The one where Caleb Cali is in the header
Another week of Seattle Mariner minor league baseball is in the books with plenty of great developments to dive right into. Let’s kick things off with the even-keeled Rainier squad that’s beginning to look like a serious threat in the PCL.
Tacoma Rainiers
17-10, T-1st in Pacific Coast League West
Tacoma, land of the bullpen pile, continues to clock in with series wins. Locking down a 4-2 series win this past week, Tacoma has been a steady force all year and finds themselves at the top of the PCL. With a bit more prospect pedigree than in years past, it’s safe to say they’ve got a real shot at staying competitive all year long and should be playing some quality ball through the summer months.
It was a big week for Cade Marlowe at the dish. Collecting 11 hits in a six game stretch (Sunday’s game was called after six innings due to rain), Marlowe raised his average 66 points in the series and is starting to look a bit more comfortable at the plate. There’s always going to be some swing and miss to his game, but he still remains a valuable depth piece for a big league outfield that’s been shaky to start the season.
Cade Marlowe blasts a solo HR! pic.twitter.com/VivuZmDUvR
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
Another hitting superlative has to go to catcher Blake Hunt. Acquired from the Rays in an offseason trade this last winter, Hunt has been unstoppable thus far. With an OPS eclipsing 1.000, Hunt slugged his first two dingers of the year on Sunday and is beginning to look like a potential option for the back up catcher role in Seattle. The hulking catcher was a victim of the annual Tampa Bay roster crunch and is already on the Seattle 40-man, perhaps making a potential promotion a bit easier on the front office. I’m not sure if Hunt would be a fit for the roster assuming Seby Zavala remains on the team, but if they choose to cut ties and go a different direction, the cabinets aren’t completely bare. He’s definitely a player to watch for in the next coming weeks.
Blake Hunt blasts a 3-run HR. pic.twitter.com/h1QC5I0UQi
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
The aforementioned bullpen pile continued to be solid for the Rainiers and remains a secret stash the Mariners can pull from should they need help with innings moving forward. Arms like Kirby Snead and Joey Krehbiel are having great years after signing as minor league free agents while bigger name acquisition Carlos Vargas has continued to look good in minimal action. As an added note, Bryan Woo completed his second rehab start and was again very good, logging 3.1 IP and 6 K’s with no earned runs. He’ll likely throw one more outing then rejoin the major league squad shortly after that.
Final line for Bryan Woo in his 2nd rehab start:
3.1IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 6K, 49-31. pic.twitter.com/kQuttkVaYd— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
Tacoma will take on a tough Sacramento team, San Francisco’s affiliate.
Arkansas Travelers
13-8, 2nd in Texas League North
Here come those Travelers! Securing a 4-2 series win against a formidable Springfield team, the Travs have clawed their way back from a rough opening series and find themselves breathing down the neck of first place. The big time bats have started to get on a roll as of late and have transformed this Arkansas lineup to a potential juggernaut that’s allowed them to take four straight. It’s still not firing on all cylinders just yet, but this is about as good as we’ve seen from them all season.
Spencer Packard crushes a 2-out 2-run double scoring Jared Oliva & Cole Young. 3-0 Travelers. pic.twitter.com/37daL3i6vP
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 27, 2024
Harry Ford has officially arrived. After a brutal start that began with a hitless streak spanning into the fifth game of the season, Ford has been on a tear offensively and has elevated his season numbers into respectability. Clobbering three homers over a five game stretch, Ford notched a hit in every game he played last week and drew an impressive seven walks. Since logging his first hit, he’s been one of the best hitters on the team and is firmly back to looking like one of the best prospects in the sport.
Harry Ford crushes a 2-run HR! Red hot. pic.twitter.com/vkbEK2CVgO
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but Tyler Locklear just keeps getting better and better I can’t help but include him in every writeup. With a 9-21 series that included seven walks and four doubles, Locklear is near the top of every offensive statistic and has cemented himself firmly in the big league picture. I’ve been a big proponent of Locklear since he’s been in the organization and comfortably have him as one of the five best prospects in this top heavy system. He’s not flashy, but he’s one of the most sound hitters I’ve watched play minor league ball. There’s no need to promote him right now, but if he’s still clobbering the baseball like this come June, the front office will be forced to take a hard look at the active roster and find a way to get his bat into the lineup.
Tyler Locklear crushes an RBI double scoring Harry Ford. pic.twitter.com/59EEv653Es
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
On the mound, Logan Evans continued his excellent start to the season, logging 8.1 IP across two starts. His first start, perhaps his best of the season, was a five inning shutout with eight K’s. The walks are still a bit too high and the strikeout numbers are low, but Evans’ evolution in just one offseason is pretty remarkable. It’s not every day a pitcher is able to make the jump to Double-A in his first full professional season, and it’s even more rare they start the season off with a 1.99 ERA through their first five starts. It’s looking like the M’s got yet another dude in the 2023 draft.
Logan Evans was awesome tonight. Final line: 5IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 8K, 78-54. pic.twitter.com/A4SWhrM11L
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 24, 2024
The Travs take on San Antonio next week, a Padres affiliate.
Everett AquaSox
7-14, 6th in Northwest League
Still in a bit of limbo, the AquaSox managed a series split against an equally middling Tri-Cities squad. The Everett squad has struggled to string together wins so far and hasn’t been able to fully bounce back from their dreadful start. There’s definitive improvement that have been occurring, but they’re still firmly in the last place position of all four Seattle affiliates.
The hitting was pretty much status quo this week, with Ben Williamson putting together yet another solid week guys like Jared Sundstrom (who homered) and Brock Rodden chipping in here and there. It’s a really solid group of players, but this lineup is sorely lacking a middle of the order thumper or two that are lurking down in the Modesto lineup. As soon as some of those bats are ready to make the jump, I’d expect this Everett team to really take off. Until then, this team is likely to be closer to the bottom of the standings than the top.
Ben Williamson mashes a 3-run double! 7-0 Frogs. pic.twitter.com/r9h3QatcKu
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 23, 2024
Offense aside, I’ve really liked what I’ve seen out of several AquaSox arms these past few weeks. As far as starters go, Michael Morales, Ty Cummings, and Juan Burgos have all been throwing the ball really well to start the season. Morales, who had struggled to take his arsenal to the next level and really break out in two years at Modesto, is pitching to a 2.86 ERA this year and has looked more like the Mariners hoped when they drafted him in the third round of the 2021 draft. Cummings, last year’s 7th rounder out of Campbell, threw a gem this week where he only allowed one hit over five innings and accumulated six K’s to just one walk. Working a two seamer in the mid-90’s with a high spin slider, he’s been having his way with opposing hitters and holds a season ERA of 2.84. Finally, Burgos, who has been converted to a starter this year after working exclusively as a reliever last year, has looked fantastic and has a 2.92 ERA to start the season. All three have been a bright spot for an AquaSox squad that could really use the good vibes.
Ty Cummings was great today. Final line: 5IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 6K, 80-49. Retired the final 12 batters in a row. pic.twitter.com/ITbNfhQvpe
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 27, 2024
Everett takes on Hillsboro next, an Arizona affiliate.
Modesto Nuts
14-5, 1st in California League North
Even with several injuries hampering the usual juggernaut that is this Modesto lineup, they managed to scrape together a 4-2 series win over a poor Stockton team. With Jonny Farmelo out of his usual leadoff spot due to a shoulder injury (fortunately it doesn’t sound all that serious), the return of Colt Emerson from his oblique injury was a more than welcome sight. There’s been some ups and downs for many of the top prospects gracing the Modesto lineup, so to have the ever-steady Emerson back is sure to act as an anchoring presence for the squad.
Colt Emerson rockets an RBI single scoring Caleb Cali. 9-0 Nuts. pic.twitter.com/QMmGvPeeSL
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 28, 2024
It was a big week for the dynamic duo out of the 2022 IFA class, with both Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo having monster weeks at the plate. Montes, who had been in a bit of a down period the past week or so, went 8-27 with some major damage done. Tallying 11 RBIs for the series, Montes got back to his power stroke against Stockton and slugged two homers and three doubles. Arroyo, acting as the ideal table setter in Emerson and Farmelo’s absence, went 8-21 with 7 RBIs and an impressive six walks to just three strikeouts. Arroyo’s upped his season OPS over .900 after his hot streak and Montes now sits at .848, a more than respectable mark. With both players showing considerable development in key aspects of their games (Arroyo’s power and Montes’ contact), it’s hard not to get excited despite being less than a month into the season. Should they keep up this quality of play, they’ll find themselves in the Northwest League in no time.
Lazaro Montes had a BIG weekend
The @Mariners prospect went 3-for-6 with a double and a home run on Saturday, which followed him going 3-for-5 with a double and a home run on Friday.
( ️ @MsPlayerDev)pic.twitter.com/IqLSHE9lz9
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 28, 2024
I have been trying to fit Caleb Cali into one of these recaps for the past several weeks, however with as loaded as this roster is, it’s been tough to find room for him. Considering he’s sustained his absolutely torrid streak of hitting over his first ~60 PA’s so far this season, I cannot push a writeup back any longer. Last year’s 16th rounder, the former Arkansas Razorback has been laying waste to the California League’s pitching and looks every bit of a former SEC contributor. With a current slash line of .392/.508/.569, it’s difficult to find a hole in his game right now. Quite frankly, I’m not really sure why he’s in Modesto at all. He had somewhat elevated K rates in a tiny sample size last year and there was some concern with contact ability coming out of college, but it seems to me that a promotion to Everett might provide more of a challenge for the 23 year old who has competed at the highest level in college and found success. It’s not a knock on the player ability at all; he’s more than earned his flowers thus far. I’m just hoping to see his considerable improvements translate against improved competition because as of right now, it doesn’t seem to be much of test.
Caleb Cali rockets a double. Now batting .350. pic.twitter.com/TFHDVIqJBZ
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 27, 2024
On the mound, the excellent pitching seen throughout the organization this week trickled on down to the Cal League where we had a couple of outstanding performances. Brody Hopkins, the uber-projectable right hander out of last year’s draft class, had a fantastic showing that saw him go five innings of two hit, one run ball with eight K’s. While Hopkins has been lights out his past two starts, no one was quite as good as Elijah Dale this week. In an outing where he did not surrender a single hit, Dale completed six innings and allowed two baserunners all night (1 HBP, 1 BB). He’s been nails for Modesto thus far and his stuff has really stood out to me as some of the best on the squad. The walks could assuredly be improved, but there’s plenty to get excited about as a potential addition to the pitching lab success stories.
Elijah Dale on Saturday night? Unhittable.
The @ModestoNuts starter threw 6 no-hit innings, striking out 8. @Mariners | @MsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/fY5k608Kes
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 28, 2024
Modesto will duke it out with Rancho Cucamonga, the LAD affiliate tied for first with them atop the standings.
That’ll do it for this week’s write up. As always, thanks for reading and GOMS!