Mariners rightfully aren't banking on the radar gun to save Ryan Sloan

The Mariners have plenty of top prospects to keep your eyes on this spring. When it comes to pitching, Kade Anderson is the player most likely to get called up this year and had a strong showing in his spring training debut. Although he's further away from the big leagues, Ryan Sloan has also impressed in his only outing so far but he still has plenty to learn. So what is he working on first?

Ryan Sloan is working on adding a sinker to complement his flawed four-seam fastball

At first glance, Sloan's fastball seems like it's already a major league weapon thanks to its velocity. Scouts reported that it sits right around 95-96 mph but can reach the upper 90s occasionally. However, modern analytics now suggest that induced vertical break is as important, if not more so, than velocity when evaluating the quality of a fastball.

Thus far in his career, Sloan's fastball has been relatively flat and it's made it difficult for him to miss bats. Last year, his whiff rate was just 20.5 percent and in his spring training outing, the induced vertical break on his four-seam fastball was just 15.3 inches. This was a big reason that opposing hitters managed an .880 OPS against the pitch in the minor leagues last season.

Justin Toole, Director of Player Development for the Mariners, recently talked about Seattle's plan to get Sloan to the next level and the first adjustment was to add a sinker.

"I definitely think that as he continues to get stronger, you’re gonna see the four-seam velo tick up a little bit...I think that’s gonna help his shape and help the overall quality of the four-seam. It’s been fun to just put a two-seam in his hand and see what he has been able to do and just be able to trust it against our best major league players and with fans and everybody around watching."

Justin Toole

Adding another arm-side offering to pair with his existing kick-change expands his arsenal in the right way. For pitchers that have the velocity but not the shape to dominate through whiffs and strikeouts, maximizing ground balls can be the most efficient way to get outs.

If nothing else, this gives an important glimpse into the inner workings of what has made Seattle's pitching development so successful. One could assume a pitcher with Sloan's 6-foot-5 frame and current stuff would simply "figure it out" within the next few years, but the Mariners are already being proactive in fixing possible issues.

The Mariners' farm system is full of surprises and Sloan may not be the only above-slot prospect they have that's ready to make a statement. He's still just 20 years old and isn't expected to debut until 2028 but with the right adjustments, he could be part of Seattle's pitching core sooner than you think.