Mariners Minors: Braden Bishop – Center Fielder – Modesto

In this edition of Mariners Minors, we’ll take a look at Braden Bishop. This is a guy the fanbase seems to be pretty fond of. Honestly, what’s not to like? His stats are good, he’s only 23, and he looks somewhat like Bo “The Truth” Thompson from the NBC hit show “Superstore.” Plus he’s got a special relationship with his mother.

Background

Braden Adam Bishop was drafted in the third round by the Mariners from the University of Washington. While not exactly a homegrown boy (Bishop was raised in California), his time at UW surely garnered the attention of the local MLB team.

In his three years as a Husky, he hit .270, .304, and .295 respectively. That last year may have seemed like a decline from his sophomore campaign, but in reality, it was his best season. His SLG% went from .359 to .440, he drew almost twice as many walks in 2015 as in 2013-14 combined, and he hit his first college homer, then his second. And his third. And his fourth. He was named to the All Pac-12 and All Pac-12 Defensive teams in 2015.

Personal Life

Normally this is where we’d launch into Bishop’s time in the Seattle organization, but before we get there, we’re going to look at something that will make you fall in love with this guy.

Bishop’s mother, Suzy, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, and since then, Braden has become a big advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness. It started simply, with him writing “4MOM” on his arm prior to games. Then he started a charity with that same name. Through his play and his social media presence, he’s fighting to raise awareness for the disease. Check out the 4MOM Twitter page here.

Career with the Mariners

Bishop has been in the organization since 2015. In his first year with Everett, he hit .320 with 2 homers and 22 RBI. He posted an OPS of .760 with the AquaSox.

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He split his 2016 time with Advanced-A Bakersfield and Full-A Clinton. Across the two teams, he hit .273 with an OPS of .665. It seemed like he’d taken a step back, until he took the field in 2017.

With Modesto this season, he is currently hitting .309 with 23 RBI and a career-high OPS of .814. His plate discipline is an impressive part of his game, as he has posted 37 walks to just 44 strikeouts.

Final Thoughts

He’s only playing A ball right now, but he seems to be progressing well, and could quickly rise through the ranks. The problem facing Bishop currently is that there is a logjam of talented outfielders in the higher ranks. With an already crowded outfield in Seattle with Gamel, Haniger, Heredia, and Dyson, plus Leonys Martin sitting at Tacoma, it will be hard for Bishop to crack into the bigs.

Next: Mariners Minors: Danny Muno - Third Baseman - AAA

It would not surprise me if, as he climbs up the ladder, gets floated as a trade piece. Nevertheless, it will be fun to watch Bishop as he tries to make his way to the big league.