Inside The Mariners

National Publication Lists Potential Breakout Seattle Mariners Prospects

Two minor league pitchers and an outfielder were among the players listed by Baseball America as potential breakout candidates for 2025.

Teren Kowatsch

The Seattle Mariners Armed Forces Day hat is pictured in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 20, 2023, at Truist Park.
The Seattle Mariners Armed Forces Day hat is pictured in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 20, 2023, at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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The Seattle Mariners boast one of the best farm systems in all of baseball.

The Mariners ended the season with eight prospects ranked in Baseball America's top 100 and five in MLB Pipeline's top 100.

Several of Seattle's more well-regarded prospects like infielder Cole Young and starting pitcher Logan Evans will likely see some kind of major league time this season. And there will be an opportunity for several minor leaguers to take their place on various top 100 rankings at some point in 2025.

A recent article from Austin Yamada of Baseball America highlighted three potential breakout prospects for the Mariners, and it's an interesting list.

Prospects Yamada listed were outfielder Tai Peete and right-handed pitchers Jeter Martinez and Teddy McGraw.

Here are some excerpts from the article on what Yamada had to say about the prospects:

On Peete:
Peete was a prominent two-way player coming out of the Georgia high school ranks in 2023. The Mariners took him with their competitive-balance pick after the first round and decided that his future was in the field, where his athleticism was too valuable to waste. Peete was initially drafted as a shortstop, but the Mariners have already started experimenting with him at third base, left field and center field. He put together a solid .269/.343/.408 batting line for Low-A Modesto in his first full season.

On Martinez:
The appeal for Martinez begins with projectability. He’s 6-foot-4, athletic and has the room to add muscle, and his fastball already sits in the mid 90s and has touched as high as 99 mph. Martinez also shows the ability to manipulate the baseball, mixing in a two-seamer when he needs a ground ball. His slider shows good shape, but he struggles to locate it. His changeup will also flash solid armside run but lacks consistency and command.

On McGraw:
The main concern with McGraw is health, because he looks like a top-of-the-rotation starter when he’s healthy. His fastball is 94-98 mph with sharp, late armside run. Both of his secondaries are plus pitches as well. His slider is a sharp lateral breaker that destroys righthanded hitters, while his changeup shows late dive and fade away from lefties. He showed scattered control at Wake Forest, but he doesn’t need to be pinpoint with the quality of stuff that he possesses.

All three prospects are heavy on athleticism and upside. Peete and Martinez both showed flashes of potential in 2024 that make them intriguing prospects. Both will likely see some time with the organization's High-A affiliate, the Everett AquaSox in 2025.

It looks like McGraw has avoided a third serious arm injury after being shut down at the end of 2024. But if he can return healthy and put together a full season, there's a very good chance that his numbers and intangibles equate to placement on several top 100 lists.

All three players' ascension would also do well for the balance in the top-end of the Mariners farm system. Most of the team's top prospects are infielders. Lazaro Montes is the only outfield Seattle prospect who ranks in the top 100. Evans has been in-and-out of various top 100 rankings as the only Mariners pitcher represented in those lists.

Other Mariners pitchers like Jurrangelo Cijntje and Ryan Sloan are well-regarded, but they've yet to throw a pitch in a professional game.

If Peete, Martinez and McGraw put everything together, Seattle's farm system will be even more well-regarded in 2025 than it already is.

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Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

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