2 realistic September call-ups Mariners should make, 2 we only wish they would

With roster expansion coming up on Sept. 1, you wouldn't blame the Mariners if they were pining for the old days. More specifically, the days when a 25-man active roster could be expanded to use any player on its 40-man roster. Nowadays MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 players, which compromises organizations such as the M's, who have tremendous and deep farm systems.

Of course rules are rules, but there are few organizations who would be better-placed than the Mariners, to take advantage of continually discovering, drafting and developing good young talent. In addition for this year in particular, a huge injection of youthful talent and enthusiasm sure could help what has mostly been a disappointing and underperforming team. Instead, Jerry Dipoto and company must think carefully about who gets the call up for next Tuesday.

2 call-ups the Mariners will or at least SHOULD make at the beginning of September

Michael Arroyo

It would seem the proverbial cat has been let out of the bag when it comes to what's planned for Michael Arroyo next month. As speculation circulated on Thursday morning about claiming Eugenio Suárez, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times all but dismissed this by suggesting it was hard to see the Mariners taking away potential at-bats from Arroyo in September. Irrespective, the 21-year-old has proven he deserves the chance to show what he can do in The Show.

Arroyo is currently the Mariners' top hitting prospect and third overall for MLB Pipeline, and while he still has things to work on, he continues to gradually improve. He might not be quite highlight reel material like Lazaro Montes, but he makes consistent contact with the ball, and has handled his promotion to Triple-A Tacoma well in producing a .823 OPS through 41 games. He can also fill an invaluable need for the M's, as someone who offers considerable positional flexibility.

Lazaro Montes

Montes might have lost his position as the Mariners' top hitting prospect in MLB Pipeline's farm system rankings, but woe betide anyone who dares to underestimate him. This guy is an absolute beast who continues to show why he's the M's two-time reigning Minor League Hitter of the Year. He has already hit a career-high 37 home runs this season, and has taken his offensive game to another level since being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma.

The main concern is that Montes has a 30.9% strikeout rate on the season, which feeds into the narrative of critics who call him an all-or-nothing one-trick pony. However, he's done an excellent job on improving his overall contact as the year has progressed, while not compromising his almost violent power. In addition, he's an underrated energy guy who could help compensate for the disaster that has been Taylor Ward since he was acquired from the Orioles.

2 September call-ups we can only hope the Mariners will make, no matter how unrealistic

Ryan Sloan

There's never been any dispute on how talented Ryan Sloan is, to the point that some media analysts and scouts believe his ceiling is higher than Kade Anderson. However, where Sloan has struggled more than Anderson up to this point, is with his rhythm and consistency. This was evident through his first 10 starts this season in Double-A Arkansas, where he mixed tantalizing glimpses of his ability with downright awful displays that resulted in a 5.09 ERA and .802 OPS.

Since then however, Sloan has really found his game and in the past nine outings has produced a 2.35 ERA and .569 OPS, which should have him knocking on the Major League door. The problem is that the Mariners already have too many starters, while Dipoto has alluded to how they don't want to put him in the bullpen and risk sabotaging his development. As such it seems unlikely he will get the call-up on Sept. 1, which is a shame given that the experience would be invaluable for him, while also boosting a bullpen which is struggling badly and hanging on for dear life these days.

Boston Smith

Boston Smith has only been in the Mariners organization for about two minutes (give or take a month or so), but he's already become one of our favorite prospects. At the time of the Luis Castillo trade, we thought it was too good to be true that Smith was included as part of the return package, and since then he has only gone on to reinforce this sentiment. A player who saw a meteoric rise through the White Sox's minor league system, has been even better since arriving in the Pacific Northwest.

Smith has been ridiculously good in Double-A Arkansas, producing nine homers and 19 RBI in just 19 games, and keep in mind 12 of those games have been at Dickey-Stephens Park, which is notoriously hard to hit in. Overall it has added up to a 1.190 OPS and 202 wRC+ which both exceed what he achieved for the White Sox in Double-A Birmingham. To be clear, it's highly unlikely he gets the call-up, but he sure would make for a fun addition to the bench.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow