Minor League Baseball

Promising Seattle Mariners Pitching Prospect Promoted to High-A Everett AquaSox

The Mariners 2023 third-round draft pick Teddy McGraw will make his way to the High-A level after dealing with the latest in several career arm injuries.
Teren Kowatsch|
Brewster Whitecaps pitcher Teddy McGraw celebrates during a Cape Cod League game against the Bourne Braves on Aug. 11, 2021.
Brewster Whitecaps pitcher Teddy McGraw celebrates during a Cape Cod League game against the Bourne Braves on Aug. 11, 2021. | Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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Seattle Mariners

One of the Seattle Mariners most promising pitching prospects will be making his way to the Pacific Northwest to play for the High-A Everett AquaSox.

Right-handed pitcher Teddy McGraw will soon make his debut for Everett after spending most of the season working his way back from the latest in a string of arm injuries in his career. He was promoted to the AquaSox on Saturday.

The 23-year-old McGraw, who was considered one of the best pitchers available in the 2023 MLB Draft, has spent most of his time recovering from injuries since joining Seattle's organization. He was recovering from his second-ever Tommy John surgery when the Mariners drafted him out of Wake Forest. He made his pro debut in 2024 and had a 4.15 ERA with eight strikeouts in 8.2 innings across four starts for the Single-A Modesto Nuts.

McGraw made his pro debut Aug. 4, 2024, and his last appearance was Aug. 22 that season. He suffered a right flexor strain that shut him down for the rest of the year. He was anticipated to return healthy to begin 2025, but the flexor injury flared on him, which delayed his return.

McGraw has made five appearances (four starts) this season with the Mariners' Arizona Complex League team. He's posted a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts in as many innings.

Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said Friday that McGraw will start out with on a three-inning limit with Everett. The organization doesn't have a set plan whether he'll be a starter or reliever going forward, but he'll start games in the short-term so the team can have more control over his environment.

"I think for (McGraw and Taylor Dollard), they're more likely to start than come out of the (bullpen)," Hollander said Friday. "Just so we can control the warmups and they know exactly when they're coming into the game. ... And with Teddy ... If we feel like it's going well and we want to progress it to four innings or four ups-and-downs, we'll just take it — not week-to-week — but kind of watch the player. Monitor how they're doing, how they're bouncing back and making sure we're controlling the environment as much as we can for them while they're rehabbing. Just so we can give them the best chance of avoiding a setback."

McGraw was considered to be a first-round talent, but his injuries led to his slide. If he can maintain health going forward, he can become a fixture in the Mariners' future plans for their pitching staff.

Related Minor League Baseball stories

MARINERS PREDICTED TO DRAFT DOMINANT COLLEGE SOUTHPAW: The Athletic's Keith Law predicted the Mariners to use the No. 3 pick to select LSU left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson. CLICK HERE

TOP 100 MARINERS PROSPECT OUT SEVERAL WEEKS: One of the Mariners most promising minor league players will be on the shelf for an extended period just several weeks after returning from another injury CLICK HERE

MARINERS GM EXPLAINS JURRANGELO CIJNTJE'S EARLY EXITS: Justin Hollander clarified the reasoning for the first-round 2024 draft pick's early pulls and his status going forward. CLICK HERE

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Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

Teren Kowatsch is a staff writer for ''Minor League Baseball on SI'' and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He has been a writer for “On SI’’ for two years and is a graduate of the University of Idaho. You can follow him on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch

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