Breaking down Mariners' new Top 30 Prospects
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This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SEATTLE -- It’s been one month since the MLB Draft, and all of the Mariners’ selections have reported to lower-level affiliates, with some even reaching Single-A Modesto already.
As such, with the dust settled on the Mariners' 19 selections of 2023, MLB Pipeline has unveiled its midseason re-rank of its Top 100 list across the sport and the Top 30s for each club.
The Mariners received a fairly notable facelift among their group, headlined by each of their top three selections -- Colt Emerson (No. 22 overall pick), Jonny Farmelo (No. 29) and Tai Peete (No. 30) -- all cracking Seattle’s Top 10 in the prospect re-rank.
Here’s a look at the Mariners’ top prospects:
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Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Alberto Rodriguez (Preseason: 28 | Midseason: 18): The youngster was promoted to Double-A Arkansas to begin the second half and has slashed a formidable .255/.306/.327 (.633 OPS).
Fall: Taylor Dollard, RHP (Preseason: 9 | Midseason: 22): Dollard suffered a shoulder impingement that has sidelined him to the point where he’ll be out for the rest of the season.
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New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
4. Emerson, SS (Draft)
9. Farmelo, OF (Draft)
10. Peete, SS (Draft)
Aidan Smith, OF (Draft)
Teddy McGraw, RHP (Draft)
Ben Williamson, 3B (Draft)
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Impact callup: RHP Emerson Hancock
What more impact could you expect than the farm system’s top pitching prospect immersing himself in the thick of a pennant chase with the performance that he showed on Wednesday? Hancock is here to stay, probably even after Bryan Woo returns from the 15-day injured list, in large part because the Mariners will need pitching reinforcements down the stretch.
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Best tools
Players are graded on a traditional 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 60 -- Young (Emerson)
Power: 60 -- Lazaro Montes
Run: 70 -- Jonatan Clase
Arm: 60 -- Ford (Peete, Smith)
Defense: 55 -- Felnin Celesten (Peete, Smith, Ryan Bliss, Williamson, Axel Sanchez)
Fastball: 60 -- Prelander Berroa (Ty Adcock, Isaiah Campbell, Travis Kuhn)
Curveball: 50 -- Hancock
Slider: 55 -- Prelander Berroa (Hancock, Ashton Izzi, Campbell)
Changeup: 55 -- Hancock (McGraw)
Control: 60 -- Dollard