Michael Arroyo is the next Mariners prospect to take revenge on Baseball America

Over the years, there's been plenty of pro athletes who've manufactured slights in order to motivate themselves to perform better. A prime example of this is Michael Jordan, who seemed to create a new 'beef' everyday, in order to inspire himself to greater success. Well, Michael Arroyo is currently proving the critics wrong, but his doubters are very much real.

Baseball America released their updated Top 100 prospects list for July and while it included the likes of Ryan Sloan, Kade Anderson and Lazaro Montes, Arroyo was nowhere to be seen. According to Geoff Pontes, evaluators outside the Mariners organization have dismissed the 21-year-old as a viable long-term second baseman. While Pontes doesn't doubt he can hit, he questions the ability to find everyday at-bats without plus power and his limited defensive capabilities.

From our perspective, we would contend Arroyo does have plus power capabilities. As for the doubts surrounding him being a viable long-term second baseman, the Mariners have already considered this, by mostly playing him in left field this season. In any event, the Colombia native is proving he doesn't need us to defend his corner, with him following in the footsteps of Montes last year and taking revenge on Baseball America.

Arroyo did admittedly struggle earlier this season -- at least by his standards -- before going on the Injured List in mid-May, with a hamstring issue. When he returned to Double-A Arkansas towards the end of the month it was as if a switch had been flipped, as he went on to bat .328 with a .930 OPS and 154 wRC+ in the next 29 games. And keep in mind this was despite playing half the time at Dickey-Stephens Park, which has a deserved reputation as being extremely pitcher-friendly.

Micheal Arroyo continuing to prove Baseball America wrong, despite facing tougher opposition

As a result of his success, Arroyo got a much deserved first promotion to Triple-A earlier this month, and if Baseball America thought playing against tougher opposition might trip him up, so far they're sorely mistaken. It might only be a small sample size of six games, but hitting .346 with a 1.137 OPS and 165 wRC+ isn't exactly shabby. He also provided a perfect response to questions about his plus power potential:

Again, we appreciate six games is a small sample size, but you have to balance this out with Arroyo's previous success that included playing regularly at the notorious Dickey-Stephens Park. In fact overall, regardless of the level or the ball park, he's batting .338 with a 1.007 OPS and 165 wRC+ since the beginning of June.

There is the possibily that Arroyo's productivity could see him became a valuable asset as we approach the Aug. 3 trade deadline. However, it's also worth noting he might deserve a chance with the Mariners as the right-handed bat they desperately need if he keeps hitting like this, with him batting .314 with a .845 OPS against lefties specifically in 2026. And we can think of no better comeback to Baseball America.

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