Mariners 2022 Prospect Rankings: #15 Prelander Berroa

In case you missed it, make sure to read about Michael Morales, the Mariners #16 prospect. Following him at #15 on the Mariners prospect list is one of the newer Mariners prospects, Prelander Berroa. The M’s acquired Prelander Berroa in the deal with the Giants in which they sent utilityman Donovan Walton over there earlier in the season.

Berroa is an RHP who at 22, has already made his way to AA for the Mariners after dominating the lower levels of their farm system. After annihilating the competition in High-A for the Giants, he did the same in Everett for the Mariners. Now in AA Arkansas, Berroa has continued pitching well.

Mariners RHP Prelander Berroa is their #15 prospect in the 2022 rankings

Berroa does have a bit of a walk problem, and that might be phrasing it nicely. He’s been walking around 5.5 hitters per 9 in 2022… so let’s call him “effectively wild”. It’s not the type of pitching that will work as he moves up the farm system, so he is going to have to work on his control in order to make it much further.

It’s part of the reason why I don’t see him making it as a starter, either. He doesn’t go more than four innings very often, although he has looked better in the back half of August for the Travelers. He showcased his stuff well in a magnificent 11-K outing, in which he allowed just two walks across five innings, with no runs or hits allowed.

Sitting in the mid-90s, Prelander Berroa sports a nice heater that can get up to 98 mph. It’s not hard to imagine that if he moved to a reliever, he could consistently sit in that 98 mph range. It’s likely his best pitch, but the slider is close behind. Again, location, location, location, as the miss with the slider can get him in trouble.

He also flashes a strong changeup, but it’s not a consistent pitch. If he’s unable to get a handle on that tertiary pitch, it further pushes him towards the bullpen role.

• Fastball – 60
• Slider – 60
• Changeup – 45
• Control – 40
• Overall – 45

Prelander Berroa still seems like a pretty good addition to the Mariners system. He has all the makings of a reliever that the Mariners can turn into a nasty 1-2 fastball+slider combination pitcher, most of which have done well in their bullpen of late. We will still need to see an increase in control from Berroa, but the stuff is there to be an impact arm in the bullpen in a few years’ time.