Seattle Mariners: Dillon Thomas set to make his big league debut

After the news came out that Jarred Kelenic was going to be sent down, many Mariners fans were wondering who was going to be the one that would take his place on the roster. Would it be Shed Long, who was reinstated off of IL? Or would it be a callup from one of the minor league squads? Probably not Polcovich, even though he was named Player of the Week.

Well, the team gave that answer earlier this afternoon when they announced that they would be calling up Dillon Thomas from Tacoma. He has been hitting incredibly well this year, and is the next in a line of Mariners who have done well enough at Tacoma to be given their chance in Seattle.

Dillon Thomas is going to get his first chance at the big league level with the Mariners.

If you aren’t that familiar with Thomas, don’t feel too bad. He still isn’t on the Mariners list of top 30 prospects. At 28 years old, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he isn’t on there either. Once guys get into their late 20’s, the excitement surrounding them falls off a bit.

It’s not just that he wasn’t ranked because he was older though. Up until this year, he had taken just three plate appearances at the AAA level, going 0-2 with a sac fly back in 2017. The majority of his minor league career had been spent at the AA level, where he was a career .264 hitter. That’s almost exactly what he was in 2019 for the Biloxi Shuckers, the AA team for the Brewers, where he hit .265.

This would lead to him becoming a free agent, where he was picked up by the Seattle Mariners organization and assigned to the Rainers. It seemed a bit odd, as they were picking up a minor league vet and placing him at a level he had yet to play at. It seems to have been a great pickup though.

Through 98 PA with Tacoma, he has been hitting .338, with six home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases. That’s not all he’s been doing well though, as he has scored 22 runs, walked 12 times, and hit five doubles. His slash line sits at .338/.459/.625 and is a line that would make anyone jealous.

Keep an eye on Dillon Thomas as he finally gets the call-up to The Show. Every once in a while, there is a “career” minor leaguer who finally gets a shot, and they come out of nowhere to become a major league worthy player. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Dillon Thomas can become a guy like that for the Seattle Mariners.