Sodo Mojo’s Top 40 Seattle Mariners Prospects: 20-16

The Cactus League season is underway and the Mariners young players are playing quite well. But we continue to move along, unveiling our Top 40 Mariners prospects 5 at a time.

Today, we continue our official countdown, revealing the next 5 prospects to crack our Top 40 list. As we move up the list, more or more names will be familiar to Mariners fans. These are exciting times, so let’s get to it.

But before we do, let’s review our process. First, the rankers consisted of 4 staff writers. All 4 writers produced a list of their top prospects. The average rank of each player is the spot they landed on our list. In this case, the lower the number, the higher the rank.

Our rankers were not given any criteria for their list. Different eyes see different things and unique minds value things differently than others. There are no cookie cutters for prospect scouting and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Also, take these ranks with a grain of salt. We do not get to see many of these players often and are relying on graining video, scouting reports, and statistics to cover our bases. If you want top-end prospect ranks, I suggest Keith Law of ESPN as well as Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel.

Without any further delay, let’s get started.

Aaron Fletcher, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals in the Hunter Strickland and Roenis Elias trade, lands as our best pure relief prospect in the system. Fletcher is a safe bet to stick in the big leagues for years, thanks to a combination of stuff and deception.

Fletcher features an above-average two-pitch mix, including a fastball that is up to 97 MPH and sits comfortably in the 92-94 range. He backs up the fastball with a good slider that flashes as a 65-grade pitch and can generate a lot of swings-and-misses, especially against lefties. Fletcher also changeup he throws on occasion, but it has little to offer in terms of value.

Fletcher can be a solid middle reliever right now but has another gear he can reach if he can improve his average command and tighten up the slider a touch against right-handed hitters. We have watched plenty of lefties with this combination become weapons out of the pen, and Fletcher has a shot to get there sooner rather than later.

Brayan Perez may be the most underrated prospect in the Mariners system. The 19-year-old Venezuela native made his stateside debut at the age of 18 last year, logging 67 innings between the Arizona Rookie League and the Northwest League Aquasox and handled himself quite well.

Perez posted a 3.34 ERA and a 1.307 WHIP, along with 62 strikeouts in 2019, but it is Perez’s tools that should excite Mariners fans. Standing at just 6’0″, 170 lbs, Perez features a fastball that sits 88-91 but has touched 93 MPH in-game, along with a good slider and average curveball. Both breaking balls could become 60-grade offerings but should settle into the 55-grade range.

Perez also has a solid changeup, thanks mostly to the above-average command Perez has. The changeup could become a solid 4th pitching, giving Perez the potential to have 4 average or better offerings to go along with his 55-grade command.

Perez will likely never develop stuff better than a #3 or #4 starter, but he will get more value from his offerings thanks to his good command. The fastball also registers higher spin rates, a skill the Mariners have been searching for in recent years.

Perez is a good athlete who will play almost all of 2020 at the age of 19. There is still room for Perez to get bigger, add some velocity, and take a jump in the prospect ranks in 2020, but for now, Mariners fans should be excited for this young man with a rare combination of high-floor and upside in his game.

Perez will always play second fiddle in the Mariners 2017 Latin America class, thanks to some kid named Julio Rodriguez, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be a valuable major leaguer.

Very few players in the Mariners system have the upside of Mr. Jose Siri. Very few prospects have the kind of downside as Siri. There is a wide range of outcomes from Siri, but the high-end of an everyday MLB centerfielder with 30/30 potential is too high to ignore.

That isn’t an exaggeration either. Siri has plus raw power and elite, 70-grade speed. He is also already an above-average centerfielder with the potential to challenge Braden Bishop as the best outfield glove in the organization. So what is keep Siri from potential stardom?

Well, simply put, Siri strikes out… a lot. In fact, he struck out 165 times in 517 PAs in 2019 while a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization. Though he swings and misses far too much to be an everyday player, Siri does actually post respectable walk rates, hovering around 8.5% each of the past two years.

Siri will need to make swing changes to avoid becoming Keon Broxton, as well as improve his plan of attack at the plate. He struggles to use the whole field and the outer half of the plate gives him fits, which is why a swing and gameplan change is needed to help him reach his potential.

If Siri maxes out, he could be Seattle’s version of Melvin Upton Jr., a 20 home run, 40 stolen base outfielder with solid defense in centerfield. If he stagnates, he should still see time in the big leagues as a 4th outfielder, thanks to his value defensively and off the bench late in games.

Siri should get an extended look in spring training and will likely start 2020 in AAA Tacoma. Siri is behind quite a few players on the Mariners depth chart but should make his debut in the second half of 2020 if he shows growth at the plate.

Players with an extreme range of outcomes are hard to predict but are exactly the type of players that Seattle should take a chance on. If he hits, you have a 3-5 win centerfielder. If he misses, you lose nothing.

Okay, so let’s get this out of the way so we can focus on the player: Braden Bishop is an incredible human being. He is a great guy whom his teammates love. He has a charitable foundation that donates money to Alzheimer’s and Dementia research. And he is a talented baseball player.

Sometimes, Bishop’s off the field brilliance drowns out his on the field prospects and, not surprisingly, we love both. Bishop is one of the best defensive outfielders in all professional baseball. That isn’t hyperbole, he is a legitimate 65-grade centerfielder.

Thanks to his 70-grade speed, strong fundamentals, quick first step, route efficiency, and more, Bishop has all the tools needed to win multiple Gold Gloves in centerfield. But the 26-year-old is in a crucial season to prove he is more than Peter Bourjois and is worthy of an everyday role in the Mariners’ future.

Bishop’s last two seasons have been marred with injuries, giving himself little time to establish himself at the plate. 2020 should be his best opportunity to do so. Bishop doesn’t need to be great, or even MLB average at the plate, to be a good player worthy of 140+ games a year. His defense is that good.

Fortunately, he does have a chance to hit for average and post above-average OBP numbers, with enough pop in his bat to find 10 homers, 25 doubles, and 5 or so triples every season. Bishop playing every day and posting a .270/.340/.400 slash line will give Seattle a 3-4 win player, thanks to Bishop’s elite glove and speed.

But in order to do that, Bishop needs a real opportunity from the big club, something he never really got in 2019, even prior to his lacerated spleen injury. Bishop is to root for thanks to his off-the-field actions, but fans shouldn’t think of him as just a feel-good story.

Bishop has a legitimate shot to be the best Mariners CF since Mike Cameron and that shouldn’t be taken for granted.