3 Mariners Prospects whose stock rose dramatically this season

There have been some great surprise players on the Seattle Mariners who have seen their stock rise quite a bit this season. Possibly the greatest example of this is Victor Robles who has become one of the best players on the Mariners in the second half. There have also been some minor league prospects who have played at a high level this season which has led to their stock rising as well and there are three in particular who have taken huge steps forward in 2024.

As the Mariners make their final push for a playoff spot there are a few Mariners minor league teams in the playoffs for their leagues. One of those affiliates is Double-A Arkansas which started its division championship series this week and the three starting pitchers in that series for the Travelers, let's get to meet them a little better.

Michael Morales

Michael Morales was a third round pick by Seattle back in 2021 out of high school. He did not perform at a high level in his first season in Single-A Modesto and had to repeat the level in his second year. After those two unimpressive years in Modesto, it was unclear how the right-hander would handle starting for the High-A Everett AquaSox at the start of this season. However, he would quiet the doubters and earn a mid-season promotion to Double-A.

In 15 starts in Everett, Morales pitched 84 innings and had a 2.36 ERA, struck out 80 batters, and only walked 7.2% of opposing hitters. He did this at the age of 21, which is about 2 years younger than the average player at the High-A level.

After dominating for the AquaSox, Morales went on to continue to find success in Arkansas. In 12 starts he pitched 65 innings and had a 3.88 ERA, struck out 67 hitters, and walked just under 5% of batters he faced.

This was the type of performance that the Mariners must have been hoping for from the Pennsylvania native when they took him in the third round. I did not see this type of performance coming for Morales and he has put himself in the conversation to be a potential big league call up as soon as June 2025. He already has more minor league innings this season than George Kirby and Logan Gilbert had in their minor league careers.

Morales was obviously not the type of prospect that Kirby and Gilbert were, but Morales has had an incredible season this year and if the Mariners find themselves in need of a starting pitcher next summer due to injury then the Mariners could call upon Morales. His breakout season has put him in a position where if he is pitching at a high level again next year could find himself on the fast track to the big leagues.