3 Mariners prospects whose stock plummeted during the 2024 season

The unfortunate reality of baseball prospects is that the vast majority of them don't pan out. If they're lucky enough to make it through rookie ball and all four levels of the minor leagues, they have to be even luckier to become major league mainstays.

Prospect stocks rise and fall regularly, and Mariners farmhands are no different. It's a difficult reality every organization has to deal with.

While some young players in the Seattle system had a great year in 2024, others weren't as successful and they saw their stocks plummet as a result. Who were they?

RHP Jimmy Joyce (23rd-ranked prospect)

Jimmy Joyce was a late selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, getting taken in the 16th round out of Hofstra University. He fell late in the draft given his inconsistency at the college level but seemed to have some unorthodox potential with a non-traditional delivery. After a lackluster 2022 season, he had a stellar 2023 season, pitching to a 2.57 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 70 innings in High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas.

He came into 2024 with great expectations but seemed to fall short, returning to old habits of inconsistency and struggling to find what made him great the year prior. His ERA ballooned to a 5.49 mark over 59 innings with the Travelers, largely affected by his command. His BB/9 doubled from 2.6 in 2023 to 5.2 in 2024 while his SO/9 dropped below 10 for the first time in his minor league career.

It's unlikely he'll be making it to Triple-A Tacoma anytime soon, and at almost 26 years old time may be running out for the righty reliever to find his footing in the Mariners organization.

RHP Taylor Dollard (21st-ranked prospect)

Taylor Dollard was a fifth-round draft pick out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2020 and was noted for having plus-command despite having underwhelming stuff on his individual pitches. He was outstanding for the Mustangs, serving as a reliable bullpen arm over his three seasons with the team and adjusted quickly to joining the starting rotation.

While his first year of professional baseball was likely below his expectations, his 2022 was a big step forward. Making 27 starts with Double-A Arkansas, Dollard posted a 2.25 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP and 8.2 SO/9. Unfortunately, he was bitten by the injury bug in 2023 after just three starts with Triple-A Tacoma, tearing his labrum and ending his season.

It's unclear as to what the most recent updates are for him post-surgery, but given that he remained on the 60-day injured list for the entirety of 2024 and didn't see action for a single game, it seems like he may still be on the long road to recovery. With essentially two years of no action, it will be an uphill battle for Dollard in 2025. The surgery and long layoff may cause him to lose precious velocity on his pitches, something he didn't have much of to begin with. He'll be 26 by the time he hopefully returns to the mound next year and, while he may still find a way to get called up, there will likely be less hype and more questions.

1B Tyler Locklear (6th-ranked prospect)

A second-round draft pick from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022, Locklear did what most draftees can only dream of, which is to actually make it to the major leagues.

After Ty France sustained a foot injury from an errant pitch in June, Locklear got the call that he had been waiting for.

At the time, the decision made sense. A top prospect in the system and the 85th overall in MLB, Locklear had hit well in the minors, posting a .933 OPS in Double-A Arkansas in 2024. Noted for his power, many hoped that he would bring more thump to the Mariners' first base position, something that had been missing for a while.

Instead, Locklear's cup of coffee with the major league club was disappointing, as he slashed .156/.224/.311 with just one double and two home runs in 49 plate appearances. He struck out 40.8% of the time while having a whiff rate of 37%. Despite a decent hard-hit rate of 44.0%, his average exit velocity was hampered by the lack of line drives and hitting too many pop-ups.

He showed some promise when returning to Triple-A Tacoma after being optioned in late July, but his full-time role was officially taken over by Justin Turner. Turner will likely depart the club in free agency, but with even more pressure to be a real postseason contender in 2025, it seems unlikely that Locklear is the man for the job, at least in the short-term.