Former Mariners prospect is threatening legacy of the Randy Arozarena trade

There's no denying the trade last July for Randy Arozarena has been a huge success, with the Seattle Mariners mostly getting the positive version of the mercurial talent. He's been the team's second-most consistent hitter after Cal Raleigh in 2025, to the point he's having his best campaign since 2021 when he was named AL Rookie of the Year.

As positive as the addition of Arozarena has been, though, there's something going on in Tampa Bay which may change the narrative of the trade — at least to a certain extent. This relates to part of the return package the Rays received, specifically the Mariners' No. 22 prospect at the time, Brody Hopkins.

Brody Hopkins is a physical specimen

As per his ranking among the Mariners' top 30 prospects, it was clear Hopkins had potential, and now it appears it's all coming together for the athletic 6-foot-4, 200-pound righty. As much as his pitching stats for the 2025 minor league season as a whole might not jump off the page, he's been lights out of late.

The 23-year-old has a 3.06 ERA on the year in 21 starts for Double-A Montgomery, but in his most recent nine outings he has effectively halved this in recording a 1.59 ERA. This stretch included his best game of the season (and arguably career) to date, when he went 7.0 innings versus Double-A Columbus and produced 10 strikeouts and 19 whiffs:

While by no means the finished product — with a lack of command being arguably the biggest challenge — this is obviously extremely encouraging for a pitcher who is capable of dominating on a regular basis. MLB Pipeline certainly seem high on Hopkins in ranking him as the Rays' No. 3 prospect, which is quite the rise from being 22nd in the M's farm system just over a year ago.

At the heart of what is described by MLB Pipeline as a full compliment of nasty pitches are Hopkins' fastball and slider, with the guy just having a cannon for an arm. During an interview last month with Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo Sports, the 23-year-old discussed when he first became aware of just how powerful his velocity was.

Radar gun couldn't handle Brody Hopkins' power

In an amusing story, Hopkins explained that while he was at the College of Charleston he hit 98 mph on the gun during a fall scrimmage and was told that the radar gun might be broken. He would subsequently hit 100 seven times in a game versus Chattanooga, and the suggestion of the radar gun being broken never materialized again!

The Mariners should have no regrets about what they gave up to acquire Arozarena and they aren't exactly short of strong pitching in their organization, given their ongoing impressive ability to identify and develop talent. However, it will still be interesting to see what becomes of Hopkins in the coming years as he looks to make the most of his abilities.