The annual Spring Breakout game has arrived! A relatively new feature to the MLB spring training schedule, the spring breakout is a prospect-only bout pitting one organization’s best against another, providing fans an easy way to get familiarized with the team’s top farmhands. The Mariners have one of the more potent rosters in the league but will be facing a talented Brewers team littered with elite talent, setting up what should be one of the more exciting matchups this event has to offer. If you’re
at all interested in what the (not so distant) future of the Mariners could look like, I can’t recommend this game enough.
When: Today, March 20th, at 2:10 PT
Where to watch: MLB.tv, MLB.com, or the MLB app
Pitchers
Kade Anderson, Charlie Beilenson, Tyler Cleveland, Casey Hintz, Lucas Kelly, Po-Chun Lin, Brock Moore, Robinson Ortiz, Mason Peters, Ryan Sloan
Anderson and Sloan, the team’s top two pitching prospects, will deservedly catch most of the headlines for this pitching staff. Both feature premiere pedigree and are top ten minor league pitchers in baseball, though Sloan’s immense frame and bullying arsenal provide an interesting contrast to Anderson’s deception and pitchability. Regardless of their differences on the mound, they are both immensely talented players and are sure to get into game action this afternoon.
Though not nearly as elite as Anderson or Sloan, both Lucas Kelly and Mason Peters deserve to be highlighted ahead of tonight’s game. Members of last year’s draft class, Peters (4th round) and Kelly (6th round) were both relievers in college and feature big time stuff that gives them a great shot to move quickly. Peters, who should be a starter this season, is a low launch lefty with a fastball that plays well at the top of the zone and a devastating array of breaking balls he can spin with the best of them. He’s got a slight frame, but the arsenal should be fine as a starter if the body can hold up. Kelly, who’s a pure relief prospect, is a high octane side-armer that’s touched triple digits with his heater and gets big extension down the mound from his 6’4 frame. It’s primarily a fastball-slider profile that could move through the minors as fast as just about anybody in this system.
Po-Chun Lin is a fun inclusion to this roster. We’re yet to see his debut, but he’s gotten good reviews from scouts who have seen him. A stout lefty from Taiwan, Lin has found success in international play and is a name to monitor for the real prospect sickos.
Catchers
Josh Caron
Luke Stevenson
Caron is looking to bounce back after a disappointing first season in the pro ranks, but Stevenson, who was last year’s Comp A selection, looked superb at the plate last summer and should be one of the more exciting prospects to follow this season. His blend of defense, power, and leadership is enviable for such a young player, and he looked to be finding his hit tool with regularity in his debut with Modesto.
Infielders
Michael Arroyo, Nick Becker, Felnin Celesten, Colt Emerson, Charlie Pagliarini, Brock Rodden, Austin St. Laurent, Luis Suisbel
This group is headlined by Colt Emerson and Michael Arroyo, two players who got a healthy amount of run with the big league squad this spring and more than held their own. They’re both likely to debut in the majors this year and figure to be key factors for this organization moving forward. Rodden, another guy who’s had a really nice spring in his own right, is finally back healthy and raking, a fantastic sign for a guy who could easily fill in as a utility guy at some point in the near future. He’s something of a Leo Rivas/Dylan Moore hybrid, though he might end up having a better offensive game than both of them.
Nick Becker and Felnin Celesten are the names that are most probable to make major moves on ranking boards this season, though which direction is yet to be seen. Celesten is entering a “prove it” type of year after last season’s let down, but he’s shown he can be an elite performer when healthy and remains just 20 years old. Becker, who briefly debuted last summer after signing as the team’s second rounder, has a bundle of tools that gives him immense ceiling, but he’ll have to get everything dialed in if he wants to ascend up the rankings like many think he can.
Outfielders
Yorger Bautista, Korbyn Dickerson, Jonny Farmelo, Carlos Jimenez, Lazaro Montes, Jared Sundstrom, Aiden Taurek
Both Montes and Farmelo have been atop prospect lists for several years now and feature immense potential, though neither seems all that likely to debut in the big leagues this year due to a variety of reasons. Farmelo has missed over a year and a half of his professional career due to injury and desperately needs reps to prove what he can do, and Montes, who’s performed well throughout his professional career, started to get exposed a bit in Double-A after a torrid start to his promotion. They both remain immense pieces to the future of this organization and will have every opportunity to keep their place near the top of our rankings.
A sleeper name to know, Aiden Taurek could not stop hitting last summer in Modesto and looks like a tough AB on pitchers. He’s an OBP first bat that could be an interesting name to follow in the AquaSox lineup.
