Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Seattle Mariners 2025 Preseason Farm System Re-Rank: Prospects 30-21

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

Prospect Week is back! Ty and Colby kick off their 2025 preseason re-rank of the Mariners' farm system with prospects 30 through 21.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!Wonderful PistachiosLooking for a snack that’s both delicious and nutritious? Get snackin’ and get crackin’ with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more. SelectQuoteGet the right life insurance for you, for less, at SelectQuote.com/LOCKEDONMLB.  FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if 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.

We're raking the Marriss Farm System this week, starting with prospects 30 through 21 coming at you. 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 Tuesday, February 18, 2025. This is Tanya Gazzalas and Colby Patnaud for the Lockdown Marys Podcasts.

Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. We're kicking off our re-rank of the Maris Farm System today with Provincese. Prospects 30 through 21. We last did this after the trade deadline and not much has changed with the organization, frankly. They didn't trade any of these guys this winter. Now we do have a few extra weeks of ball that was played after our last list came out, as well as the Fall League and, of course, the international signing period has passed.

So there are quite a few differences you'll see between our last list and this one. But before we get into it, if you want to hear from me and Colby, even more and help support the show. Check out our Patreon. All you have to do to check that out is click the link in the description of this episode. So if you're new to our prospect rankings, here's how it works. Colby puts together a top 30 list. I put together top 30 lists and then using a point space system, we combine those lists into one master list. And that's the list that will be going over today. Now, Colby is a bit peeved with me based on some restrictions that I put in place.

Would you like to share with the class what those were? Yeah, apparently Austin Shenton isn't a prospect because he has 50 plate appearances in Major League Baseball. So he's out. No, because he has 75 days on the active roster, which makes him no longer qualified to be a prospect by MLB's standards.

He has 50 plate appearances. And this guy is a finished product, is what you're saying. This is what it is. is. According to Major League Baseball, he is not a prospect. He has no value on a prospect list because he has 50 plate appearances with a 120 WRC plus in them, by the way, after crushing the International League, which is not a hitter's haven like the PCL. But no, he doesn't count because, you know, he sat on the bench for too many games.

Cool. Great system. Ty. Ryan Bloss also did not make the cut because he has 61 days. Yeah, one day over, Ties ridiculous little. He's not on Pipelines list. He tried to take Taylor off the list too, by the way. You're a Troy Taylor fan.

Well, because initially I read on Google that it was 45 days, but apparently it's 60. To be eligible for the PPI pick thing. Yes, it's 60. You can have less than 60 days and still be considered a rookie. So there you go. I guess Austin Chitton is a veteran. him now because of those 50 plate appearances so he doesn't deserve to be on this list.

I didn't make the rules. Shame. You get to explain to Ryan Bliss and Austin Shenton why you hate them. I mean, you know, for the so-called Austin Shinton fanboy, you had him 25th on your initial list. So good the Mariners system is. You also had Ryan Bliss 16th.

For those of you that are curious where those two guys would have ranked on Colby's list. I didn't say he ever put them on the list. He just wanted them off the list. So either he waited to the last minute to put his list together, or he purposely targeted Ryan Bliss and Austin Shinton, knowing that they would be on my list. And he just wanted to try and screw me over literally at like midnight last night.

I had Shenton 22nd and I had Bliss 17th. Yeah, sure you did. I did. I can't prove it. You never sent me your list. It's true. It's true. I guess I'll just have to take your word for it.

Not. Sure. So with that out of the way, and that said, let's get into the top 30, starting with, of course, number 30. And that's Carlos Jimenez, 22-year-old outfielder. Colby had him 27th on his list. I didn't have him ranked. He was 28th the last time we did this. What are your thoughts on Jimenez?

Yeah, he had a nice year, Modesto last year, which, by the way, is just A-Ball. Low-A doesn't exist, so your chart is already wrong. wrong just A ball. It's always low A to me. Like X is always Twitter to me. Those are two different things. But anyways, yeah, he had a nice year last year, 21 years old though.

So it's not like he was super young for that, for that group, not old for that level, but not young either. And it was, you know, pretty good year for him. Like I said, a 146 WRC plus 15% walk rate last year. That's pretty interesting. I can steal some bags.

He's got above average raw power hasn't quite translated to over the fence power quite yet. If it does, then the profile changes pretty significantly. But I assume he'll get sent up to Everett to start this year and he'll get challenged there. So we'll see the strikeout rates are still really good. But as he, you know, creeps up in levels, obviously the difficulty goes up. And we'll see how he adjust to that. So, yeah, Jimenez, 21, 22 years old now. walks, pretty good defender, you know, steal some bags, got some pop.

And he put it all together, is the hit tool there to be an everyday player or a platoon player, or is he just kind of going to end up being a 4A guy? This is usually a tipping point for a lot of prospects like Jimenez. He gets pushed up to the next level. And usually it's right around AA where these guys kind of start to separate themselves into legitimate prospects versus or depth. Jimenez could go either way.

So this will be a pretty important year for him. It would be great if he could finish the year in Arkansas. That would show growth. And being at 22 years old, that's a fine. You're not rushing him at that point. But if he just stays at Everett all year stays healthy, it kind of has this good solid year in Everett. That still is probably enough to keep them on the list next year

and maybe bump them up a few spots. But, yeah, it's a pretty big year for Jimenez coming. up and there's some some good tools to work with here so i think he's an interesting guy to watch coming in at number 29 is uh blast castano 26 year old ritey uh down in tacoma i had him 27th on my list colby didn't have him ranked and he wasn't ranked the last time we did this so the reason castano's on this list i mean at this point in the list we're just throwing darts right um you are the sure the mariners added him to their 40-man roster which kind of sent up signals.

That was a bit unexpected. They also did that over Luis Cravello, who wound up getting major league interest from teams this winter and signed a major league deal with the Rangers. So clearly they like Castano more than Curvello. Why is that? So I did a little digging. It just seems like Castano is a safe bet to at least pitch in the major leagues.

There isn't one standout tool here, but he does have a five pitch. repertoire that is fine across the board. Pretty good sinker, pretty good cutter. There's also a slider that he gets some swing and miss on. Whatever the mayor is do something with the pitcher, we always say this. Whether they sign them to a Meyer League deal or they surprisingly sign them to a major league deal or they trade for someone or they claim them off waivers or they add them to

the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. You got to pay attention at least a little bit. These guys, more often than not, know what they're doing. I'm going to add a Blas Castano caveat to that rule going forward. All right. Blas Casano is your new Emerson and Hancock confirmed. Oh, there's no such thing as a new Emerson Hancock.

He still sucks, by the way, guys. But I don't know. Maybe the Marriers think he could be like a Trent Thornton next year. Maybe. That type of guy because it's kind of a similar profile to what Thornton was when he came up. He was also a starter when Trent broke the big leagues and the Mariners kind of well the Blue Jays and the Mariners kind of tightened it up a little bit a little more violence in the delivery and Thornton is a fine major league reliever so maybe that's what they seem Castano coming in at number 28 is jared sunstrom 23 year old outfielder uh you had him 28th i had him 29th he was not ranked the last time that we did this so he cracks the top 30 for the first time for us he's a guy that i've seen ranked in a couple of top 30s uh for for people uh the industry when ranking the Marys Farm system.

What stands out to you about Jared Sunstrom? Nothing really. Okay. I mean, there's not a lot of holes, but nothing really jumps out at you. You know, he's 23 years old. Hit 263, 380, 434, played the entire year at Everett, then went to the Arizona Fall League, got off to a bit of a slow start, and then really finished with a very nice fall season stat line.

And, you know, he's interesting. He's a pretty solid defender in the outfield. 26 stolen bases last year was caught seven times. Also 13 home runs. So pretty low slug, but 13 homers, 26 stolen bases. It's kind of fourth outfield written all over him. But there is really good, you know, on base skills here. 380 on base is nothing to scoff at even at Everett.

Now, he's 23. So, you know, he doesn't have as much time to kind of really. you know, build his profile out. So this year is going to be the first like real test for him. Right. Every year is a big year because basically if Sunstrom isn't knocking on the door at the big leagues at the end of this year pretty much isn't a prospect anymore. I mean, just the way it works at 25 if you're not tearing up double A, which he'll probably

start this year in Arkansas. It's going to be a bit of a, you know, not a great ballpark to hit in, particularly for right-handed hitter. So it's one of those things where it's like, you don't. really want to judge it purely on the numbers, but at 23, 24 years old, you'd like Sunstrom to be relatively close to the big leagues by the end of this year. And if he's not, then his prospect status is probably going to be in serious jeopardy inside the org. But yeah, there's, you know, fourth outfield potential here. And if the power does show up a little bit more, if he can hit

some more doubles, maybe, you know, clear 20 home runs, then he might be a legitimate, you know, kind of corner outfield, vacant and center field type of guy for the Mariners for, you know, just kind of that fourth outfield role by maybe as soon as next spring we're talking about him competing for an outfield spot. So we'll see, like I said, it's a big year for him. Maybe he goes to Arkansas and he goes to the Texas League and he's really good there. The Mariners might have something here. If he struggles, then it's probably about the end of his time as a legit prospect to watch.

it's a big year for for sunstrom yeah yesterday we got asked on mailbag monday if there were any prospects that people aren't really talking about that we think could maybe sneak their way into a you know a cup of coffee at least at the big league level uh this year you mentioned uh sunstrom uh but even if he's able to just get to tacoma by years end i think that would be a successful year for him depending on how it how it looks down in arkansas but i think if he is going to get that call up to AAA then probably did something to earn it. If you could put the ball in play, get on base, play some pretty decent defense, steal bag every once in a while.

You got a good shot to get to the big leagues at some point. And that's kind of what Sunstrom is right now with a little bit of upside for more. For sure. All right. We're going to get into the rest of the prospects 30 through 21 in just a moment. But first, a reminder, this episode of the lockdown era's podcast is brought to you by select quote. The World Series, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the world's top athletes get to

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We are ranking the mariner's farm system here before the 2025 season, just went over prospects 30 through 28. Let's get into number 27 our list. That is Grant Nip, who the Mariners apparently plan on having him be a two-way player this year. Catcher and right-handed pitcher at Campbell. in college, 23-year-old, you had him ranked 29th, Colby.

I had him ranked 28th on our respective list. He was not ranked the last time we did this. The reason that I put him on this list is I'm just fascinated to see how this goes. And is he going to catch in pitch? Is he going to play somewhere else in the field? Is he going to DH in pitch?

Like, what is their plan with him? And, you know, how real is the pitching? for him because that's only something that he did in his senior year, I believe, at Campbell. Yeah. That could get shelved pretty quick because of the lack of experience. But, you know, 97 miles an hour off the mound with apparently 20 inches of vertical break on the fastball. That's fastball value. That'll play at the big league level.

So does he have a legitimate, you know, second pitch that he can get guys out with? Or is it just something that's kind of cool that like every once in a while, I mean, it certainly adds value. If he can pitch a little bit, then all of a sudden, like, he gets to the big leagues and he's a, you either stash him in your bullpen and he can hit or he's on your bench, but he could also pitch. Like, it's like having an extra roster spot. So that's interesting. So, yeah, but the raw tools here are super interesting because like 97 off the mound with,

with the vertical break on the fastball, obviously a plus arm behind the plate, lots of raw power as well. He hits the ball hard and far. are lots of loud. He hits tanks. Yeah. Yes. Kind of reminds me a little bit of Evan Gaddis at the plate. You remember Evan Gaddis? Yeah. Yeah. Who did catch for a little while, but ultimately kind of settled in as a DH. I think Nip might end up doing something like that. Fun little note on Grant. Now, he got hurt last year, didn't get to finish out his year, or he missed a chunk of

the year in college. And he didn't play at the pro level last year. So this will be his debut year. I assume Modesto is Willa send him, but Everett can't be written off here. But fun note, while he was playing and healthy, uh, Grant Nip led college baseball in slugging on fastballs on fastballs. Grant Nip last year slugged 1,200 against fastballs. So do you, do you can hit the heater. Uh, yeah. Um, I believe he, uh, hit 400 with a 1,200 slug was the final slash line against fast balls last year. So, super fascinating dude could take a big leap this thing could fall apart really quick and he could just be you know roster so it's a lottery ticket shot here sixth round pick uh kind of similar to brodie hopkins now the mayor's committed to hopkins is a pitcher very early on but it is just kind of that like really unique profile and the mayor sixth rounder just like brodie hopkins um this is a really fun player uh to kind of keep track of and um well and it's not often that you see a two-way play

player actually come into an organization and the organization goes, all right, yeah, you're going to be a two-way player to start things off. Usually they choose pretty quick. So yeah, but NIP again, 97 off the mound with 20 inches of vertical break plus power at the plate destroys fastballs. If he could catch at all like defensively, like, dude's probably going to be in the major leagues. So a really interesting player. Coming in at number 26 is 21 year old right-handed pitcher Ashton Izzy came in at number 25 on Colby's list, 26 on mine. It was 25th the last time we did

this. First full season of ball of pro ball for Izzy this past year. He did have 18 and a third innings pitched back in 2023, but 110 two-thirds down of Modesto this past year. pretty good in terms of the ERA, 285 ERA down in Modesto. The FIP and the XFIP not as great. Didn't strike out really anyone and also walked quite a few dudes. So someone that's going to definitely need to be in the strike zone more here. How do you feel about Izzy? He's interesting.

It was durable last year, which is always a great sign to make all your starts. And, you know, eat up innings as a 21-year-old. Probably going to start there in Everett. Again, he does have to throw more strikes. The fastball on slider right now are about average. They flash plus at times, but he doesn't really have a third pitch. Not getting a lot about, they're trying to develop a change up here. And ultimately, Izzy's stuff isn't so dominant that he can survive with two pitches.

So getting a third pitch is going to be critical for Izzy if he's going to stay in the rotation plans for the Mariners in the long run. And even if he's not, even if he does end up in the bullpen, he's going to need more consistency with the fastball on the slider, and he's going to have to throw a few more strikes with those pitches. So obviously, if you ditch the idea that he can start, you maybe speed up the delivery, add some violence to it,

velocity probably goes up. You just sell out for spin on the slider. That's typically how it goes with a lot of starters when they make that transition. So it does feel like Izzy at least has the bullpen as kind of like an escape hatch. things don't go well for him this year and next year. But if he wants to start, he's got to get the change up going, and he's got to find a way to throw a few more strikes, a few more quality strikes.

Because again, the stuff is okay. It's pretty good at 21. Not great, not elite. And the command's not elite. But he's durable. He is a pretty good athlete, pretty good delivery, pretty clean delivery from which to work with. And there is room for improvement here.

So Izzy is interesting. I think he probably starts Sear and Everett. I don't think he repeats Modesto. So we'll see. We'll see how he does in the northwest, the Pacific North. What is the Northwest League?

Is it the Northwest League? Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see how he does, 21 years old. It's not a make or break year for him, but if he can make strides with the change, I'll throw a few more strikes this year,

this could be a year that really, you know, catapults him into the top 20 of what will be a pretty loaded Mariners farm system. You're listening to the Lockdown Merritt's podcast. So we got, how many do we have left here? One, two, three, four, five more prospects to go over for today. It's tomorrow we'll do prospects 20 through 11 and then the top 10 on Thursday. So coming in here at number 25 is 19 year old right-handed pitcher Jeter Martinez.

Came in at number 26 for you, Colby. Number 25 for me, we had them all the way up to 18 the last time we did this. So a seven spot drop for Jeter Martinez. What changed? He stopped throwing strikes. Yeah. He walked nearly 17% of batters in the Complex League. Seven base on ball per nine.

He made 11 starts only with 39 innings to throw a ton of pitches. They're still good swing and miss stuff here. And he is only 19. He just turned 19 two days ago. And it's a really good profile bill to kind of dream on. He's 6'44. He's only about a buck 80. So you figure you could probably add 20 to 30 pounds of good weight and the fastball

Vila will go up and the slider's pretty good. Doesn't matter if he doesn't throw strikes. So this is going to be a pretty big year for Jeter Martinez because if he struggles to throw strikes again, then he kind of gets thrown on that back end pile with the, you know, in the days of like Nathaniel Garibitos where it's like, yeah, the stuff is there, but like, how can you trust him? Yeah. So he's got to throw a lot of strikes this year and he really does need to see Modesto to kind of

stay on this list. He's already slipping because of how he performed last year. But the raw stuff is there. The physicality is there. He's just got to improve. He's got to throw more strikes. Otherwise, his career might be in serious jeopardy if that walk rate doesn't improve pretty significantly this year.

And the weird thing is that he didn't have this problem in 20, 23. He was fine. He was actually pretty good in 2023. So it's not a stuff issue. It's a strike issue. Yeah. And that's one of those things that probably derails the career of any pitcher faster than anything out there.

Injuries, stuff, doesn't matter. If you can't throw strikes, your career is going to end pretty darn quick. Yeah. The reason that you fell for me on my list, obviously this is very redundant to say about any pitching prospect but there's a lot of reliever risk here and if he is a reliever

is he Carlos Vargas is he Chiago Vieira is he that kind of dude where the stuff is is huge but he just can't throw out for strikes and if that's all he is and he's not a very interesting prospect to me all right coming in at number 24

is another Martinez Kendry Martinez who's one of the mayor's two big international signing period signings. A 17-year-old infielder out of Santo Domingo. You had him 24th on your list, Colby, 23rd on mine. Obviously, it wasn't ranked the last time we did this because he wasn't in the organization the last time we did this. So it's hard to gauge a 17-year-old that you and I, we haven't seen.

We're going off of very limited reports. from the sounds of it, it seems like he has a pretty decent shot of staying up the middle, which I like. It seems like the bat is more contact oriented than power. That's about it. That's about all I know about Kendry Martinez right now until we actually see him play within the organization.

So, yeah, you have any additional thoughts on him? I've just seen a lot of 50s thrown on his tool set. So if he is 50 across the board, I think a lot of people assume that means that you're a 50 player, which, by the way, is an everyday big leer. But if you play a game where you don't have any significant weaknesses and you play up the middle, that's a 5560 player.

So there is actually legit upside here. Obviously, the question is, how do those tools develop? Because it's 17 years old, those are all projections. So it's possible that Martinez is a guy we're looking at in three years. is like, how do the Mariners make room for this guy because he is an up-the-middle player and they have young and Emerson and, you know, do they move Emerson to third base for this guy? It's possible it goes that way. It's also possible in three years. We forget this guy ever existed with the Mariners because

that's the way it goes for 17-year-olds a lot of the time. So, yeah, because he hasn't played yet, because he doesn't have, you know, standout tools, he's going to be lower on this list and he might be otherwise. But yeah, I think this is a pretty safe place for him. I did see somebody, maybe it was Joe, Joe Doyle, throw a, like a maxed out comp of Jeremy Pena on him. And Mariner fans know what a pain in the, you know what, Jeremy Pena has been to Seattle. So if they have a guy like that in their system right now who could potentially end up there, that's a really valuable player. So he's definitely a guy to watch. Unfortunately, it's probably going to be at least a full year before we see him state side, maybe even two.

But that's just the way it goes with these international free agent signage. You got to wait a couple of years to know what you really have. And sometimes they're Felman-Selston and sometimes they're, you know, Dewell Joseph. And so you never really know. By the way, didn't make our list. No. And so, yeah, I mean, Joseph was a hugely high prospect and he didn't make our list. That just goes to show you how, you know, hit or miss these guys are.

He had the biggest fault, I think, of anyone that was on our list, the last time we did this. I think he was 18th or something on our on our last list. And he didn't, he didn't make the the top 30 this time around. I'm just really soured on, on Joseph. Yeah. I mean, still, again, the, the beauty of these guys, though, is that because they're. Oh, they can quickly change. Yeah. Yeah. His profile could change. And we, when we do this again in July, Joseph could be 12, you know, like it, it happens pretty quick. But we, we, we, just as, you know, Ty and I, we do tend to kind of hold up on like these international prospects until we see them stateside until we see how they perform.

We do tend to lower them a little bit more than other rankings. But I do think this is about right for Martinez. He's an interesting guy. No question. Yeah. Yeah. Coming in at number 23 is 21 year old right-handed pitcher Tyler Guff. 22nd on your list, Colby, 24th on mine.

He was 24th the last time we did this. list. So another 21-year-old Ritey, just like Ashton Izzy, what puts Guff above Izzy? He has four pitch mix, like a legitimate four-pitch mix. Changeup is actually

probably his best pitch. And the fastball and a couple breaking balls are good. They're solid. He also, a little bit better in the walks department. I think there's just more upside in Guff. The downside here, though, is that, unfortunately Tommy John's surgery.

So Guff is apparently out for all of 2025, 21 years old. It's certainly not, you know, Tommy John isn't what it used to be. Guys come back pretty quick and then, you know, they work through. But it is still a year without development for Guff. So it really does hurt his ceiling a little bit right now just because it's going to take him an extra year to get to the big leagues. But there is a better shot that Guff is a starting pitch. pitcher at the big league level than is he right now. That's why he has the advantage for me, even with the Tommy John surgery.

But yeah, Guff, you know, could be a number four if he comes back and the stuff is all still there. And he continues to improve a little bit on a strike throwing. I think there's number four upside there for Tyler Guff. And I think that his reliever risk is significantly lower than somebody like Izzy. So, yeah, it's an interesting little debate you can have there. And I think you could go either way. I just like Guff's ability to stay in the rotation more than I like Izzy right now,

and that's why he got the edge. It also doesn't really feel like there's much room for him to grow, though. So it's high floor, very low ceiling. I don't think our opinions are going to change much on Tyler Guff, depending on how he looks, of course, once he gets back on the mound. Yeah, I think Guff was probably going to fall in our ranks when we do this again in July, but that's going to be because the Mariners are adding, at least three prospects

who are going to be higher than him when we re-rank this thing, probably four or five. But I do think that our opinion of Guff overall is going to be pretty much the same the entire time he's in the Mariners organization in terms of sealing and what he could be for Seattle down the line. There's just not a lot of growth left.

It's just about getting reps really more so than physically developing for Guff. Coming in at number 22 is, 24-year-old infielder Brock Roden came in at number 23 on Colby's list, 22 on my list. He was 29th the last time we did this. So pretty big jump,

biggest jump we've seen so far, unless you want to count the guys that weren't ranked in general. But a seven-spot jump from the last list to this one for Brock Rodin who won a gold glove this year. And Rawlings only gives one gold glove per position throughout the entirety of minor league baseball.

So that's quite the accomplishment for Rodin. And Colby, we've been talking about, you know, Dylan Moore is going to be a free agent next year. We've talked about Ben Williamson as a potential replacement, and we'll talk about him tomorrow. Spoiler alert. Spoilers. Yeah.

But we've talked about Williamson as a potential Dillan Moore replacement down the line. Could Rodin also be that guy? Could he also be in the mix to be that guy? maybe the key for him is can he hit and he didn't do that in his first opportunity at double a he was great with the bet and uh in everett but once he got to uh Arkansas he really struggled 64 games there 266 pled appearances slash 208 261 342 that's the 66 wRC plus that is not good but uh hey with a with a good year maybe he re-enters that conversation switch hitter small dude it's like five foot seven something like that uh but uh yeah he's a really interesting player and at the very least he can really play some

defense yeah i mean surprisingly good amount of pop for a guy his size 14 home runs last year nothing really to scoff at especially again for his size 29 stolen bases uh so he can run you can play a little bit of defense. He's a switch hitter. So yeah, if he can produce at AA and earn the call up to AAA, there's a very real shot. He makes his debut next year as kind of a second base, third base shortstop. Probably not, but maybe, you know, again, typically when you're talking about, you know, can a guy play shortstop? You only need him to do it for a couple of innings or at one game most. So just being able to field a ground ball there somewhat confidently is really all you need to be considered a utility guy.

So Rodin kind of has a little Leo Rivas to him. So if you liked Leo Rivas last year, Rodin is a similar idea. Probably more power there, but the power is limited just because of the size. It's very rare that you see a 5 foot 7 guy develop 20, 25 home run power to be an everyday player. But again, Roden doesn't have to because he's such a good defender. he's a good base runner. He's inter, it's a solid bat to ball skill. Strikeouts aren't an issue for him yet.

So yeah, this is a big year for him because, again, he's 24 years old and he's repeating AA, we assume. So if he doesn't produce, it starts to get pretty worrisome. Like his path to the big league shrinks really quickly if he doesn't have a very good year this year and at least he get to AAA with some success. So he's got to watch, but there is some downside. here because of his age and because of his struggles at double a he's not a sure thing to to get to the big leagues uh and honestly right now he's not all that close which at 24 years old

with a limited ceiling well and this is going to be technically his age 25 season he turns 25 in late may so yeah this is make or break for him yeah even though he's only been in the organization for a couple of years like it's it's go time already for for brock rodent but again like there is a pretty clear path here to him carving out a role with the big league club as soon as next year. So if he has a good, if he has a good year, then we might be talking about Brock Gordon

quite a bit in the next 12-ish months. He's, again, he's got a hit at double a and if he does, maybe. If he doesn't, probably not going to be on any of our list going forward. So it's a big year for him. All right, so the final guy that we're

going to talk about today coming in at number 21 is 24-year-old right and a pitcher Brock Moore, one of the mayor's draft picks last year out of Oregon. Colby, you and I both had him at number 21, so we're in lockstep on this one. He was 23 the last time we did this list. So really, my only question about Brock Moore is, do the mayorists think he can start? And how much time are they willing to give him to try and make that happen? If so, because again, he's already 24 years old.

He was a money saving pick. but there are some tools here to really like and if they just want to convert him into a reliever he could be on a very similar path to Hunter Cranton who we're going to talk about here in the next couple days what do you think about more potential of starting where he eventually winds up what role he eventually lands in all that good stuff

yeah more is interesting because he didn't get an invite to spring camp and I think we both kind of assumed you would. Hunter Cranton did. Yeah. Who was also drafted last year. I think that was one of the first things I texted you when we got the minor league invitees list.

Right. So to me, I mean, Cranton has no shot of being a starter. Moore has a small chance and maybe just maybe because the Mariners don't see more as an option

right now, potentially in 2025, whereas they clearly do with Cranton. Maybe that's why, he didn't get a shot. And maybe that means they're going to try and give him an opportunity to start. The delivery is a little violent to be a starter. So there are some longevity concerns there out as, you know, how he starts. And also there are some control command.

Can he actually keep it together for five or six innings? But the raw stuff is amongst the best in the entire system. It is a great fastball, really good kind of change up slider. He's got insane stuff. And he, if the Mariners just decide, that he was going to be a reliever, he could move incredibly. Like from the time the Mariners decide he's just a reliever, I wouldn't be shocked if he was in the big leagues within three months of that.

Because the command and control, obviously less important as a reliever. But if that's anywhere close to average, Brockmore has high leverage stuff. So he is a really fascinating arm. Huge upside here. Could be a closer type. Could also be the guy who never sniffs the big leagues because he just can't quite figure out how to throw enough strikes.

So there is some, some, you know, uh, floor here, but there's also pretty high ceiling. If he could start like it's a problem, it's not Matt Brash good, but like it's really good stuff. And you remember Brash as a starter and the kind of the problems he had in the Maris converted into the bullpen and one of the best relievers in baseball. And I think more can kind of be that guy where it's just like, hey, we need a couple of strikeouts here. Go get Brock Moore. He'll get us out of this jam. He does have that type of stuff. So how long of a lease would you give him on that?

Because again, he's 24 years old. I would have put him in the bullpen already. So, yeah, I think for me it's at most I'm giving him until June 1. Yeah. And if I don't see something that says this guy can start games for me next year, immediately to the bullpen and I'm probably rushing him up to double A. I don't know where he's going to start this year. I would assume Everett, probably, if they're going to start.

At the least. Yeah. Right. Maybe Arkansas. They do sometimes like to send guys to the warmer, you know, early season destination, particularly arms. So I think Cranton probably ends up in double A. And I think there's a pretty decent chance more as his teammate. Will they be bullpen mates?

Maybe. I think certainly they could be in Seattle. And that could be as soon as the end of this year. So he's a really fascinating guy. One of the guys I'm most excited to watch this year. Yeah, same, same. All right, so tomorrow we'll get into prospects 20 through 11. But for now, that's going to do it for our show.

Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Marrars podcast. For Colby Patnode, I'm Tadeng Azales. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Mariners. You can follow me at Tading Azales and Colby at CPAT 11. That's C-PAT-1. We're also in Blue Sky. You can follow me at TDG, Colby at MLB Colby, and the show at Locked-on Mariners.

Have yourself a beautiful baseball day, and we'll see you next time. Peace.