Mariners prospect Tyler Locklear is practically begging for a shot at first base

While it was a gamble to call up Ben Williamson, it was also a calculated one due to the Seattle Mariners' issues at third base combined with his defensive potential. It's been a resounding success, with Williamson providing stellar play at the hot corner while also being surprisingly productive with his bat with a .310 batting average and .803 OPS through eight games.

We mention this because it sure seems like it's time for the Mariners to take a similar approach at first base. There were already enough concerns about first base prior to this season, but it's actually been worse than anyone could have anticipated, with an OPS of .465 being the worst of any position on the team at the time of writing.

First base a disaster so far in Seattle

Clearly the combination of Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano — with a little sprinkle of Luke Raley — isn't working, and it can't be allowed to go on indefinitely. Save for in Toronto Tellez has done little, while offseason signing Solano is quite possibly the worst hitter in all of baseball.

As such, we believe it's time for Tyler Locklear to be given another chance with the Mariners, after making his Major League debut last year and playing in 16 games. He's off to an excellent start in Triple-A Tacoma this season with his bat, with a .299 batting average and .848 OPS through 20 games, but he's been particularly hot of late:

Locklear admittedly did have some struggles at the plate when he was called up last season, with 20 strikeouts in 49 plate appearances, but this is too small of a sample size to judge him on too harshly, along with it being his first exposure to the majors. Plus, he still had moments when he showed his true slugging potential, including a couple of home runs.

On the subject of potential, there's a reason why the Mariners selected the 24-year-old with the 58th overall pick in the 2022 draft. According to MLB Pipeline he's the 10th-ranked first base prospect in baseball and was actually ahead of Williamson within the Mariners' farm system prior to the 2025 season.

Previously predicted to help the Mariners this season

This isn't the first time Locklear has been mentioned as a potential solution at first base this year for the Mariners. As we wrote about back in March, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports picked him as a breakout candidate for the 2025 season, proclaiming a medium level of confidence in this coming to fruition.

Critics will mention the Baltimore, Maryland native's average arm strength, along with the challenges which come with being a right-handed first baseman at T-Mobile Park. However, he's decent enough at the position, and surely can't be any worse than who the Mariners are sending out there at the moment.

Not that this is just a case of any change being better than none, with the aforementioned reference to Locklear's raw power and ability to spray the ball all over the field. He's hitting with more confidence — and patience — than ever in Tacoma and it's now past time to give him an extended look at first base with the Mariners.

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