Seattle Mariners prospects to follow no. 2 – Emerson Hancock
My second prospect to watch shouldn’t be much of a surprise since he is highly touted but I wanted to reiterate how important 2021 is for him. Some have argued that Hancock was the best pitcher out of the 2020 draft class.
The Mariners were able to snag him with the sixth pick after some teams became wary of his lat issue in 2019. The University of Georgia product might have thrown during the 2020 minor league season had there been one, so just like Campbell, Hancock made his pro debut this season.
Emerson threw three days ago for the Aqua Sox and threw two scoreless innings. He allowed just one walk and struck out three.
The 21-year-old pitching prospect reminds me a little of Jacob deGrom and based on his scouting report card, he really could be that good in the future. Hancock throws a high 90’s fastball with above-average offspeed pitches.
Like Campbell, Hancock is in Everett and may end up in Double-A by the end of the season but I imagine the Mariners will be extremely cautious with his workload.
Emerson is currently the sixth-best right-handed pitching prospect in the MLB, and he will climb up the rankings as soon as Nate Pearson and Sixto Sanchez graduate from the list. Now onto another pitching prospect that I am excited to see more of.