2025 Prospects Thread

[Donn Beach]

They literally did that this entire off season.

I like it. I'm probably more prospect-huggy than most but I don't think there was much out there to trade prospects for.

I’m fine with it. It’s clear that they aren’t going big in free agency, so let’s just hope they strike gold with a few prospects and find a way to resign Raleigh, Kirby and Gilbert

What is expectation of that, and not because the mariners are cheap. Even teams willing to spend, red Sox, blue Jays, Astros aren't managing to retain their best players. Keeping one of them is probably more than to be hoped for. It's about replacement rather than retaining

[Juliooooo]

I like it. I'm probably more prospect-huggy than most but I don't think there was much out there to trade prospects for.

I’m fine with it. It’s clear that they aren’t going big in free agency, so let’s just hope they strike gold with a few prospects and find a way to resign Raleigh, Kirby and Gilbert

What is expectation of that, and not because the mariners are cheap. Even teams willing to spend, red Sox, blue Jays, Astros aren't managing to retain their best players. Keeping one of them is probably more than to be hoped for. It's about replacement rather than retaining

In what world is expectation equal to hope?

[Donn Beach]

The braves have done it has anyone else?

[Lamda]

I like it. I'm probably more prospect-huggy than most but I don't think there was much out there to trade prospects for.

I’m fine with it. It’s clear that they aren’t going big in free agency, so let’s just hope they strike gold with a few prospects and find a way to resign Raleigh, Kirby and Gilbert

What is expectation of that, and not because the mariners are cheap. Even teams willing to spend, red Sox, blue Jays, Astros aren't managing to retain their best players. Keeping one of them is probably more than to be hoped for. It's about replacement rather than retaining

As I've said before - Raleigh is gone.... he wants to win and he's already been vocal about his displeasure at the team doing jack squat to make the team better the last few years when we've just been a player or two away from making a legit run into the playoffs.

[D-train]

Can't hoard prospects

They literally did that this entire off season.

I like it. I'm probably more prospect-huggy than most but I don't think there was much out there to trade prospects for.

Exactly which means one of the key pillars of their draft develop and trade model has crumbled to the point that despite have the top rated system they were able to convert a single one of their prospects into a mlb player.

[D-train]

By Adam Jude
Seattle Times staff reporter
PEORIA, Ariz. — The reactions from Manny Acta said everything.

The Mariners’ 56-year-old bench coach threw dozens of pitches to three of the Mariners’ most promising prospects during batting practice Thursday afternoon on Field 2 of the Peoria Sports Complex.

Two swings, in particular, stood out.

Colt Emerson, the sweet-swinging 19-year-old shortstop, began one round by lacing an opposite-field line drive to left field, eliciting a loud response from Acta.

“Oh, sick!” Acta hollered.

On his penultimate swing of the day, 20-year-old Cuban slugger Lazaro Montes launched a towering fly ball to right-center field, the ball nearly peppering a light pole as it landed well beyond the fence.

Standing on the pitcher’s mound, Acta made a pronounced 180-degree spin, tilting his head back and staring at Montes’ blast until it landed.

In an interview after the session, Acta didn’t shy away from bolstering the growing — and glowing — expectations surrounding this crop of Mariners prospects.

If anything, he was happy to add to the hype.

“This is a special group. I think that this is probably the best group I’ve seen that’s coming up together at the same time,” said Acta, a player and coach in pro baseball for four decades.

A third prospect in the afternoon hitting group, 20-year-old Colombian second baseman Michael Arroyo, showed off his pull-side power with a couple long home runs to left field, drawing further approval from Acta.

Montes, Emerson and Arroyo were invited to big-league camp for the first time, and they’re three of the crown jewels of a Seattle system that many publications rank as one of the best in baseball. Catcher Harry Ford and shortstop/second baseman Cole Young, two other top prospects, are also back in big-league camp, pushing for an outside chance to earn a spot on the major-league roster.

“This is an opportunity I’ve been wanting for a while now, and I just can’t describe how (good) I feel about it,” Montes said earlier this week through interpreter Freddy Llanos.


Up Next - Reese McGuire's two-run double

Montes is a can’t-miss prospect in camp — as in, it’s impossible to miss the 6-foot-5 and 250-pound hulk. A full-grown cactus casts a smaller shadow.

For all of Montes’ raw power, though, Acta said he likes that Montes has appeared to embrace an all-fields approach in the batter’s box. It’s an approach the organization has pushed in the minor leagues the past few years, and the sort of old-school philosophy that new hitting coaches Edgar Martinez and Kevin Seitzer are now emphasizing with the big-league club.

“I enjoy throwing BP to those young kids,” Acta said. “That’s a good opportunity for us to see them. I can bust them inside to see how quick their hands are, and also go back in and out to see if they use the whole field.”

That approach, Acta said, is particularly important for Mariners hitters who will play the majority of their games in T-Mobile Park, MLB’s most daunting environment for hitters. It’s a similar situation at the Mariners’ Class AA club in Arkansas — another notoriously pitcher-friendly park.

Montes, Emerson and Arroyo, after finishing last season at High-A Everett, all figure to earn a promotion to Arkansas at some point this year. And if they can survive the rigors of hitting in Arkansas, the Mariners figure they’ve found the right kind of hitters who can play at T-Mobile too.

“These kids bought into that philosophy before Edgar and Kevin took over here, and it’s good because they’re now a step ahead of the crowd,” Acta said. “They’ve been doing that the last couple years already, and they understand that going through Arkansas, they know that’s not an easy ballpark to hit in. So they’ve had that philosophy of trying to hit line drives at home and then on the road, they can pick up their long balls.”

Emerson motivated
Emerson was still 17 years old when the Mariners selected him in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft.

What has he learned in a year and a half as a pro ballplayer?

“That it’s a huge commitment,” he said. “It takes a lot of sacrifice. And I think for me, at least, it’s easy to sacrifice when the goal is to become a big leaguer and become a World Series champion and become just what you’ve dreamed of. So it’s really a no-brainer for me, but it takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work and a lot of self-discipline.”

It’s worked so far for Emerson, who appears to be on the fast track to the big leagues.

Most publications rank him among the top-20 prospects in baseball. The Athletic’s Keith Law is most bullish on Emerson’s future, ranking the shortstop as the game’s No. 5 prospect.

AquaSox shortstop Colt Emerson makes contact during an Aug. 13 game in Everett. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)

AquaSox shortstop Colt Emerson makes contact during an Aug. 13 game in Everett. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
With his own locker in a major-league clubhouse for the first time this spring, Emerson said he is eager to watch and learn how established big leaguers go about their daily routines and how they prepare themselves physically.


“That’s going to be the biggest thing for me, is just still trying to grow and become more knowledgeable about what works for me, and it only takes experience,” he said.

Emerson missed about two months last year because of a broken foot. He made up for lost time with a strong debut in the Arizona Fall League, a showcase for top prospects in October and November. He hit .370 and led the league in doubles in his 54 at-bats.

“Last year, you know, I could have sulked about getting hurt. Could have sulked about not getting the opportunity to keep playing because I broke my foot in a weird way,” he said. “But I didn’t take it like that. I took that as, ‘All right, I’m gonna take this two months in rehab, I’m gonna get better and I’m gonna come back better than I was.’

“Because there’s nothing worse than you getting hurt and then you come back and you’re still just not the same. But it wasn’t going to be like that for me.”

[GL_Storm]

Lookout Landing are doing their prospect writeups: https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2025/1/9 ... t-rankings

[GL_Storm]

Baseball America deep dive on Mariners prospects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=marJdtdhv_g&t=138s

[Pharmabro]

135 days until draft!