Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Why the Seattle Mariners SHOULD Have Claimed Eugenio Suarez + Chatting With Eric Jeon

Starting point is 00:00:00 Good vibes only, part three. We'll tell you why it should happen coming up. 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 Thursday, August 27th, 2026.

Starting point is 00:00:25 My name is Tadding Azolos, and I'm joined as always by my co-coast, Colby Patnode. A little later on in today's show, I'll sit down with the Mariners' 10th round pick in this year's draft, Eric Giann. He was, of course, the number 21 prospect on our Mariners top 30 re-ranked we did last week. Really fun conversation. I think you guys will enjoy it.

Starting point is 00:00:42 He is a very, very impressive kid. But before we get into that, we got to talk about a Eugenio Suarez, who's been placed on outright waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, and the Mariners should have a pretty decent chance to claim him. Waivers obviously work in reverse order of the standings, and the Mariners have one of the worst records of any playoff contender in the sport. But the only question is, are they willing to add the $3 million roughly that Gino is owed for the rest of the year? They should, in my opinion, but we'll see.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Now, it's been an overall pretty bad year for Gino. He, of course, missed about a month with an oblique strain back in late April, early May-ish. He's slashing just 208, 295-4-10 with a career high 34.9% K-rate. However, in the month of August, he's actually been pretty good. He's slashing 237, 362, 500. That is a 134 WRC plus in 94 plate appearances. Now, apparently, he was placed on waivers before Tuesday's game. So the window to claim him could be up by the time you're watching this.

Starting point is 00:01:49 So you may already know what happened with him. There's also a chance that Gino could hit free agency after this. If he clears waivers and the Reds try to send him to the miners, he can opt for free agency. but whatever the case may be the argument for the mayor is to claim Gino or sign him after he clears waivers and hits free agency is simple you have Patrick Wisdom and Weston Wilson on your bench end of argument really but even with Gino's overall struggles this year what he brings to the table off the field and the hot stretch he's on right now to me is absolutely worth taking the shot on. Yeah, I think it's also worth noting that we're having two separate.

Starting point is 00:02:39 There's two separate conversations here. One is, will the Mariners claim Gino? I think the answer is probably no, but the bigger question is, should they trade Gino? And whether they do or not, or should they claim Gino? And whether they do or not, that's a conversation worth having because what it comes down to is, do these marginal upgrades still matter for the Mariners? And I think, you know, at the end of the day, you can argue all you want. But if your argument includes, well, it's $2.5 million, $3 million.

Starting point is 00:03:10 That's not an argument I want to hear because we're talking about should they claim Gino, not will they? And if you're going to let $2 to $3 million prevent you from claiming a player who very well could be the difference between you making the playoffs and not, then I don't want to hear your side of the argument. But this is a baseball decision. And a baseball decision is that Gino is, regardless of how much he struggled. he's better than Weston Wilson and he's better than Patrick Wisdom. And keep in mind, rosters are going to expand in like four days. So it's not as if you can't just send down wisdom if you like him that much

Starting point is 00:03:45 and then call him a back up in four days. You can still do that or you can call it Michael O'Royo. And also keep in mind, you don't have to play Gino every single day. You ride the hot hand here. You have plenty of versatility with Donovan at third base. You have Cole Young who can play shortstop. You have openings, you have openings in the outfield because Taylor Ward hasn't really gotten it going. There's nothing wrong with having one of Gino, Nailer, Ward, Donovan, Canzone, Young,

Starting point is 00:04:17 with having one of those guys on your bench at the start of every game for the next month. I mean, especially Ward right now. There's nothing wrong with that. So why wouldn't you take advantage of it? It is chump change in the grand scheme of things. he is a significant upgrade over who you currently have on your bench. And honestly, he's a significant upgrade over who is starting at third base until we know when Donovan is getting back. And also, if you have an everyday type of third baseman, Donovan gets to show off another skill set that he has that we haven't really gotten a scene this year, which is his versatility and his ability to play multiple positions, which frees you up to play more matchup based, you know, attacks later in games or, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:00 when you have a, hey, this guy's sinker fastball or a sinker slider guy, you know, Gino struggles against the sinker. Let's sit, Gino today or whatever it is, right? So it really is free. I mean, it's very little money in the grand scheme of things. And if you're a fan, money shouldn't factor into this. Again, if your ownership, and this is why I don't think they're going to claim him ultimately, ownership cares very much about pennies.

Starting point is 00:05:28 and I don't see them claiming Gino because of that. But should they? Yes. The answer is yes. They should. It really is a very small amount of money. And just to throw this out there too. They should also claim T.J. Friedel.

Starting point is 00:05:42 But Gino, it's a no-brainer. He's better than anybody you have on your bench right now. He is capable when he gets hot of carrying you for weeks at a time. The clubhouse energy, the vibes that he brings into the clubhouse. It's not just about the good vibes only. It's about the leadership. It's about the been there, done that before. It's about the calming influence.

Starting point is 00:06:02 You know, we talk about this all the time when, when Scott used to go to Gina when he was struggling and he'd say, hey, you know, I know you're not feeling great at the plate right now, but I need you to bring that energy. And he did. And it's something that, you know, Julio responds to and JP responds to. It takes maybe a little bit of pressure off of Cal. Like there's just so many baseball reasons to do this. And the only reason not to do it, frankly, is the money. And that's, again, not a factor for us at least. because it's not our money.

Starting point is 00:06:29 We don't care. And I want the earners to spend money to get as good as they possibly can because I still care about making the playoffs regardless of what their record is when they get in. And Gino helps you do that. He does. He does. And there are a multitude of ways that you can deploy him as well.

Starting point is 00:06:45 You don't necessarily have to throw him out there at third base, which honestly probably shouldn't want to do with any sort of regularity. Throw him at DH. I mean, Taylor Ward has been dreadful since coming over. so like ward can find the bench frankly and you can go canzone Julio Randy most nights in the outfield and have Gino D.H. You can also have Gino play a little bit of first and give Nailer a blow here and there. The other thing too that I've seen is like well if they add Gino then

Starting point is 00:07:12 how are they going to be able to give Michael Royo at bats in September. Are we sure that they're even planning on doing that in September? I mean if they're planning on doing it in four days, I don't know why they wouldn't have been doing it for the last week. but well and like and and to your point as well like I felt like the reason that Arroyo hasn't been called up is because he he has struggled in August there are some things that you can point to you that he you know should be working on

Starting point is 00:07:39 so maybe they don't feel that he's ready are they suddenly going to think that he's ready in a week yeah when roster is expanded or less than a week here when rosters expand like I mean and again what are we worried about having too many good players on the roster we're going to pretend that's a thing. Well, and also like, what are we prioritizing here? Are we prioritizing development or are we prioritizing trying to get to the playoffs? Yeah, I just, the Arroyo thing to me, whatever. I think you should have been called up two weeks ago.

Starting point is 00:08:13 They decided not to. So what? All of a sudden, two weeks, like, you're telling me they didn't want to send down Patrick Wisdom to call it Michael Arroyo anytime over the last week. like get out of here. And by the way, apparently Arroyo is not a factor whatsoever in their third base discussions. Otherwise, we'd probably see some of that. Although Arroyo has been getting pregame work at first base recently. Yeah. So, but. Which is another reason that I bring up the Gino-Naylor thing. Because clearly they think, hey, we're probably should get Nailor off his feet a

Starting point is 00:08:45 couple times this month. He's obviously been playing through stuff all year. Now he's got the neck thing on top of it. So Gino continues to make more sense. And again, If Arroyo's not going to factor in at third base, he hasn't taken any reps at third base all year. Then Gino's not taking out bats from him anyways. So, yeah, it just, there's really no sense of it to not do it except for the money. And again, for us, for our purposes, the money is irrelevant. For, you know, Jerry Depoto, who has to answer to John Stanton, obviously very relevant. So, you know, again, I ultimately two different conversations here.

Starting point is 00:09:22 Do I think they'll claim him? no, but that could be proven true or false literally before we end this recording session. And you guys will know that. But as for whether or not they should, that is a conversation that continues. And the answer is yes, they absolutely should. Whether they do or not, I don't know, but they should. And it really is a no-brainer. All right.

Starting point is 00:09:43 Coming up, we are going to visit with Mariners' 10th round pick, Eric Gian. But first, a reminder of this episode of the Locktime Marries podcast is brought to you by five-hour energy. and game time. If you've got a sweet tooth like I do, then you know how tough it is to find that perfect treat without all the sugar. That's why the fruity rainbow five-hour energy shot

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Starting point is 00:12:11 locked on podcast network your team every day thank you so much for making us your first listen for all things mariners and also thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network so it's only a couple of days after the draft that uh you know i checked the locked on merri's twitter account I looked at our notifications and I saw you've been followed by Eric Gianne, Aaron's 10th round selection out of Stanford. So naturally, DMed him said what's up. You know, welcome to Seattle, all that good stuff. We'd love to have you on the show.

Starting point is 00:12:44 And he was super down to do it. So we finally made it happen. Finally got to set down with Eric. And it was a fantastic conversation. And now you guys will get to hear it. So I hope you enjoy. All right. I'm here with Mariners' 10th round selection out of Stanford this summer, Eric Gian. How's it going, Eric? Appreciate you hopping on.

Starting point is 00:13:05 I'm doing well. No, I appreciate you for having me on here. Yeah, thanks so much. You know, it's been a while that we've been trying to get this setup, and we're finally able to make it happen. And you've already kind of met some of the Mariners content creators already. I know you did an interview with my buddy Jake from Raisa Triton, and I'll have that linked in the description of this episode, for anyone watching.

Starting point is 00:13:29 If you want to go watch that, it's going to be a little bit more of an extensive interview than this one will be. You guys kind of know the drill here on lockdown. We do shorter episodes around here. But I've made sure to put together some questions here that Jake didn't necessarily ask. So, you know, Eric, so you're not having to say the same thing as you did on that interview. And again, I implore you guys if you're watching to go watch Eric's interview that he did with Jake as well.

Starting point is 00:13:56 It's really, really good stuff. So Eric, just to get us going here, tell us a little bit about your draft day experience and also the decision to turn pro because you were a junior, right? So you didn't have to turn pro if you didn't want to. So kind of what went into that decision and all that? Yeah, for sure. I mean, draft day is, you know, once a lifetime thing, right? That's the thing that I've been working for the most in my life. And, yeah, it was great.

Starting point is 00:14:27 you know, that comes with uncertainty, and there's a lot of uncertainty when it comes with a draft. So, I know, you know, day one wasn't probably going to be a possibility for me, but I knew early day two to like midday, early day two and midday two was going to be a possibility. So, you know, I woke up early that morning, made sure, you know, I'm not missing any texts from, you know, my agent or, you know, some teams. but once that clock started ticking, I was just very anxious and very eager to know who I was going to go to. But yeah, my buddy from Stanford, Aiden Keene and Ventaro went in the seventh and eighth round, and they found out, I would say like a good, like 30 minutes before they got their name called. So I knew, you know, you're probably going to get a call before your name is called.

Starting point is 00:15:19 from either your agent or the people in the front office of the organization you get drafted to. So I was just, you know, waiting on that call. Just staying right by my phone. My parents were right there. At the time when I was going through that process, it was just me, my brother and my mom and dad. And then, you know, after all, we went through this journey together, right?

Starting point is 00:15:43 You know, we've been working for this moment, all four of us as a family. So I thought it was special to, you know, know, at least enjoy the moment with them first before I started inviting other friends and family members. And so, once I found out, I was going to Seattle. That was around the ninth, beginning of the ninth round. You know, we shared our moments. We were very emotional. And, you know, it's like a dream come true, right? And like you mentioned, you know, that decision wasn't easy, but I think, you know, it's something I've always wanted to do, right? You know, become a big league or playing the World Series,

Starting point is 00:16:17 being an officer, all those type of things. And once, you know, the Seattle Mariners decided to pick me, I thought it was a no-brainer for me to, you know, then transition into becoming a pro because, you know, I've heard a lot of great things about the Seattle organization, you know, whether it's development or the people there. So I thought overall, you know, the decision was pretty easy in terms of, you know, making the next jump and step in my baseball career

Starting point is 00:16:44 and pursuing that pro. um career but yeah i mean draft day like i said it was amazing after the fact that i got kicked uh it's a little stressful before but yeah it was fun um after after i got the call for my agent um my two best buddies my childhood friends were they were just like they're able to make it just in time um to see my name get called so we shared that moment and then afterwards i invited two family friends um and a bunch of uh other um um friends along the way that, you know, have helped this dream come true.

Starting point is 00:17:22 So it was a little bit of everything. But yeah, I mean, it was the best day of my life for sure. That's awesome. Well, congratulations, man. That's so sick. No, thank you. Obviously, that's an opportunity that so few people, even with how many rounds there are in every MLB draft.

Starting point is 00:17:40 It's an opportunity that so few people really get to experience. And that's so cool and that's so cool that you and your family and your friends all got to share that experience. So I want to talk a little bit about, or I kind of want to expand on something that you were talking about with Jake in your interview with him, where you mentioned, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:59 because you transferred from Columbia to Stanford in your final year of college ball. And, you know, you initially went to Columbia, not just to play baseball, but for academic purposes as well. And that's obviously a big, that was a big focus for,

Starting point is 00:18:17 you in college coming out of high school. So I want to know about how you developed your work ethic and specifically balancing academics and baseball at the same time and performing at a high level in both. Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, that work ethic piece, I learned a lot through just watching my parents live their life, right? You know, my parents' background, you know, they're both from South Korea. All, you know, all my family members are still in South Korea. So, you know, they left their families in hopes for, you know, me and my brother Kev to get a better opportunity, you know, in the States and just, you know, have a better, like, I guess, like lifestyle in a sense, you know, in terms of opportunity. So, you know, they've been working extremely hard. And my dad, you know, he, I've learned a lot through him in terms of work ethic and how to build that work ethic and balance everything.

Starting point is 00:19:13 you know he he works like damn near six days a week six or seven days a week my mom's what i call a baseball mom a house so i've been a baseball mom and yeah um she's the MVP for sure but i think i've learned a lot to do them but yeah to talk about that work ethic piece um i learned a lot in high school i would say the beginning of high school when now you're you know challenged to handle the academic piece as well as playing, you know, varsity baseball. And so, you know, you're going to learn through a lot of, you know, successes and failures. You know, you see, you see what works for you, what doesn't work for you. And I think the biggest thing was time management. So, you know, we, I would have class anywhere from, you know, 730 in the morning. And then I think

Starting point is 00:20:02 we end at like 2.30. After that, we have practice with the high school. And after once you, Once that practice is finished, I usually got straight to my homework, finish that. And then that's whatever baseball activity I was able to do, whether it's hitting the cages, go to the field, take some grounders, go get a hitting session in with my hitting coach, or getting a lifting, you know. And I did that every day after I finish everything. So I think through like trial and error kind of thing, you know, you figure out what works for you. And especially making a decision to go to Columbia, you know, it was very important for me and my family to find that academic piece when choosing in college, you know.

Starting point is 00:20:52 After all, you know, you never know when baseball is going to end for you, when your career is going to, you know, be over. So if that's the case, you know, you never know with career ending injuries or just some unfortunate circumstances, you need to be ready for the next chapter in your life. and I felt that, you know, academics provides a very good kitchen. And so Columbia offered the best of both worlds, obviously, you know, a high-end, a high-level education, and then a Division I want baseball program that competes for a championship year-in-year-in-year-out. So I felt like that was a no-brainer for me and my family. But, yeah, I think learning from my parents for the biggest thing.

Starting point is 00:21:30 I'm just like, it wasn't easy for them to leave their family behind. But just, like, witnessing it firsthand and how much, effort they put in to support me and my brother, I think that, you know, is a huge, I guess, like, lesson for me. More from our conversation with Eric Giann in just a moment, but first, a reminder of this episode of the Locktime Airs podcast is brought to you by Clutch Parles. I was juggling a couple different apps the other day, and then I realized to myself, why don't I just use our friends at Clutch Parles?

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Starting point is 00:22:54 line shopping, predictions, bet tracking, analytics in one place so you can bet with more confidence. And you're listening to the Locktime Errors podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. As always, if you want to hear from me and Colby even more and help support the show, have a Patreon. It's called Control the Zone. There we talk Mariners, Seahawks, all

Starting point is 00:23:15 that good stuff. For more information, go to patreon.com forward slash control the zone. Link in the description of this episode. So as we predicted before we even wrapped up recording this thing, E. E. E. Henni Oswres and T.J. Friedel have cleared waivers.

Starting point is 00:23:32 Now we'll see if the Reds try to option either of them or both of them to the miners and see if either opt for free agents. but yeah, there you, there you have it. The Marys did not claim a Johanio Suarez. Anyway, back to our conversation with Eric Gian.

Starting point is 00:23:53 So I told you this before we hit record on this thing, that, you know, when you got drafted, I got multiple texts from people being like, you got to check this kid out. And the one common thing that I was told about you when I first heard that you had gotten drafted was, he's annoying to face. Right.

Starting point is 00:24:15 As an opposing pitcher. He's a pest, right? So tell me about how you developed your approach at the plate and your ability to dominate the zone, because that's obviously a big thing in the Mariners organization. Control the zone. I'm sure you have been told that a billion times already entering the Seattle Mariners organization. And that has something that is something that you were already naturally doing. in your college career.

Starting point is 00:24:42 So how, again, how did that develop and just how do you specifically view hitting? Yeah. Yeah, I've learned all that through hitting sessions, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:58 live A-Bs, in-game, you know, everything. It's just a culmination of everything that I've been through in terms of like the offensive side of baseball. But yeah, I want to be a pest.

Starting point is 00:25:10 I want to make you hard for the pitcher to get me out. I want him to, you know, try to get me out with whatever that he's got at the moment, right? You know, I don't want myself to just give up an A-B. I want to make it as hard as possible and make sure that he's earning his outs if he's going to get me out, right? But yeah, controlling the zone is big for me, and I've kind of, like, understood how to do that through a lot of case sessions with my hitting coach. I've been hitting with my hitting coach for the past seven years. We do a lot of hard training, whether it's like cranking up the machine, using light, flat balls, baseballs, whatever I may be.

Starting point is 00:25:51 We do a lot of angle machine and just like throwing everything, you know, curveballs, sliders, sinkers, change it. Just like making sure I know where my zone is and I'm spitting on good pitches and I'm doing damage on the ones that are in the damage zone. So, yeah, I would say, like, how I view offense. You know, I just want to, you know, pass a baton to the next guy. By the same time, I want to do some damage, right? Like, I want, like the Mariners have been saying, do damage early, discipline late. And so that's something I've been doing this past season in college as well is, you know, really dominating my part of my zone and making sure I'm not missing any mistakes.

Starting point is 00:26:38 And then when it's time for me to, you know, fight and stay disciplined late in the count, just like spinning on pitches that are borderline and then hammering pitches that, you know, they leave over the plate. So, yeah, I think that's kind of like how I found success is being able to, like, understanding who I am as a hitter. You know, I'm not going to be able to cover the whole, you know, like box, the strike zone box. So understanding what parts I do well in. And then on the other ones, make sure I could spoil and spoil late.

Starting point is 00:27:14 And then spit early, I would say, is the biggest thing. So I only have access to your 2026 metrics here. But in this season, you pulled the ball in the air at an extreme rate. You were 99th percentile per overslaught baseball. Is that a jump that you took from the last? because obviously you missed a considerable amount of time with a hamate injury. But when you got back and started playing for Stanford, was that a considerable jump that you took or is that something that you've always done?

Starting point is 00:27:45 And can you just, you know, kind of speak to pulling the ball in the air with consistency? Yeah, I think that was also, everything's done with intention, you know, and everything that I do. I would say for sure going into that winter break this past winter, what I worked on a lot with my hitting coach was contact point. And I think that at first, you know, I was doing a very good job of hitting balls deep. But, you know, damage is done out front, right? So I think getting comfortable with hitting balls out front.

Starting point is 00:28:20 You know, at first, you know, it kind of feels like you're really going out there to go get it. But over reps and time, I felt that I was naturally able to catch balls out front consistently. And I think that's the biggest thing. I don't try to pull the ball in the air. That's not like a, that's not like something I'd be, I would be thinking about in the box. I just think it's like all contact points.

Starting point is 00:28:42 So I dedicate a lot of, like that metric and the stat to the work that I put in with my inning coach and also understanding how to turn behind the baseball, which is what the Stanford coaches have like, kind of like both their program around is, make sure you're not drifting, turn behind the baseball, and make sure you're making efficient moves to the baseball.

Starting point is 00:29:09 So I think a combination of this new philosophy at Stanford, and then what I worked on over this past winter helped me look at the end of the season, and I guess I didn't even know, but the 99th percentile of pulling the baseball in college baseball. So you mentioned earlier that you heard a lot of really good things about the Mariners, organization before you were drafted there and obviously around the time that you were drafted, but what did you know specifically about the mayor's organization before you were drafted there, if anything? And what have you learned about them since joining the organization? Yeah. I mean, like you see a lot of their development, I think. I think their play development is

Starting point is 00:29:53 definitely one of the best in pro baseball right now. And that's what I've heard is they develop guys really well. And they know what they're doing. And that's what I was excited about mainly was development because, you know, I'm eager to, you know, get to work and make sure, you know, I'm, like, reaching the next steps in pro-based post so that I could achieve my dream. But in my time here, I've learned a lot more. I would say everything is done with intention. We have a lot of phrases on purpose with purpose. And we do a lot of things. and we have like phrases that really mean something to us and the organization rather

Starting point is 00:30:34 than just like words on you know a blank canvas or just words on a t-shirt right um and i think the biggest thing that i've um learned and come to realize is the people here everyone i mean i love everyone here uh whether the staff the guys that i just met um latin guys or the coaching staff or whoever may be, I think that's the biggest thing is every single person here is personable. They're genuine, and I feel a genuine connection with every single person here, which is something I value. This draft class is a pretty tightly net group. I'm close with, you know, Damien, everybody.

Starting point is 00:31:17 And so I think that's a good time is when the Mariners pay attention to who they're bringing into the clubhouse and the organization. I think that's huge in terms of success within the organization and at the highest level. So I think the biggest thing that kind of caught my eyes to people here being so welcoming and accommodating for everything. So I'm not sure if this will work out because obviously there's the potential lockout coming for the majors and all that stuff. So we'll see if you guys kind of line up and wind up in camp at the same time in spring.

Starting point is 00:31:56 But if that does happen, and if you do have the chance to cross paths with any of the Mariners, big leaguers, who would you love to meet and maybe bend the ear of? I would say there's probably three. I would say definitely Cal Raleigh, Randy or Rosarena, and Hillary Rodriguez. I think, you know, like Randy's been a super competitive guy, you know, especially a huge performer in high pressure situations in the playoffs. So I would definitely want to pick his brain on that. And then, you know, Cal with the 60-over season last year, I just want to understand what went through that, you know, like how he felt, you know, how do you-

Starting point is 00:32:35 Maybe get some of that magic a little bit. Yeah, a little bit, you know. Hopefully I get hit 60 homers soon. Yeah, just pick his brain on how he was able to consistently, you know, perform so at the whole course of the 162 game season and the playoffs. And then obviously, who he is, you know, one of the young, electric superstars in the league. So just like understanding what he does well

Starting point is 00:33:03 and how he's able to perform consistently at the high stage. Absolutely. You and I have texted a little bit back and forth about this already, but for those listening, just tell us a little bit about your experience in the bridge league so far down in Peoria. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's starting. a couple years ago, but it's basically for the rookie guys and the draft guys to get acclimated

Starting point is 00:33:32 to pro-wool. And I've learned a lot already, whether it's on defense, base running, offense, just the mental game, I think, is the biggest part is, you know, they preach that the mental game is super important. And I think just like hearing talks from, you know, we had a couple of guys that played in the big leagues. And, you know, we had Mr. – was he with the – Mr. Meritor come and give us a talk and just like kind of I'm sure his knowledge and then we had a big leaguer who's doing some rehab just like give us insight on like what it takes to get to that level and then how those guys are able to stay for so long and I think that's like knowledge that you'll never be able to get unless like you know you talk to these guys that have done it and

Starting point is 00:34:18 at the highest level so yeah I've learned a lot honestly in the past like month and a half. But yeah, I'm going to continue to offy soak in as much information as they can and pick the brains of people that have done it. I've gone to the highest level and just kind of understand what they would do different if they were in my shoes right now. So yeah. So about a year from now, you'll be nearing the end of your first full year in Pro Ball. What are you hoping to accomplish in that time? Um, honestly, like, I want to make a huge step forward, right?

Starting point is 00:35:03 Hopefully, you know, I'm making a jump in terms of like the next level, you know, whether it's, I start an inland and then go to Everett or, you know, wherever I start, I do want to make the next jump. But I think the biggest thing for me is, you know, winning a championship for whatever team I'm playing with at the moment. And just, I know it might sound cliche, but, you know, seriously just getting one percent better each and every day. Like I feel like if I put in continuous effort day in and day out over the course of a long season by the time I look, we're done with the season and I look down

Starting point is 00:35:37 and just like reflect on the season. I want to be able to say like, yeah, I give my all. I for sure am a better baseball player than I was, you know, six months ago. And I want to be able to, I guess, refine and sharpen my tools in my toolbox, whether it's, like you said, dominating his own, you know, being a pest in the box, or just like dominating the little things like making the routine plays, getting that extra 90 on the base running side. I think if I'm able to really hammer down and really, like, get really, really good at the little things, I feel like everything will take care of itself. And yeah, I think the biggest thing for I don't really try to look at stats or anything in numbers and chase for like a batting average or anything.

Starting point is 00:36:30 I just want to be able to say that I made a huge impact on the team and whatever may be, whether it's offensive defensive or base running side. I just really want to help the team win, you know, bring home a championship. Well, Eric, we got a lot of Marers fans who listen to this show. Is there anything you would like to say to them before we get out of here? Um, yeah, I know. What are you on the spot? Yeah, I would say I would appreciate all you guys for all the support that I've received all

Starting point is 00:37:05 so far and what's it to come. But you're getting a gamer, a guy that's going to give everything he's got, going to play with some passion and energy. And as a dot, like, I hate to lose. So I'm going to do whatever it takes to win, help the players around me. And, you know, I'm going to play. I'm going to bring it every single day. So I'm excited for my first full season of pro ball.

Starting point is 00:37:33 But there's a lot to come. And I'm hoping you guys can enjoy the ride as well. Love it. Love it. Well, Eric, man, it was so awesome. Finally getting to meet you kind of face to face, of course, here on the internet. And, you know, it was really just a fantastic conversation. you are very impressive and good luck the rest of this year and let's catch up again soon.

Starting point is 00:37:58 For sure. No, I appreciate you for having me on the show. Thank you so much. All right. That is going to do it for our show. Thank you again to Eric for joining us and thank you so much for joining us here on the Locktime Marriss podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day for Colby Patnode.

Starting point is 00:38:13 I'm Tadeng Azalas. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L underscore Mariners. You can follow me at Tadangazales and Colby at C-Pat-11. That's C-PAT-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 and TikTok

Starting point is 00:38:27 at Locked-on Mariner's. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day, and we'll see you next time. Peace.

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