Big-hype Mariners hitting prospects are suddenly stalling out at Double-A

The first month of the 2026 season keeps presenting the Mariners with new challenges. In addition to the team going through a rocky start, now an injury has sidelined one of the team's best players. A natural follow-up move would be to call up one of Seattle's top prospects to fill the roster gap in the interim, but the organization's top prospects aren't doing too hot either.

Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo have been struggling since being assigned to Double-A

Montes (No. 38 prospect overall) has been a highly-touted prospect since he was signed as an international free agent and heading into this season, it seemed like he was finally rounding out some of his more persistent weaknesses. He began the year in Double-A with hopes of a 2027 debut and the results have been lukewarm thus far.

Over 62 plate appearances, his walk and strikeout rates are nearly identical to what they were last year but his power has suffered significantly. His .385 slugging percentage is comfortably the lowest mark of his career and it has limited him to just a 115 wRC+. While he hit 32 home runs in 131 minor league games last year, he has just one in his first 15 games of the season.

Arroyo (No. 60 prospect) left a memorable impression in spring training but has failed to carry that momentum through the first month of the regular season. He has managed to retain his power a little more, but is struggling with plate discipline, posting a walk rate of 7.5 against a 26.9 strikeout rate. He has never ended a full season with an on-base percentage below .400, but is currently hovering at .328 across his 67 plate appearances, giving him a wRC+ of just 103.

So what's going on? Well, without Statcast set up in Double-A ballparks, it's difficult to say. It could be explained by a step up in competition, but both players dabbled in Double-A last year and put up respectable numbers. Perhaps the curse of playing underwhelming baseball is permeating through all levels of the organization? Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case either as other players are starting to make a name for themselves.

There's still time for both players to lift their numbers as the season goes on and when determining call-ups, teams like the Mariners care about far more than just the surface-level numbers. The team won't call up anyone until they feel confident that they're up to the task (which is why they're keeping Colt Emerson in Tacoma) and while Arroyo and Montes will get there eventually, neither player is quite ready yet.

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