3/5/21: Mariners Spring Training Game Five Open Game Thread

The Mariners face their best-case scenario

It’s a blustery gray Friday here in pandemic Seattle but the Mariners and White Sox would like to invite you to (virtually) come sit a spell under sunny Arizona skies and watch some of baseball’s youngest/most exciting talent take the field.

Chris Flexen makes both his Mariners debut and his first stateside appearance in a year. It will be the first time he pitches in MLB as anything other than a New York Met. The Mariners will back Flexen up with a lineup that is a third lightly-seasoned MLB veterans, a third prospects, and a third assorted flavors.

The White Sox, on the other hand, will start mostly their established young stars (plus a not-so-young one in Abreu) and 2019 third overall pick Andrew Vaughn, who is currently the top prospect for the White Sox. If you like beefy slugging boys who hit the daylights out of the ball, Andrew Vaughn is your dude. They’re also starting 2018 fifth-round draft pick Jonathan Stiever, Chicago’s #6 prospect who made his debut last season, who I do not know much about except he has a mid-90s fastball and a nasty curve. He’s also from Wisconsin, so I assume he and Kelenic know each other, especially as Stiever is just a couple of years older than JK.

Today’s game starts at 12:05 and will be broadcast on the White Sox TV network, so not only can you watch it if you have MLB TV but you can also watch it for free on whitesox.com and their YouTube channel (it will also stream on the White Sox Facebook page, but in-market only). Free TV? We love free TV! Happy Friday to all.