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These 4 Mariners have made massive jumps in ESPN Prospect Rankings
I think I might have an issue with the Rookie of the Year Draft Pick compensation incentive that the MLB has introduced. Yes, this is related to this article, don't worry. It's only the first requirement that I want to touch on. A player must be ranked in the top 100 on two of the following prospect lists. ESPN, Baseball America, and MLB Pipeline. They also have to be up within two weeks, which also seems a little short. May 1st, maybe 75-80% of the season or something like that, seems more reasonable.
Bryce Miller is doing things that have literally never been done before, which is rare to say in baseball since it has been around since the Dawn of Time. Or the 1800s with 1901 as an unofficial time people always go back to for stats. Yet he wasn't ranked on enough top 100s, so he is ineligible.
Why am I talking about him? Because Kiley McDaniel recently released an updated look at his prospect rankings, and there are some Mariners players that made massive jumps. I'm not counting Miller as a prospect anymore after his 5th start in the Majors, but he still moved all the way up to 26th on the list. It's incredible and I love watching him pitch, but he isn't one of the three that I will be talking about from Kiley's list.
Let's get to it. Here are the three Mariners prospects making giant moves in the ESPN prospect rankings.
Cole Young - #42, up from unranked
Coming into the draft, there was talk about Cole Young already being mature for his age. I'm not talking about his personality or anything (I don't know the guy, so maybe he is), but instead am talking about his hit tool. It was one that stood out, and if it stuck with him in the Minors, it could fast track his way through the different levels and get the high schooler a shot before many would expect. The tool was so good, it was at the top of the class for high schoolers.
Part of that is being a bit older for this age, as he will turn 20 in the summer of 2023. That hasn't stopped him from hitting .258/.399/.380 at Modesto this year, which is still impressive for someone in their first full season of pro ball. He's shown good speed (11-14 on steals) and a nearly equal BB/K rate, with 28BB/29K in 188 PA. Those are incredibly impressive rates.
They've had him at short, and he could possibly stay there. He likely will waver between average and above average with arm strength, and has a good enough glove to stay there. He's rocketing up the boards because people think that the bat isn't just good, but GOOD! I'm not saying he is gonna be a .300 hitter, cause he is only 19. But... maybe?
Harry Ford - #54 up from #56
Was this a massive jump? No, but I love Harry Ford's game, and he was one of the barely missed top 50 guys. There's something about a catcher out of high school getting ranked highly, and then performing as good as they thought he would. It's impressive enough in his own right, and has definitely been worth the pick that the Mariners made when they took him.
2023 is Ford's age-20 season, and he's spent the year in Everett up to this point. While he hasn't showed the power that one might hope for, there are other facets of his game that are more impressive than that. Ford is striking out just 17.7% of the time, while maintaining an insane walk rate of 20.9%. He is literally walking once per game (39 in 39 games at the time of writing this).
They've been splitting his time between catcher and DH, making sure to keep his bat in the lineup and keep his legs fresh. It's shown on the basepaths, as Ford has continued to steal bases, going 7-10 so far on the season. He has shown a bit of power so far, with just 6 doubles but 5 HR. The power will come, and it's more impressive to see how good his eye has been up to this point. With a .268/.433/.430, we should be incredibly happy with how he's done.
Meanwhile, he is showing plus-ability to play catcher, posting sub 2 second pop times, which gets him in on the better side of the major league average time of 2 seconds. He's nowhere near JP Realmuto, but an athlete behind the plate will continue to grow and improve instead of stagnating early. Harry Ford is climbing the ranks, and will likely be in Kiley's top 50 (if not higher) next season.
Jonatan Clase - Unranked, but now a 50-FV tier player
The way it's set up, it makes it look like Clase is ranked 74th. It would actually make sense and doesn't seem like a stretch. The dude has incredible speed, is showing good pop, and can hit from both sides of the plate. Just 21 at AA, he is doing well for his situation. In fact, he's got me wondering just how good he can be, cause the ceiling is pretty high up there. I actually talked to Kiley a little bit, and these are just guys who are moved into the 50 FV Tier.
Arkansas, and the league that they are in, isn't easy to hit in. In fact, it's known as a pitchers league. The strides that Clase has shown so far in 2023 have put him on many a radar, at least for those who weren't already aware of him. After how he hit in Everett, the Mariners had no choice but to keep challenging him by moving him to AA. Check out his Everett numbers.
21 Games. .333/.453/.701. 9 2B. 7 HR. 17 SB. 17% walk rate. 26.4% K rate.
That's a lot of power and speed in a limited time, and done with a pretty good eye as well. Yes, it's A ball, but he did that all before his 21st birthday. With an arm hovering around average, a good glove, plus-plus speed, and a bat that's looking good, Clase is worth of talk for a top 100 spot, especially if that power can stay in the mid teens.