Mariners Minor League Recap, Week 12: June 17 - June 23

Promotions inbound?

Welcome back, prospect fans! This week marks the official end of the first half. Records are resetting and the second half race has already begun. Take it away, Tacoma!

Tacoma Rainiers

43-32, 2nd in PCL West

The Rainiers were never all that close to a potential playoff spot, however they end up finishing the first half an impressive nine games over .500. With as much turnover as they endured, I’d say they did an admirable job at staying competitive and should have a more consistent roster for the majority of the second half. Obviously, the priority remains supplementing the big league club, but it’s always nice to see the Triple-A squad winning on a regular basis.

Jorge Polanco was in town on a rehab assignment and appears to be back to full strength after his lengthy IL stint. Clobbering three homers in four games, Polanco went 5-15 and should be back with the big league team very soon. As he wasn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s game after playing the previous four in a row, the expectation is he’ll be available for the opener against the Rays on Monday. If Polanco is back to his former self, he’d be an absolute boon for a Mariner lineup that is in desperate need of a pick-me-up.

If you missed it earlier this week, Seby Zavala cleared waivers and has been assigned to Tacoma. He remains in the organization as depth. With Cal playing beat up, they’ll likely need to add another backstop in the next month unless they want to resort back to Zavala later on this season.

Next up: Tacoma travels to take on the Space Cowboys.

Arkansas Travelers

36-22, 2nd in Texas League North

An unfortunate end to an up and down first half culminates in a 3-2 Sunday afternoon loss that ultimately costs the Travs their first half championship. The Travelers needed just one win in their final three games to take home the title, and yet managed to fall just short each and every time. While this isn’t the same team it was when the season started, the lack of oomph coming out of this lineup is quite disappointing. They’ll need to find something in the second half to have a shot at returning to the playoffs.

Harry Ford had a bit of a bounce back week after some struggles in the month of June. Going 8-32 at the dish against Wichita, Ford has maintained his excellent OBP skills despite his power waning. Still a very passive hitter, Ford may benefit from being a bit more aggressive at the plate with the hope of seeing better pitches to hit. The raw power is in there, but he is yet to get to it in-game consistently. If he can string together some productive weeks leading into July, I’d expect his name to be quite popular come trade deadline.

As an interesting note, Ben Williamson has been bouncing around across the infield in recent weeks. Logging time at both second base and shortstop, the usual third baseman seems to be flexing some additional versatility in his profile. While I think it’s still likely he ends up at third as a premium defender, it’s certainly never a bad thing to have the ability to play up the middle. Perhaps it’s only temporary, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

Next up: Arkansas takes on Springfield, the first half champions.

Everett AquaSox

2-1 3rd in Northwest League

A fresh start is just what the doctor ordered for an Everett team that played some sneaky good ball for the bulk of the first half. They enter the second half as one of the more dangerous teams, especially with the expected influx of talent they should see soon. Their pitching has been a pleasant surprise thus far, with two de facto aces on the staff and a bullpen that has held its own. Be on the watch for some incredibly fun baseball to come out of Everett over the next few months.

There’s truly been a trio of trouble atop the lineup for the Frogs. Brock Rodden (5-19 2HR) and Jared Sundstrom (8-22 6BB) both had excellent weeks and have gotten much of the attention from us here at the site, however Victor Labrada has been undeniably good for the AquaSox this season and deserves some commendation for his production. Labrada managed to slug two homers, a triple, and a double to pair with six walks and four stolen bases in his seven games this week (one makeup game was played due to a postponement earlier this year). A recent Driveline graduate, the now 24 year old Labrada is looking to finally break out of Hi-A ball and re-enter the folds of the system’s prospect ranks. I’d expect him to get a crack at Arkansas sooner than later.

I would say that Brandyn Garcia looks like the steal of the 2024 Mariner draft class, but with just how ludicrous the class ended up being, he’ll have to take a step back and join the club of uber-talented ballplayers that seems to grow in size every week. With a scoreless six inning gem that saw him K twelve and walk just one, Garcia lowered his season ERA down to 2.02 and has not allowed more than one run in an outing since May 2nd. The lefty is throwing his excellent stuff over the plate and Hi-A hitters are simply outmatched. The control is improving, the command is improving, and the stuff was already there. I’m not sure how aggressive they’ll be with Garcia, but he’s proved he can dominate in Everett.

Next up: Everett hosts league leading Spokane.

Modesto Nuts

1-2, 3rd in California League North

After taking down the North division with relative ease, Modesto figures to look considerably different in the coming days. Now that all levels of the minor leagues have finished their first half pushes, it would seem like a natural time to promote the cohort of deserving players up to Everett. Considering neither was in the lineup on Sunday, I’d be shocked if Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo were not playing for the AquaSox this week (health permitting). Arroyo, who was hit on the hand by a pitch, hasn’t played since Thursday night, however he was able to hold his batting glove when exiting the field and is yet to hit the IL. Assuming the club expected to promote him, this could just be a cautionary move to let him get back to 100%. Outside of those two, I’d expect the rest of the Modesto core to remain in A-ball for the time being. There’s been plenty of good signs coming from guys like Aidan Smith, Tai Peete, and Luis Suisbel, but not enough where they’ve got to promote them just yet. Being overly aggressive with prospect promotion is not something the Mariners do and its paid off in a big way so far this season.

Assuming this is it for Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes in Modesto, lets recap just how good both of them were donning the uniform. Across 98 games, Lazaro Montes posted a slash line of .313/.417/.540, good for a .957 OPS. Starting as just an 18 year old last summer, he’s proved to be a wizard with the bat and looks to be one of the better sluggers that has come through this minor league system in a long time. Arroyo, who logged 117 games at the level, slashed .258/.397/.442 across two seasons and holds a .904 OPS this current season. They both have been stellar Nuts and their time spent with the team is sure to be remembered fondly.

The pitching figures to look largely the same as it did in the first half as we lead up to the draft in July. With the majority of the staff so young, it’s unlikely the rotation will lose any key players to promotion. Tyler Gough, Will Schomberg, Ashton Izzi, Elijah Dale, and Brody Hopkins have all shown flashes of intrigue this season and will look to build upon their success in the second half. Not that this staff needs any help, but I’d expect some reinforcements once the draft finishes up and the final wave of promotions occurs. We’re still a few weeks away from all this happening, but it’s something to be cognizant about.

Next up: The Nuts look to jump back atop the standings as they take on the lowly Stockton Ports

ACL Mariners

18-18, 2nd in ACL West

It was a big week for young shortstop Felnin Celesten, who just last week was coming off the first rough stretch of his young career. Logging a 9-13 week that included three doubles, a triple, and a homer, Celesten was unstoppable all week and is vying for a shot at Modesto. It’s not as though a promotion is necessary for his development to continue, but he’s certainly looking like the next step up might do him some good.

Walter Ford had a nice outing this week, hurling three shutout innings and surrendering just one hit. I don’t expect Ford to pitch in Modesto this season as they’ve typically played it very slow with the few high school pitchers they’ve taken, but there’s still plenty of upside in his profile regardless of how slow his development track is. It’s still largely an unknown, but Ford remains just 19 years old with improving production.

DSL Mariners

6-8, 6th in Dominican Summer League Central

Out of the cellar, baby! The DSL M’s turned things around this week and are starting to gain some traction after a pitiful first few games. Gabriel Guanchez, a young catcher out of Venezuela, had a fine week at the plate where he collect five hits, one of which being his first professional home run. He’s one of the few guys on this squad that’s gotten things going so far and should be a consistent contributor all season.

That’ll do it for this week’s roundup. GOMS!!