Seattle Mariners: 6 Prospects Likely to Debut in 2019

RHP ART WARREN

Say what you want about the Mariners, but it cannot be denied that this organization has consistently produced quality bullpen talent. How? Who in the world knows. But they’ve done it, and they have quite a bit of it on the horizon.

Now that Matt Festa has silently sipped his cup of coffee this past season, next in line is 2017 Arizona Fall League standout Art Warren. The converted starter appeared to be on track to make his MLB debut sometime in 2018, but he only managed to pitch 15.2 innings for Double-A Arkansas.

Warren was great when he did pitch, posting a 12.72 K/9 in his limited amount of action. These strikeout numbers are ones we’ve come accustomed to since Warren became a reliever, skyrocketing his value to the Mariners organization as a whole. Powered by a menacing fastball and devastating slider, Warren has found a way to miss bats and impose his will upon opposing hitters.

In all likelihood, Warren will start the 2019 season with Arkansas or Tacoma, but making it on Seattle’s 25-man roster out of the gate is certainly not out of the question. Given that he held a solid role with the Mariners in Spring Training last year, it should be expected that Seattle will give him a long, extended look to see if he’s ready to make the jump right away this March.

If not, it shouldn’t be too long before we see the 25-year-old hurler make his way to the M’s bullpen. Whenever that day comes, fans should definitely be excited. Warren may not be Edwin Díaz, but he has the potential of being a back-end piece teams fear late in games. That’s a very valuable player, and one the Mariners could greatly use in this time of need.