2025 Mariners Minor League Recap, April 29 - May 4

A massive week down on the farm

It was a busy week down on the farm in the Seattle system, with several big performances from some of the biggest names in the minor leagues. As always, let’s start things off with a Tacoma Rainiers squad that unfortunately got their butts beat pretty badly this week.

Tacoma Rainiers

11-22

Yikes. Despite some great news in the injury department and ongoing rehab assignments, Tacoma was swept by the Aviators this week and fall to 11-22 on the year. There’s obviously been a healthy amount of roster churn for the Rainiers early this season, but it’s been some pretty tough sledding thus far. Hopefully they’re able to get back on track and makes some positive strides in the PCL.

George Kirby made his first rehab start on Sunday and looked fantastic, working three innings of one run ball. Kirby’s fastball topped out around 98 and he faced just one over the minimum across his nine outs. Kirby’s presence in the rotation has been missed dearly and his return will instantly change the complexion of this team, dramatically raising both the floor and ceiling. No offense to Logan Evans, but he could probably use some additional seasoning down in Tacoma and George, when healthy, is among the best pitchers in the American League. No need to rush him back, but Kirby should be on the doorstep to return in just a few short weeks.

It was a monster week for Dominic Canzone in Las Vegas as the corner outfielder launched four homers en route to a 7-19 series. As a prime candidate for the major league roster in Luke Raley’s absence, Canzone is getting hot at the perfect time and has now raised his season OPS to a very healthy 1.012 with good peripherals. Canzone isn’t just getting lucky out there; he’s clobbering baseballs and producing results that don’t raise many red flags statistically. If it were up to me, I’d like to see Canzone get the nod as the lefty option out in RF. I think he brings a lot more upside with his bat than Rhylan Thomas does and while the speed and defense is considerably better with Thomas, I personally feel the lineup would be better suited with additional thump. If he doesn’t get the nod now, I’m frankly not sure he ever will.

Arkansas Travelers

15-12

It was only marginally better for the Travs this week than it was for Tacoma, as Arkansas only managed to take one game against the Dodger affiliate. There unfortunately just wasn’t a whole lot of good in this series. Definitely one to move on from.

Big congratulations to both Michael Hobbs and Victor Labrada for winning the internal awards of Reliever of the month and Baserunner of the month for the month of April. Hobbs, who was acquired in a minor trade during spring training with the Mets who had acquired him from the Dodgers earlier in the offseason, has revolutionized his game, going from a low strikeout reliever with solid results to a K machine that isn’t giving up anything to opposing hitters. With a 23/5 K/BB over 13 innings, Hobbs is looking to become a legitimate big league option down the line. Labrada, who was able to swipe nine bags on the month, has been with the organization longer than Hobbs and is having a solid year so far in Arkansas. The speedy outfielder has solid bat-to-ball skills and while he likely won’t be a big time slugger, he’s got a chance to be a valuable depth piece in the system and could be a threat to be a late inning defensive replacement/pinch runner. I wouldn’t be shocked if we see him in Tacoma later this season.

Shout out to the second best Julio Rodriguez in the Seattle Mariners organization, a catcher who came over from the Cardinals organization after reaching minor league free agency. He’s played incredibly sparingly but has looked good when he’s seen the field. Let the slugger slug!

Everett AquaSox

11-16

Despite a series split, it was a pretty monster week for the Frogs and their star studded lineup. It’s going to be tough to get love to everyone that deserves it, but I’m going to do my darndest to make it happen.

Working from the top down, Jonny Farmelo made a loud first impression upon rejoining the team after recovering from his ACL tear last season. The former first rounder already has a double, a triple, and two homers in his first four games of the year and has made some plays in the outfield. With some of the highest ceiling in the entire system, Farmelo will look to continue his hot start and lock down his spot in the Mariner’s future plans. Both Michael Arroyo and Colt Emerson also had nice weeks, with the duo each hitting a pair of homers and getting their season numbers closer to where you’d expect them to be after slow starts. I’m not all that concerned over their production thus far as they’ve each been steady producers every step of the way, but it’s nice to see them finally get paid out with some knocks.

Continuing with the top prospects, Lazaro Montes continues to look dominant in Hi-A as he raised his season OPS to 1.047 after a big week against Eugene. Launching two more homers, a triple, and walking five times, Montes looks like he’ll be a short timer in the Northwest League this season. I’m not saying I’d expect a promotion to be imminent, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent he’s simply better at baseball than the opposing pitchers. Still only 20 years old, Montes is making the case to be one of the most feared hitters in all of the minor leagues.

I had to squeeze in some Tai Peete love to round out the offensive rundown. With an exceptionally promising 8-24 week that included a homer and a double, Peete has started the month of May off on fire and is looking better at the plate. The whiff will always be a concern, but if he can make enough contact to warrant his aggressive approach at the plate, his speed on the basepaths and defense provide enough value to make his profile work. Whether it happens or not is something only time will tell, but I’m certainly rooting for him to put it together. He’s a fun player.

Weekly Jurrangelo check in: 5.0 IP 2 ER 1 BB 2K. His ERA as a starter is 2.66. Perhaps it’s time to can the whole lefty reliever idea.

Modesto Nuts

18-9

It was a series split for the Nuts this week against the second place Giants, a series punctuated with a walkoff two run homer in Sunday’s finale off the bat of Carlos Jimenez. With the best record of any Seattle affiliate, the Nuts are proving to be a major threat in the California League and feature plenty of grit that should gain some fire power over the course of the summer.

After an unlucky run to close out the month of April, Felnin Celesten is back to his former self and starting off the month of May the right way. Slashing .444/.474/.667 through four games, Celesten has raised his batting average back up to .333 and is looking like every bit of the player we thought he could be. I’m curious to see if the power ticks up at all, but everything else as been as advertised or better. He’s a great player.

Ryan Sloan may not have been overly dominant on the mound with his high octane stuff, however he got excellent results on the bump and lowered his season ERA to 2.92. The young right hander has looked great this season after skipping the complex league entirely and should continue to find great success in the confines of the California League. I’m curious to see how aggressive the M’s are with Sloan, both in terms of his promotion timeline and inning load. I’d imagine they’ll continue to be relatively conservative with his innings, however what happens if he continues to perform at this level throughout the summer? Is a late season promotion to Everett a possibility? It’d be aggressive, but I like to think it’s on the table. Knock on wood the budding star can continue his success on the mound and force these tough decisions to be considered down the line.

ACL Mariners

1-0

The ACL season has begun! It’s quite literally been one game, but a resounding 15-6 win is a great way to kick things off. Former big time IFA signing George Feliz hasn’t been able to get things clicking as a professional, but a 3-3 start with a homer and double certainly bodes well for the centerfielder. The pitchers thus far have featured plenty of rehabbing names, with big leaguers Jackson Kowar and Trevor Gott getting innings as well as minor leaguer German Fajardo getting an inning to shake the rust off. This ACL team doesn’t have a ton of names the average fan might be familiar with after a down year in the DSL last season, but with plenty of draft capital to infuse into the system, there’s a good chance the final roster will look a whole lot different than it does now.

That wraps it up! Thanks for reading and GOMS!!