Mariners favorites to land Yorger Bautista
MiLB and prospect guru, Joe Doyle links Top 10 prospect in the 2025 International Signing Period to Mariners.
We've written extensively about the Mariner's international scouting and the subsequent International Signing Period (ISP). The current landscape of their farm system includes many high-upside prospects they signed through the ISP. Felnin Celesten, Jeter Martinez, Lazaro Montes, and Michael Arroyo are just the tip of the iceberg. Joe Doyle, Future Star Series' analyst and MiLB insider linked the Mariners to Venezuelan outfielder Yorger Bautista, one of the top bats in the 2025 international class.
Something seems appealing about a prospect nicknamed "The Beast" with one of the higher ceilings in the upcoming class. The initial clips of Bautista's swing show much effortless power, but there is also some volatility in the offensive profile. Scouts have Bautista listed as a Top 10 prospect in the 2025 class, praising his overall offensive tools, athleticism, and arm strength.
The comp in the system is probably Lazaro Montes, who needed to adjust his swing and approach before he took off in his sophomore season (2023). The Mariner's development staff entirely bought Montes into the organizational philosophy (Dominate the Zone), effectively dropping his strikeout rates by 8% between the Dominican Summer League in 2022 and last year in Modesto. Hard work in the backfields and the cages now has Montes on the cusp of a Major League Baseball Pipeline Top 100 list nod.
The good news is the Mariner's development staff have shown their chops in recent years, elevating a player's tools into on-field and in-game performance. They have the blueprint with Montes; here's hoping they follow it with Yorger Bautista.
Bautista, or should we call him "The Beast," is the first 2025 ISP prospect linked to the Mariners.