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Mariners Prospects: Arkansas Travelers' dueling aces vie for hardware

While the minor league regular season is wrapping up in less than a week, we'll look at the favorites to win pitching hardware. There's a battle between Arkansas Traveler co-aces for the Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year award. 

Trevor Pedro|
Pittsburgh v Wake Forest
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The Seattle Mariners' farm system has taken multiple steps forward, with the prospect pool jumping from 18th to 9th in MLB Pipeline's latest rankings. Scouts attribute that sizable jump to a core group of under-twenty prospects having spectacular seasons. Most of the high-end talent on the farm is on the position player side, with talented teens Michael Arroyo, Laz Montes, and Tai Peete, but there are still worthy arms. 

A trio of pitchers in Arkansas have a case for the Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year award. Michael Morales, the youngest of the bunch, has taken a few significant steps forward by reigning in command and control and honing his secondary pitches. The latter would always define the 22-year-old's ceiling, which is now firmly a mid-rotation starter. If there were a Most Improved award, like the NBA, Morales would have arguably the best case on the farm. Across two levels, he had career bests in multiple categories, including ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. 

Multiple Mariners' prospects are vying for the Jamie Moyer award

But this race is between the Travelers' co-aces, one from the left side and the other from the right, two hurlers who get results differently. One has a funky delivery and some deception. At the same time, the other offers four above-average pitches and excellent command and challenges hitters in the top rung of the strike zone, a la former Travs George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. 

Pitcher A is leading in five of the eight categories above. He's also compiled those stats across two levels (High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas). While Pitcher B was solely in the Texas League this season, facing some of minor league baseball's top prospects all year. The stats below paint the picture of two dominant starters, both well-deserving of taking home the hardware

Pitcher A

Pitcher B

GS

22

20

W-L

6-2

9-4

IP

107

99 1/3

SO

127

80

BB

44

35

BAA

.209

.221

ERA

1.93

2.99

WHIP

1.17

1.16

Who are the front runners for the Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year award? None other than southpaw Brandyn Garcia (Pitcher A) and righty Logan Evans (Pitcher B). The 24-year-old Garcia has turned in a stellar campaign, rising up the Mariners' prospect list (16), fanning a career-high 127 batters across two levels. The 23-year-old Evans is putting the final touches on his first full professional season in one of the toughest leagues, authoring career-highs in just about every counting stat and leading the Travelers down the stretch and into the playoffs

You can't go wrong with either pitcher, and there is an off-chance the Mariners reward both for spectacular seasons. They've done it before just last year when veteran Jakle Scheiner and youngster Lazaro Montes shared the Ken Griffey Jr. Hitter of the Year award. However, my money is Logan Evans because of his age for the league and a meteoric rise from relative unknown to Baseball America's Top 100 prospect (85).

Stay tuned. We'll make our M's minor league hitter of the year award pick later this week.

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