Mariners have three prospects in the 2021 Futures game

They announced the entrants into this year’s futures game for MLB prospects, and there were three Mariners that made it into the 2021 event. Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, and Emerson Hancock.

It sort of makes sense that these were the players that were picked. There was no doubt that both Kelenic and Rodriguez were going to make it, as they ranked 4th and 5th in the MLB.com prospect rankings. It makes sense for Hancock too, as he is currently 23rd overall and 6th for right-handed pitchers.

The Mariners will be well represented at the 2021 Futures Game.

The announcement came out the morning of the 30th, nearly two weeks in advance of the game, which will be played July 11th at Coors Field. There is tons of talent assembled, and it’s going to be one heck of a game to watch.

Looking back throughout the futures game history, the Mariners haven’t seen this kind of representation since… the last time the game was held in 2019. Kelenic actually made his first appearance then, showing off exactly how talented the world thought he was going to become. Joining him were Justin Dunn and Evan White.

Other than that, our entrants have been a little more sporadic. Kyle Lewis played back in 2018, Thyago Vieira played in 2017 (oh man, was he exciting), and 2016 featured Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Unsworth (huh?). 2015 featured Edwin Diaz and Ketel Marte, 2014 was DJ Peterson and Gabriel Guerrero. You can go back further, but searching can be a bit of a hassle.

It’s an interesting group that has made it. There are a handful of standouts and studs, as well as some never-were’s. You cannot deny that everyone this year deserves to go, which always makes you feel a bit better about the selections.

Julio Rodriguez has been crushing it, both for Everett (now Arkansas) as well as the Dominican Republic. Kelenic, after a rough start in the bigs and a bit of a slow period at AAA, has been raking lately with his batting average up to .310. Hancock, the lone pitcher added from the Mariners, has been doing well so far in his time at Everett. Through seven starts, he has notched 26 innings with 25 strikeouts (keeping his pitch count down), with a 2.42 ERA and a WHIP of 1.038.

If you can’t wait til the 11th to watch these guys play, you can try and check out a Rainiers game for Kelenic, a Travelers game for Julio, or an Aquasox game for Hancock. Regardless of where you go, you will get to watch a Mariners representative from this year’s Futures game.