Here's Mariners' new Top 30 prospects list
Daniel Kramer
@DKramer_ANAHEIM -- The Mariners’ farm system began the year as one of the highest ranked in baseball. They’ve already seen the fruits of some of that talent contribute in a playoff chase in 2022.
Yet the graduations of players like Julio Rodríguez and George Kirby, and the big trade of Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo and Levi Stoudt to net Luis Castillo ahead of the Trade Deadline has given the pipeline a major facelift. It’s not as deep as it was a few months ago, but that was somewhat to be expected.
In this post-Deadline and post-Draft period, MLB Pipeline unveiled the Mariners’ new Top 30 prospects rankings on Tuesday. Atop that group sits the uber-athletic Harry Ford, the backstop whom the Mariners selected with last year’s first-round pick. Speaking of which, there are quite a few new additions from the 2022 Draft class, too, including first-rounder Cole Young.
Here’s a look at the Mariners’ top prospects:
1. Harry Ford, C (MLB No. 68)
2. Emerson Hancock, RHP
3. Gabriel Gonzalez, OF
4. Cole Young, SS
5. Bryce Miller, RHP
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Bryce Miller, RHP (Preseason: 24 | Midseason: 5) -- Miller has been one of the best strikeout artists in Seattle’s system, and he hasn’t experienced a dropoff since being promoted to Double-A Arkansas in late July. He has gotten hit a little more consistently with his new team, but his ability to miss bats could have him progress rapidly through the system.
Fall: Kaden Polcovich, 2B (Preseason: 25 | Midseason: NR ) -- Seattle’s third-round pick in the shortened five-round 2020 Draft has struggled to get his bat going consistently at Double-A. He lacks power, which is fine and was mostly expected, but he has also not been a consistent on-base threat like the club had envisioned.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
1. Cole Young, SS (Draft)
6. Walter Ford, RHP (Draft)
9. Tyler Locklear, 3B (Draft)
17. Ashton Izzi, RHP (Draft)
29. Josh Hood, SS (Draft)
30. Tyler Gough, RHP (Draft)
Impact callup: Emerson Hancock, No. 2
While injuries haven't let the 2020 first-round pick live up to advance billing, Hancock has been looking more and more like himself in 2022. While the M’s have monitored his workload closely, he has been impressive in Double-A, with a 2.43 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and .205 batting average against. Anyone who saw him strike out the side in a perfect Futures Game inning with mid-90s sinkers couldn’t help but think he could come in handy coming out of the big league 'pen in the final month or so of the season.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 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 -- Cole Young
Power: 60 -- Lazaro Montes
Run: 70 -- Jonatan Clase (Victor Labrada)
Arm: 60 -- Josh Hood
Defense: 70 -- Milkar Perez
Fastball: 65 -- Bryce Miller
Curveball: 55 -- Juan Pinto
Slider: 55 -- Prelander Berroa (Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller, Ashton Izzi)
Changeup: 55 -- Emerson Hancock
Control: 55 -- Taylor Dollard