10 Seattle Mariners prospects who are thriving in 2021

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 3 – Julio Rodriguez

At this point, it’s almost like you’d be disappointed if Julio Rodriguez was not on every prospect-related article we publish. Julio is currently hitting .303 along with five home runs and 13 runs batted in. The highly-touted prospect has also stolen three bases.

JROD has also hit five doubles and one triple which has helped boost his OPS to .983. Despite being just 20-years-old, it seems like he isn’t having any trouble with the High-A level pitching. He’s hitting so well that promotion is probably not too far away.

Julio is viewed as one of the next big stars and so far, there is no indication of that statement not being true.

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 4 – Emerson Hancock

This should not be a surprise at all either. Emerson Hancock is in his first season of minor league baseball and has been off to a fantastic start. In 9.1 innings, the University of Georgia product has allowed only one run and four hits.

He owns as 0.96 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and an opposing batters average of .133. Dare I say it, is he the next Jacob deGrom? Still too early to speculate, but Hancock is one of the best pitchers to come out of last year’s draft class and the Seattle Mariners are extremely lucky to have him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Emerson also gets promoted sometime during this year if he continues to dominate High-A batters. Since the right-handed pitcher is a college draftee, his development time shouldn’t take very long so we might be able to see him even as soon as late next season.

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 5 – Brandon Williamson

The Seattle Mariners drafted the tall left-handed pitcher out of TCU in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft, and he has quietly been a really good pick. A lot of the focus has been on pitchers like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock (for good reason), but many have overlooked Brandon Williamson.

The 23-year-old had a great season with the Aqua Sox in 2019 after being drafted and has picked up where he left off this year. In his first season in the minors, he posted a 2.35 ERA in 10 appearances and struck out 25 batters in 15.1 innings. Not only did he strike out a lot of hitters, but he also walked just five batters and allowed only nine hits.

In 2021, he practically started where he left off and has thrown 12.2 innings in three starts. In those three games, he has allowed four earned runs on seven hits, but the strikeouts are crazy! He has K’d 26 batters in just three short starts…

I think a big reason why Williamson fell under the radar was because of the cancellation of the minor league season. But now that we have a full minor league season to assess Brandon and other minor league players, it gives me a lot of hope about the Seattle Mariners future.

The Mariners have Logan Gilbert, Emerson Hancock, George Kirby, Juan Then, Brandon Williamson, Connor Phillips, Isaiah Campbell, Levi Stoudt, and Adam Macko all in the pitching prospect pool… That’s a lot.

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 6 – Jake Scheiner

Jake Scheiner isn’t a name you are probably too familiar with, but he has been playing some great baseball in Arkansas. Scheiner is a 25-year-old corner infielder (mostly third) who was drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017.

Scheiner is a product of the University of Houston and joined the Mariners organization in 2019 as part of the return for Jay Bruce. The right-handed hitter has put together a solid minor league career but it hasn’t been anything too special.

But all of a sudden, Scheiner is the best hitter on the Arkansas Travelers with a .358 batting average and 16 RBI. He has also hit four home runs, seven doubles, and walked seven times. I don’t know what the future holds for Jake Scheiner as a non-member of the Top 30 Mariners prospect list.

Maybe he can become an impact player for the Mariners down the line… Maybe he’s next in line to take over the hot corner in T-Mobile Park…

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 7 – Noelvi Marte

Noelvi Marte has quickly climbed the prospect leaderboards and has become another Seattle Mariners prospect who has received some national attention this year. Marte entered the Top 100 prospect rankings as the 90th best prospect in the MLB, and he is just 19-years-old.

He is so young that there aren’t even a lot of videos of him online. Marte is currently with the Modesto Nuts and this is his first full season playing in the United States. So far, he has done everything as advertised.

The young infielder is hitting .347 with a .996 OPS. He has hit four home runs, four doubles, driven in 18 runs, walked 10 times, and stolen four bases. What a statline am I right?

Marte still has a long way to go, but the future is looking bright.

Seattle Mariners prospects no. 8 – Cade Marlowe

One of Noelvi’s teammates also caught my eye on the stat sheet, and his name is Cade Marlowe. He is a 23-year-old outfielder out of the University of West Georgia. The Seattle Mariners drafted him in the 20th round of the 2019 MLB draft and had a good season with the Aqua Sox after being drafted.

The right-handed thrower and left-handed hitter posted a .301 batting average with a .810 OPS in 2019. He also hit three home runs, drove in 30 runs, and stole 10 bases. Pretty good for a 20th round pick I’d have to say.

Marlowe is arguably the second-best hitter on the team right now behind Noelvi Marte. Cade has a .317 batting average, a 1.068 OPS, hit four home runs, 14 RBI, five doubles, one triple, 14 walks, and five stolen bases.

It’s pretty obvious that Marlowe has speed based on his 10 stolen bases from 2019 and five from 2021, but he also has some pop in his bat which may improve even more in the next few years. Although Marlowe is an under-the-radar prospect for the Seattle Mariners, he may prove to be a decent MLB player in the future.

I can’t confidently say he will become an All-Star caliber player, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the Mariners Top 30 at some point in his young career.

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 9 – Ian McKinney

Ian McKinney is a pretty fascinating guy in my opinion. I barely consider him a prospect, but I think his long journey is worth covering. The left-handed starting pitcher was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB draft. Yes, that is not a typo. He actually began his pro career in 2013.

Drafted out of William R. Boone High School, McKinney now enters his eighth minor league season. McKinney was with the Cardinals organization for a long time and he actually had a short stint in independent baseball.

After spending a short period in indy baseball, the Seattle Mariners picked him up and he pitched for Modesto, and Arkansas in 2019. Now, he finds himself back in Arkansas to start the 2021 minor league season.

So far, McKinney has been fantastic and owns a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings. He has struck out an incredible 29 batters while allowing just 10 hits, and six bases on balls. Opponents are hitting just .164 off of him.

Seattle Mariners prospect no. 10 – Taylor Dollard

Last but not least, Taylor Dollard has been dealing for Modesto. The Seattle Mariners selected the 6’3″ right-hander out of Cal Poly in the fifth round of last year’s draft and he has been pretty special in his first experience of the minor leagues.

In three starts, Dollard has thrown 13.2 innings and struck out 29 batters. That means he averages at least two strikeouts an inning… On top of that, Dollard has only walked three batters.

The Mariners pitching prospect is just 22-years-old and just shows you how stacked Seattle’s minor league system is. The Cal Poly product isn’t even in the Top 30 prospects right now and is arguably one of the best pitchers on the Modesto Nuts.

I expect to hear Dollard’s name quite often over the next couple of years as he climbs the system.

I hope you enjoyed my short snapshot of the 10 Seattle Mariners prospects who are thriving in 2021. Look for more minor league news and lists as we get further into the season.