MLB Writer says Mariners fans shouldn't worry about recent prospect ranking
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Baseball America recently announced its first top 100 prospects list for the 2026 season, and it featured four young Seattle Mariners on the ledger. Shortstop Colt Emerson, outfielder Lazaro Montes, left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson, and right-handed pitcher Ryan Sloan all made the rankings.
However, the Mariners landed eight players in their initial rankings a year ago, indicating that the team's much-vaunted farm system has declined over the past 12 months. That didn't sit well with some Ms fans who rook to social media to voice their displeasure.
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But writer Zachary Rymer of Sodo Mojo insists that's just the nature of the swirling winds around all prospects. He stated in a recent article that not only have the M's dealt away some of last year's ranked players (like catcher Harry Ford), but evaluations are also an inexact science.
"The upside is still very much there with all of these guys, but so are excuses to bet the under," Rymer wrote. "And if you need a reminder of how many top prospectsdon't pan out, just remember that Jarred Kelenic, Evan White, and Emerson Hancock were all once ranked ahead of Logan Gilbert."
While a case can be made that names like Michael Arroyo and possibly Jonny Farmelo could have been part of the Seattle contingent, they didn't quite make the cut. At the same time, the onus falls on any player who feels they are being undervalued to prove critics and analysts wrong. What happens on the field matters much more than what goes down on paper.
"This is ultimately a 'don't get mad, get even' situation," Rymer stated. "If the Mariners' prospects who were snubbed byBaseball America don't like it, then they need to go state their case this year."
