Minor League Baseball

Seattle Mariners' Top International Prospect Struggles in Professional Debut on Monday

Yorger Bautista, who was signed this past offseason out of Venezuela, took the field on Monday for the Dominican Summer League Mariners.
Brady Farkas|
A detailed view of the Seattle Mariners armed forces day hat in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park in 2023.
A detailed view of the Seattle Mariners armed forces day hat in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park in 2023. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners fans got their first looks at top international prospect Yorger Bautista on Monday, as he took the field with the Dominican Summer League Mariners in their season opener.

Bautista, who is the No. 13 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. The M's signed him this past winter out of Venezuela and he's not projected to make his major league debut until 2030.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

A left-handed hitter and thrower, Bautista utilizes an unusual swing and set up, resting his bat on his back shoulder until he strides forward. It's worked for him so far, with elite bat speed and double-plus raw power that he'll be able to continue to get to consistently as he gets more reps.

Bautista's arm strength matches his power as one of the strongest in the class. He has the chance to be a plus defender, and he should get the chance to play center field with his plus speed as he gets his pro career underway this summer.

As for the rest of the Mariners prospects in the system, most of them are off on Monday. The ACL Mariners are in action but the Single-A Modesto Nuts, High-A Everett AquaSox, Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers are all off.

The Mariners themselves are off as well and will resume play on Tuesday when they open up a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park.

First pitch is 6:40 p.m. PT. Seattle is 32-26 on the season.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.