Mariners prospect's epic Spring Breakout has everyone rewriting expectations

It's one thing to hear about a prospect's talent. It's another thing to actually see it, and Ryan Sloan continues to be a perfect case study for the Seattle Mariners this spring. He only needed 12 pitches to dominate his Cactus League debut, and that was just a warmup for Spring Breakout.

By the time his work against the Milwaukee Brewers' top prospects on Friday was done, Sloan had gone nine up, nine down over three innings. He did it on just 39 pitches, including 24 strikes.

Sure, it was the Brewers' prospects who had the last laugh in a 7-3 win. Mainly at fault there was Kade Anderson, who was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits and four walks over 2.0 innings. He's a case of a top prospect who hasn't lived up to the hype, as the lefty had mixed results in the Cactus League.

At this point, you have to wonder if Anderson truly is the better half of the Mariners' vaunted duo of pitching prospects. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times even went out on a limb with a prediction that it's Sloan who is destined to be the No. 1 pitching prospect in MLB.

Ryan Sloan keeps showing why he may not be long for the Mariners' minor league system

Even before this spring, Sloan had an aura that suggested he might be underrated as a prospect.

He only just exited his teen years on January 29, but his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame (with Cal Raleigh-like proportions, no less) isn't the only way he didn't resemble a normal teenager. He made 21 starts in the low minors last year, and walked only 15 batters over 82.0 innings.

He therefore doesn't need to age into an ability to throw strikes, which makes it that much more remarkable that he's out there throwing gas. On Friday, even 103 degree heat didn't keep him from averaging 97.9 mph on the fastball, with a max of 100 mph.

Sloan also showed off with his excellent sweeper and his new two-seamer, which combined for half of his six whiffs on 18 total swings.

This wasn't against any ordinary collection of prospects. MLB Pipeline has Milwaukee's farm system ranked at No. 1 in the league, and Sloan had to go up against the No. 3 (Jesús Made), No. 26 (Luis Peña), No. 51 (Jett Williams) and No. 64 (Cooper Pratt) prospects in the league.

Stuff like this is what makes a line about Sloan from Keith Law of The Athletic on Sloan echo in the back of our mind: "If I have any concerns about Sloan, it’s just that he is so good, so soon."

MLB Pipeline has Sloan's ETA at 2028, which should be a rational expectation for a prospect with his age and level of pro experience. However, members of the Mariners brass have openly mused about Sloan getting major league outs at some point this year. Even on Friday, director of pitching strategy Trent Blank spoke on his belief that Sloan will "exceed expectations" despite the club's willingness to throw challenges at him.

"Why not?" is the only question worth asking at this point. Because every time he throws, Sloan makes even the most outlandish expectations look, if anything, too modest.