Jurrangelo Cijntje and 5 Mariners prospects who are already turning heads in the minors

With the big club off to a 3-7 start, all is not well at the top of the Seattle Mariners organization. It's a good thing, then, that some of the franchise's best prospects are already shining brightly.

On the off chance that any Mariners fans are still not aware, the team's farm system is widely regarded as one of the best in Major League Baseball. To wit, MLB Pipeline and Baseball America both have it ranked fifth overall.

Yet as nice as it is to be excited for future Mariners players in the abstract, even better is to consider individual players who are justifying the hype with their play in the minors so far in 2025. Here's a look at five such players, including a switch-pitcher who has the potential to change MLB forever.

Jurrangelo Cijntje is among 5 Mariners prospects off to a hot start in the minors in 2025

3B Ben Williamson, Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers

MLB Pipeline Rank: No. 13

Through nine games with Tacoma, the 24-year-old Williamson is batting a solid .270 and is currently on a five-game hitting streak. He's only averaging 85.8 mph on his batted balls, yet three of his 10 hits have registered at over 100 mph.

Otherwise, it's not a surprise that Williamson's defense has become the stuff of daily highlight reels. He is considered among the best pure defenders in the minors, and he looks the part basically every time a ball is hit his way at the hot corner.

With Jorge Polanco's transition to third base going less than smoothly due to persistent soreness (Daniel Kramer of MLB.com has the story) in his surgically repaired left knee, don't be surprised if Williamson is in Seattle sooner rather than later. If so, the Mariners defense will be better for it.

Tyler Locklear, Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers

MLB Pipeline Rank: No. 11

Another area where the Mariners have been deficient early on is at first base, where Luke Raley and three others have combined to post a .414 OPS.

This is all the more reason for the front office to have its eye on Locklear. Through seven games with Tacoma, he's 10-for-27 with a home run and four doubles. Six of his hits have been clocked at 100 mph or faster off the bat.

Strikeouts remain the black mark on Locklear's profile, as he has nine in just 31 plate appearances. Yet even with those acknowledged, it's not as if the 24-year-old could do worse than what the M's are getting from the cold corner.

RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, High-A Everett AquaSox

MLB Pipeline Rank: No. 9

Simply by virtue of being a switch-pitcher, Cijntje was a sensation as soon as the Mariners chose him 15th overall in last year's draft. He only added to the hype in his pro debut on Saturday, striking out six and allowing one hit over four scoreless innings.

All six of the 21-year-old's strikeouts came as a right-hander, as did most of his velocity. Per Mariners Minors, his fastball was sitting between 97 and 101 mph.

This is further fuel for the notion that Cijntje won't remain a switch-pitcher forever, as he isn't quite as electric (i.e., low 90s) when throwing lefty. Yet even if he does go right-handed full-time, there's a realistic scenario in which he becomes Seattle's next great homegrown pitcher.

RF Lazaro Montes and SS Colt Emerson, High-A Everett AquaSox

MLB Pipeline Ranks: No. 2 for Montes, No. 1 for Emerson

The 20-year-old Montes and the 19-year-old Emerson have only taken 26 combined plate appearances for Everett, so let's not get too carried away here. Yet in those plate appearances, they have eight walks and seven hits, including four for extra bases.

It feels unfair to Montes that he gets compared to Yordan Alvarez, who's arguably one of the five best hitters in the majors. Yet he just keeps living up to that kind of praise, as he now has a .949 OPS to show for four seasons in the minors. His opposite-field power is especially impressive.

For his part, Emerson is the best prospect the Mariners have and potentially a candidate for a Kristian Campbell-style contract in the future. He just keeps adding to his reputation as potentially the best pure hitter in the minors, as he's following a .436 OBP in the Arizona Fall League with a .539 OBP out of the gate this year.

These two plus Cijntje aren't likely to impact the Mariners in 2025, but there's better than a non-zero chance of all three being seen at T-Mobile Park at some point in 2026. If Williamson and Locklear are also there, that's how you'll know that an exciting youth movement will have graduated from possibility to reality for the Mariners.