Minor League Baseball

Top 100 Prospect Felnin Celesten Ready to Go For Spring Breakout Game

The young Seattle Mariners shortstop has played in several Cactus League games for the team this spring.
Teren Kowatsch|
A 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.
A 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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Seattle Mariners

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners will have six of their seven top 100 prospects on the field for their spring breakout game against the Cleveland Guardians on March 14 at Goodyear Park in Goodyear, Ariz.

One those players, Felnin Celesten, is ready for the opportunity.

Celesten, a 2023 international signing out of the Dominican Republic, missed most of 2024 with various injuries — including a broken hamate bone in his right wrist that ended his season.

He was limited to 32 games in the Rookie Ball Arizona Complex League. In his limited time healthy, he hit .352 with 10 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 27 RBIs and stole five bases.

The 19-year old shortstop and consensus top 100 player (No. 73 MLB Pipeline, No. 89 Baseball America) has been cleared for baseball activities since the fall. And he's happy for the opportunity to show out in the spring breakout game.

"I'm excited, similar to last year," Celesten said via translator Freddy Llanos on Thursday. "It's a beautiful thing when all the prospects are able to get together and play one game. So I'm very (much) looking forward to it tomorrow."

The short time spent in the ACL was still educational for the Dominican native.

"I think I learned a lot about myself in just those very few games that I played," Celesten said. "I think I learned more (about) what situations or where I can help the team the most when I'm on the field."

On top of his wrist injury, Celesten suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain in 2024.

Fellow Seattle top 100 prospect Colt Emerson went through his own share of injuries in last year. Emerson has said that going through that helped him known his body better and how to take care of it. And the same is true for Celesten.

"To me, it was 'what are some things that I'm lacking of? What are some things that are my weakness?' And it tells me what I need to work on," Celesten said.

Celesten's new knowledge of himself and the resources present being surrounded by major league coaches and players has helped him this spring. His fellow top 100 prospects have also been a big help.

All of Seattle's top 100 players aside from Celesten have spent time in the organization's "A" ball ranks. Some ended last year with the High-A Everett AquaSox and others were with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. And he's picked on a lot of information and experience from his peers.

"I talked a lot to Lazaro and Michael Arroyo," Celesten said. "All of us being Latino, we also have similar backgrounds. I think those are the guys that I talk to the most about what to expect coming in through the system."

The combination of health, coaching and advice has been beneficial to Celesten.

Despite not being an initial non-roster invitee, Celesten has had the chance to play for the Mariners in multiple Cactus League games. And he's looked decent.

Celesten has gone 2-for-5 in Cactus League competition with one run and three RBIs. He's shown some high-velocity power in those throws.

"I'm trying to enjoy it the best I can," Celesten said. "It's the same game. I know a lot of those guys are big-leaguers, the level is a little higher. But to me, it's the game. So I'm just trying to enjoy it."

Celesten hasn't been overwhelmed competing in Cactus League games, but he has noticed and is impressed by the way the big leaguers have conducted themselves at camp.

"It's so much more professional. They really do the little things right. Down to running the bases, how they take care of themselves, their routines. It's all the little things they do better."

Celesten is healthy, physically stronger, wiser and one year more experienced than he was in 2024. It's uncertain where he'll begin 2025 within Seattle's organization — he responded "I don't know" when he was asked a one-word question, "Modesto," in reference to the Low-A Modesto Nuts.

Celesten's offseason has already produced results. And it will be interesting to see what a full season of him healthy can look like.

"They told me a little bit about keeping the ball a little more in the air," Celesten said. "Work a little bit more, stay on my routine and just be a leader here. ... I think it's something I worked on even in the offseason. But I think those are some things that are going to help me a lot. And I think if I keep pursuing that road that they paved for me, I think I can reach my highest potential."

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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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