Candidate #1: Leo Rivas
Leo Rivas has already been called up to the Mariners, as that move was made the day J.P. Crawford went on the injured list. Mariners fans may not know much about Rivas, but if you look into his numbers so far in 2024 and in 2023, you may get excited.
You won't find his name on. MLB Pipeline's top 30 Mariners prospects, but make no mistake: Rivas can play. He has the reputation of a "Glove first" shortstop, but his bat may have been the reason he gets the first shot at being called up.
So far in 2024 with AAA Tacoma, he is hitting .308/.422/.462/.883 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI. HE struck out 13 times so far and has walked 11 times. If it was not obvious by the on-base percentage, Rivas gets on base. A lot. He is a contact-first type hitter, one that could slot right into the 9-hole in the lineup, and play great defense. In 2023, Rivas stole 50 bases for AA Arkansas and has 5 so far in 2024 with Tacoma.
Mariners manager Scott Service was there the day he signed originally with the Los Angeles Angels. He said, "Leo's not a big guy in stature, and if you took probably 25-30 pounds off of him now, that's how skinny he was when we first signed him. My first thought was, he was really small". Rivas is listed at 5'8, 150 LBS currently. He is not going to blow you away with his tools, but his best tool may be "Baseball Player".