Mariners 2022 Prospect Rankings: #14 Adam Macko

If you tell me you’ve got an Irish prospect who’s a gangly left-handed pitcher, you immediately have my attention. Even if he is Slovakian-Canadian. That’s Adam Macko, who comes in at #14 on our prospects list this year. If you’re confused about his heritage, he was born in Slovakia, raised in Ireland, then moved to Canada and graduated there. So he’s been around a bit.

It’s part of the reason he is so raw. Neither Slovakia nor Ireland are known for their baseball players. Yet, here with are with Adam Macko, who some value as a top ten prospect in the Mariners system.

LHP Adam Macko is our #14 prospect for the Mariners farm system

If you’re looking around the Mariners minors for the gangly kid I mentioned earlier, you won’t find him. He’s gained at least 50 pounds since being drafted in 2019 by the M’s, and the added weight is a big part of why he has shot up prospect lists. He’s got nasty stuff, and it has led to a great K rate of around 14 per 9 in High A Everett.

Unfortunately, Macko is on the IL, and unlikely to return in 2022. The injury history is a bit of what holds him back a little for me, as he was shut down last year as well. It’s different when it is a guy like #2 Prospect Emerson Hancock who has a track record of healthy and dominance. Macko doesn’t have that yet. At the same time, he is only 21 and has plenty of time to grow throughout the minors.

The fastball is his best pitch, sitting in the mid-90s with the ability to push 99. It’s not straight either, which is why he’s been so effective at striking people out, as it seems to move and ride up as it approaches the plate. It’s backed by a pretty good slider that is clearly his number two pitch, sitting in an entirely different tier than the curve. He has the curve and change, but the arm motion changes when he throws them, and he hasn’t shown consistent ability to throw them well, either.

But a 21-year-old lefty with a mid-90s heater with life and a strong slider makes a lot of people excited. If we could see a full season from Macko, even split between High-A Everett and AA Arkansas, he would make for a fun conversation between relief call-up or down-the-line starter with a tiny chance of being a #2, but likely slotting as a #3/4 starter.

• Fastball – 55
• Slider – 55
• Curveball – 40
• Changeup – 40
• Control – 40
• Overall – 45

The Control is going to be big for Adam Macko. If he can limit the walks and keep his count down a little bit, he will have a shot to make the Mariners rotation down the line. If not, his options are going to be limited to lifetime minor leaguer, or middle relief out of the pen.