. but you have to hit tanks and you have to draw walks, especially if you're not going to provide anything defensively or on the bases, which he's not going to. Not that he's a slug out there. It's just he's not going to provide value there. At best,

he's going to be a wash in those avenues. Michael Oroyo is a plus hitter who has 20 home run power. Also has stolen 18, 19 bases in the season before. Now, he's probably not going to do that at the big league level. I don't think he's got that foot speed. Like, this is what I would say. If Michael Oroyo, if we knew he could play second base, right, which is where he's playing mostly right now, if we knew he was going to be a 45 glove at second base, he would be the number three prospect in the system and it wouldn't be close. Yeah, agreed.

I agree with that, yeah. But he can't. Like, we're pretty sure he can't. So it is kind of a weird. These two guys do offer weird profiles because they're all bat. But Arroyo's bat comes in the form of batting average and doubles and on base percentage in contact. And the bat that Laz offers you is 30 at bats where he just looks completely helpless. And then a seven-game stretch will hit five home runs and club three doubles.

And you're like, this is the greatest player who's ever lived. So they're kind of different players, but they also kind of have similar warts in that like, you're not really sure how much value they provide outside of the bat. So the bat isn't special. And again, for Morales, that's going to be 290 with a 450 slug. A royale. A royal. there you go.

So that's what it's going to be for Oroyo, and for Lazz, it's going to be does he hit 40 home runs. Yeah. So they're similar, but they're also very different, but it makes sense that they're ranked back to back, although you think Harry Ford's better than Arroyo too.

Well, again, I almost put Harry Ford over both of them. I even considered, I even considered almost putting him over the guy that we have a number. four outfielder Johnny Farmello comes in a number four on both for our list. We are actually in complete agreement on the top four.

He was number three. The last time we did this. And Farmello obviously just returned from injury just a couple of days ago from the time of this recording. And obviously this is his first year back from the ACL tear. doesn't really seem like he skipped a beat athletically and that was to be expected because obviously, you know, ACL Terres, they're not the death knell that they used to be.

They haven't really been for almost a decade now, maybe even over a decade at this point. He's a really fun prospect. Offensively, it reminds me a bit of Johnny Damon, but probably a little bit more reided up version of Johnny Damon. There are some similarities here to Felman. where it's like the tools are outstanding and amongst the best tools in the entire org.

But the availability factor is something that you have to deal with. Now, I guess the point in Farmello's favor versus Felman is that Felman's had like nagging injuries that have kept him out. Johnny tore his ACL and kind of like a freak play. So like, and he appears healthy there. So for the most part, you give Farmello a little bit more of a pass.

you know, he's going to be 20 here in the next couple weeks, or sorry, 21. Yeah. In early September. So this is one of those guys where it's like he needs the reps. So I don't know how aggressive they're going to be in calling him up. But he was very good as a, what, 19-year-old in Modesto last year. And he's been exceptional in Everett this year. It's just he hasn't gotten on the field a ton.

So my hunch is they start him in Everett next year, but they have an eye on him really moving to double. A. And again, this is a guy plus defensive center fielder who has plus raw power. And is hitting the, hitting the ball still, despite a pretty obvious hitch in his swing with the arm bar and all that. And it's not broken right now. So they don't need to fix it. So this might be a guy who needs a shot or two, like at the big league level before he produces. But the ceiling on him, I would say, is only eclipsed by one player in the entire organization, or sorry, one minor leaguer in the entire organization. And that minor leaguer is, is somebody we haven't talked about yet.

So it really is an incredibly high ceiling for him, higher than even Feldman's, in my opinion. And the production has been better and more consistent. And again, not so much the nagging injury is the one big one that's gotten far mellow. So I'm willing to overlook it a little more. But dude is good.

He can play. Yeah. The only like negative to really note right now, the 30% K rate. in Everett. But it's only in 17 games. So we'll see if he can lower that a bit here in the coming weeks. And why that matters more for Laz than it does for Farmello, as I hear people screaming,

Farmello is a plus defensive centerfielder. Yeah. You can strike out a little more. Yeah, yeah. He can strike out. You know, he can have some more of those wards because he's making up for it in other areas, whereas Las has to hit.

He doesn't provide any defensive value. All right. coming in at number three is right-handed pitcher Ryan Sloan, who has had the biggest jump here in the top 10 by far was number 10 the last time we did this list. Again, he is number three and Colby and I were both in agreement on him being at number three. And he just got called up to Everett after dominating down in Modesto. Oh boy. Ryan Sloan is fun

I mean shame on the league for letting this guy get to the Mariners in the second round yeah I know that after he got out of the first round there was the bonus money to contend with but like for shame people six foot five 220 lean athletic three plus pitches including a plus fastball and a plus change up plus control above average command. This guy has 15 walks this year in 70 innings as a 19 year old getting his first cup of coffee

in professional baseball. He's built like a workhorse. It is insane. Like this guy has got all the makeup of a true ace. He's got to get there. There's still some cleaning up that he has to do. And obviously, you know, really dominating stuff here in Modesto is not dominating stuff in the big leagues. We're talking about 96 to 99 that rides at the top of the zone.

He can also sink it if he needs it. Plus change up above average slider to plain depth on the slider. And it's just an easy delivery with, guess what, Ty? Good extension and a good extension in a flat approach angle. Boy, that sounds like something the Mariners. really like to attack, especially from right-handed pitchers who can throw in the upper 90s, has that ever worked for them before? Kids a beast.

And if there is an ace in the Mariners organization, it's this guy, a future ace in the mayor's organization. It's this guy. It's not the guy who ranked ahead of him. The guy who ranked ahead of him just probably could get big hitters out regularly right now. So he gets an edge there. But Sloan, if you were gambling on which one of these guys is going to be the staff ace,

in the next five years, it's Ryan Sloan. Well, coming in at number two, left-handed pitcher, number three overall selection on the 2025 MLB draft, Kate Anderson, 21 years old. We both had them at number two on our list. Like you just said, I think he could go get major league hitters out right now. They're obviously not going to do that. He's shut down for the rest of the year, as he should be.

He threw a lot of pitches, and he's obviously a former Tommy John guy. but I think this time next year he's in the Mariners rotation. There's a non-zero chance. He throws a pitch in Major League Baseball before his 22nd birthday, which is on to last 6th. Yeah. I wouldn't say it's likely. We'll see how the offseason goes.

I imagine he probably starts next year in Arkansas. I really don't see any reason for him not to. Maybe they slow play it, and it's Everett, I don't know, but it is, he is a slight guy, 6-2, about a buck 80. So how much projection is left? I don't know. But you guys know all about him. By now, it's Max Fried.

Like that, that's the profile here. It is plus fastball Velo. It is a plus change up. He throws a ton of strikes, two well above average breaking balls, high spin pitches as well on both of those, and fairly new. Like, the breaking balls are kind of new. here for him and he still has found a way to make those work right away. It's quick arm. It's athletic delivery. It's repeatable. He throws strikes. He goes right after guys. He's got that, you know,

kind of big gamer mentality where he wants the ball and he seems to get stronger as the game goes on. Yeah, he's a dog on the map. He loves to talk. We'll see if that continues at the pro level, but sure, sure. But as things stand right now, how would you, how we would project? him is, I don't know, four plus pitches with plus control. Probably no elite pitches. Probably no elite pitches. He doesn't have George Kirby level control. But again, it is fastball, curbaal slider change up.

All of them at least 55 to 60 grade with probably 55 to 60 control and command. He's got the attitude. He's got the delivery. You know, the frame is maybe a question here. but, and like you said, he's a dog. Like, Kate Anderson, barring some really bad injury luck, is going to be a mid-rotation starter for a decade in this league. And that value is very, very hard to beat when you're trying to project prospects.

So the fact that he's not even number one in this system says a lot about, you know, where the Mariners are and who their number one guy actually is. Kate Anderson is a freak, and that's why he's already, what, the 22nd ranked prospect in baseball, depending on where you look. So, yeah, the Mariners got an absolute steel at number three with the selection.

All right. Coming in at number one, shouldn't be a surprise. He's been our number one for a very long time. Can't remember how many lists that we've done this, that he's been the number one on, but it's been a lot. This is at least the third.

Third or fourth, yeah. Cole Emerson, 20-year-old infielder, now in AA, just recently got the call to Arkansas. hasn't been a great start to his time there but whatever i think you know really nothing has changed in my feelings on on colt however i i i guess the the one thing i've i've learned more about colt this year is uh he is going to stick at short sob he's really good at short stop and it's not

just like you know making the plays that he needs to make he's got a highlight package in his bag too. He might win the gold glove for shortstop in all minor league baseball. So like we already know about the hit tool and the upside of that, you know, is he Calmed Cedar? Is he Corey Seeger? You know, we've talked, we've talked all about that. But

defensively, that's kind of been the big development here in 2025 for Colt. And, you know, you're starting to see the national guys really start to pay attention. You know, I've seen him. I know he's like 11th on Pipelines list, but I've seen him top five on a lot of different lists as well.

There's a lot of people around the league that are really taking notice to what Cole Emerson is doing. And again, the fact that he's shining on both ends has been just really, really cool to watch this year. He just turned 20 like two weeks ago. Yeah. Three weeks ago. He's one of the youngest players in AA.

Yeah, he'll probably struggle a little bit there. Oh, well, that's fine. Again, it is the floor of this guy is, I don't know, 270 with the 350 on base and above average to plus shortstop defense. The ceiling of this guy, he might hit 300 with 25 home runs and win a gold glove at shortstop. Like that is not something that is outside of the realm of possibility for him. He hasn't even really gotten to the pole power that we know he has. He's only 6 foot 195.

like there might be a little bit of growth there left, but he's got the bat speed, you know, he's got the wherewithal, he's got the know-how. This is a guy who can pull baseballs and he can't hit for power, but right now he's more of a kind of a gap-to-gap guy.

I mean, 12 home runs in your age 19, technically season, uh, pretty good. He's also stolen, uh, what is it, uh, 12 bags this year as well.

And that goes along with the, the plus defense. Like, Colt Emerson is like if you ratchet it up, Cole Young's grades, like a half grade each around the diamond and probably a full grade to maybe even a grade in half on the arm. Like, dude's going to be good. He's going to be a good player. Even if he doesn't reach his ceiling, he's probably just on defense and on base and doubles alone,

probably going to be a three-win player at the big league level. His ceiling, six, seven win shortstop, like the dude's a ball player. He can absolutely play. And Seattle is very wise to have resisted any temptation whatsoever to trade him. And probably won't see that payoff until 2027. I'd be pretty surprised if he made it to the big leagues in 26. I have the ETA on the graphics set to 2026 because I think he might get a cup of coffee next year. Yeah, but I think the first year he has a chance to actually be a contributor, like what Cole Young is doing right now.

I think would be 2027. But who knows? He'll start next year at AA, and we'll see how he finishes this year out. And he gets on a run. Seattle will call dudes up straight from AA, usually pitchers, but they might do it there. So I can't rule it out entirely. But I think 2027, which coincides nicely because J.P. Crawford's contract expires after the 2026 season.

So the timeline actually fits very well for Seattle. And again, he's proven he is a plus defensive short. So he's a 60-degree shortstop, at least, to go along with probably. probably a 60 65 hit probably probably 45 to 50 power 55 raw power 50 runner 50 50 runner 60 arm like the dude is just tooled up and and polished for a 19 20 year old kid he's awesome all right that's going to do it that's our top 10 just to recap coming in at number 10 switch pitcher gerangelo sanja number nine infielder nicky becker number eight catch Luke Stevenson, number seven, catcher Harry Ford,

number six, infielder Michael O'Royo, number five, outfielder slash D.H. Lazaro Montas. Number four, outfielder, Johnny Farmello. Number three, right-handed pitcher, Ryan Sloan. Number two, left-handed pitcher, Kate Anderson, and number one, infielder, Colt Emerson. So there you have it. That's our top 30. If you miss any of the episodes, what are you doing?

go watch them learn about the prospects 20 through 11 prospects 30 through 21 all that good stuff we spent a lot of time on this list and yeah hope you guys enjoyed so that is going to do it for our show thank you so much for joining us here on the lockdown mirrors podcast for colby pat node i'm tiding gzalas be sure to give us a follow on twitter at l underscore merrers you can follow me at tiding gonzalez and colby at c pat 11 that's c p a tpat 1 1 we're also on blue sky. You can follow me at TDG, Colby at MLB Colby, and the show at Locked-on Mariners. You can also find us on Instagram at Locked-on Mariners. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day, and we'll see you next time. Peace.