Jerry Dipoto's victory lap continues as peers hype Mariners' player development

Jerry Dipoto hasn't always had the smoothest tenure in the Mariners' front office. After being promoted to president of baseball operations in September 2021, he helped Seattle break their playoff drought in 2022, but lost his goodwill the following year when he made his infamous comments about "doing fans a favor by winning 54 percent of games."

To his credit, there's a lot of nuance that was lost but the way he phrased his comment was unequivocally bad. Combined with a lack of exciting free agent moves during his term as president of baseball operations, it's understandable why some fans may not have the most favorable view of him. Fortunately for him, he really turned things around in 2025.

After a whirlwind year that saw Seattle win the division for the first time in decades and almost make it to the World Series, he was named the Executive of the Year by Baseball America. He's followed that up by having a strong winter, bringing Josh Naylor back early and adding key depth in Jose A. Ferrer and Rob Refsnyder. The best part is, he did all of this without having to surrender too much prospect equity and he's starting to get flowers for that as well.

The Mariners' farm system ranked No. 2 in a recent poll

In the most recent installment of MLB Pipeline's Executive Poll, the Mariners were ranked the best farm system around by 17.8 percent of voters, more than any organization other than the Dodgers (20 percent). The group of promising minor league talent includes marquee names like Colt Emerson, who's already making a compelling case to debut next season, Lazaro Montes, and Kade Anderson.

The team has no shortage of minor league depth and Seattle had seven names on MLB's list of Top 100 overall prospects. As some names graduate and enter the big leagues, they have even more young talent ready to rise the ranks.

Although they've yet to increase payroll to compete with the upper echelon of spenders, they've somehow managed to remain consistently aggressive at the trade deadline while holding onto their most important prospects. The core of the team is homegrown and those that have demonstrated considerable upside are extended early in their careers like Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh. As their best talent rises through the minor league ranks, they've drafted intelligently and haven't struggled to bring in new elite prospects into the organization with each new year.

Aside from managing the roster strategically, Dipoto's faith in the team has been unwavering. Heading into 2025, Dipoto was optimistic about the lineup when no one else was and the Mariners ended up proving him right, posting a combined OPS of .740 (10th in MLB).

The confidence and conviction in what's being built in Seattle goes a long way and it seems like the long-term vision that was started in 2021 is finally paying off. Rome wasn't built in a day and despite the frustration that comes with having to wait for flowers to bloom, it finally seems like spring is starting to roll around for Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners.