Mariners will send 2 fast-risers, 1 obvious trade chip to 2025 Futures Game

The rosters for the 2025 Futures Game have dropped, and they should have Seattle Mariners fans marking down July 12 as a golden chance to get a glimpse of three of the team's very best prospects: Lazaro Montes, Harry Ford, and Jurrangelo Cijntje.

All three will be on the American League roster when the Futures Game takes place three days before the All-Star Game at Truist Park, as the league revealed on Monday:

Montes, Ford, and Cijntje all rank within MLB Pipeline's overall top 100, as well as at No. 2, No. 5, and No. 8 within the Mariners' farm system. Yet even if all three should have bright futures ahead of them, at least one of them might not necessarily have a future in Seattle.

Mariners' Futures Game participants are raising both their stock and their trade value

To be clear, the honor bestowed on Montes, Ford, and Cijntje on Monday is well-earned for all three, and especially for Montes.

The 20-year-old outfielder out of Cuba had his critics coming into the 2025 season, but they have been largely silenced by all the loud noises coming from is bat. He earned a promotion after posting a .959 OPS and 18 home runs for High-A Everett, and he has somehow been even better with Double-A Arkansas. In six games, he's posted a 1.096 OPS and three homers, including a booming 475-footer on Friday.

Cijntje has had more of an up-and-down year for Everett in his first full season after going to the Mariners with the No. 15 pick in the 2024 draft. He has a 4.88 ERA overall and has had to shake off not one, but two nagging injuries.

Still, his appeal is all there in his job description as a switch-pitcher. The jury is out on whether the 22-year-old from the Netherlands will ever hack it as a lefty in the majors, but his powerful work from the right side has seen him fan 52 of the 180 batters he has faced.

Ford, meanwhile, was this close to making his Mariners debut last week before the team learned that Mitch Garver was able to continue as Cal Raleigh's backup behind the plate. The positional logjam at catcher seems to be the only thing holding Ford back, as he has been on a tear at the plate (.343/.430/.536 with seven homers) since the start of May.

It is, however, precisely because of said positional logjam that Ford is broadly seen as a potential trade candidate in these final weeks before the July 31 trade deadline. And that speculation is well-founded, as the Mariners are reportedly looking to be aggressive with their shopping and are even willing to raise payroll to address their needs.

Mind you, it seems unlikely that a trade would result in Ford joining another organization before the Futures Game comes and goes. He'll almost certainly be out there repping the Mariners, who drafted the Atlanta, Georgia native No. 12 overall four years ago.

Regardless of what happens with Ford, the Mariners will arguably be underrepresented in the Futures Game. Montes, Ford, and Cijntje are but three of nine top-100 prospects in their system, with others making waves in 2025 including High-A shortstop Colt Emerson and Double-A second baseman Michael Arroyo.

Indeed, it's a farm system so good that you almost forget that the executive who built it only aspires to win 54 percent of the time at the major league level.