2026 Prospects Thread

[D-train]

Fangraphs has posted the Mariners' Top 25 for 2026: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/seattle-mar ... prospects/

This is way earlier than usual. I think last year they finally posted for the M's in July or something like that. Maybe this means they'll do a mid-season refresh? Also, there's a new guy doing the writeup now, Brendan Gawlowski. I don't know if this means Eric Longenhagen has moved on or not.

Wow what a thorough write up. I love the part about Montes d which pretty much shatters The DH only Stereotype that people have been parroting for years about him

[harmony]

Baseball America podcasters discuss the Seattle farm system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAshZWvSnJw

[D-train]

Hoping for a lot better year for the Farm system in 2026 vs. 2025. A lot more negatives than positives.

Good
Miracle that we were able to draft Kade
Sloan shaping up to be an Ace
Emerson developed power

Bad
Gave up on Ford for a Project reliever
Cole Flopped
Ben Flopped
Laz and Arroyo struggled in AA
Celesten hit .285 but minimal power
Peete was terrible. .217/.692

[desbcoach]

Hoping for a lot better year for the Farm system in 2026 vs. 2025. A lot more negatives than positives.

Good
Miracle that we were able to draft Kade
Sloan shaping up to be an Ace
Emerson developed power

Bad
Gave up on Ford for a Project reliever
Cole Flopped
Ben Flopped
Laz and Arroyo struggled in AA
Celesten hit .285 but minimal power
Peete was terrible. .217/.692

Flopped is harsh, more of a tepid debut.

[D-train]

Hoping for a lot better year for the Farm system in 2026 vs. 2025. A lot more negatives than positives.

Good
Miracle that we were able to draft Kade
Sloan shaping up to be an Ace
Emerson developed power

Bad
Gave up on Ford for a Project reliever
Cole Flopped
Ben Flopped
Laz and Arroyo struggled in AA
Celesten hit .285 but minimal power
Peete was terrible. .217/.692

Flopped is harsh, more of a tepid debut.

Well Ben did play great D and Cole had a nice 50 game run so there are positives I would call tepid a high 600s OPS and they both were barely over .600.

I posted this in the other thread but this really nails it.

Screenshot 2026-01-15 072428.png (60.37 KiB) Viewed 59 times

[AZOldDawg]

Kind of stupid for the 3 J’s to just sit there and try to get away with a steal with bats out there that are probably going to get picked off by other competitors. You win with performance and lose with potential. We’ve got a small window for the ring and shouldn’t blow it due to greed

[GL_Storm]

Hoping for a lot better year for the Farm system in 2026 vs. 2025. A lot more negatives than positives.

Good
Miracle that we were able to draft Kade
Sloan shaping up to be an Ace
Emerson developed power

Bad
Gave up on Ford for a Project reliever
Cole Flopped
Ben Flopped
Laz and Arroyo struggled in AA
Celesten hit .285 but minimal power
Peete was terrible. .217/.692

After reading the writeup on Peete on Fangraphs, my take is that he's a prospect in name only. Of course, he remains an excellent athlete so there is some hope, but that writeup did not paint a pretty picture.

[D-train]

Hoping for a lot better year for the Farm system in 2026 vs. 2025. A lot more negatives than positives.

Good
Miracle that we were able to draft Kade
Sloan shaping up to be an Ace
Emerson developed power

Bad
Gave up on Ford for a Project reliever
Cole Flopped
Ben Flopped
Laz and Arroyo struggled in AA
Celesten hit .285 but minimal power
Peete was terrible. .217/.692

After reading the writeup on Peete on Fangraphs, my take is that he's a prospect in name only. Of course, he remains an excellent athlete so there is some hope, but that writeup did not paint a pretty picture.

Yep he is a lottery ticket at this point.

[D-train]

Oof

Two years on, though, Peete hasn’t reliably turned all of that talent into baseball skill or production. The scariest part here is that he doesn’t seem to track pitches well. He’ll often swing uncompetitively over spin (the 44% whiff rate on spin is perhaps the most glaring data point in his chart) or chase fastballs well out of the zone. It’s not a bat path issue, as he actually manipulates the barrel head pretty well, but he’s often either not on time, swinging at pitches well off the plate, or both. His front hip leaks early, which tends to make this issue particularly stark on pitches on the outer third, and Peete has no chance on changeups that fade off the plate low and away. Understandably, it sounds likely that he’s going to repeat High-A.

[desbcoach]

Mariners drop 4.1 mil for 2 signees

Rijo #15 Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

JoJo Parker was a late-blooming Mississippi high schooler who soared up Draft boards in 2025 as he showcased an advanced approach at the dish and a sweet swing that was geared for loft, especially as he matures. Rijo gives off similar offensive vibes to the eighth overall pick, a hitter who has refined his mechanics and begun to tap into more all-around impact as he gains more high-profile experience.

In his younger days, Rijo gave off a Jon Jay-esque profile as a high-contact, hit-over-power left-handed-hitting corner outfield bat. But in the pivotal development years since, he has enjoyed a growth spurt and packed on some good weight, which has allowed both his raw power and in-game ability to tap into it take a leap. Rijo has an advanced knowledge of what he wants to do in the box and allows the ball to travel, which helps him spray hits to all parts of the diamond. His track record of success in tournaments as an amateur, coupled with those big-time power gains, puts an up arrow next to his name as he enters pro ball

Pio
uting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

San Pedro de Macorís has emerged as a veritable hot bed of baseball talent on a yearly basis, often producing big leaguers with one of the highest per capita rates in the Dominican Republic. Pio has the tooled-up lean and wiry look that many of his predecessors – such as Alfonso Soriano – did at the same age. There is loads of projection to dream on with Pio’s 6-foot-1 frame, bolstered by the fact that he’ll be just 16 when the 2026 international signing period officially opens.

There’s presently plus raw power coiled up in Pio’s strong right-handed swing, which often ends with a one-handed follow through. While he’s currently power-over-hit, he does frequently rip the ball from gap-to-gap. Pio has loads of bat speed but he’ll need to refine his pitch selection and chase rate in pro ball. Ultimately, it’s a high-risk, high-reward offensive profile, one