2025 Mariners Minor League Recap, July 7 - July 20

Back in action!

After a midseason break for the draft, we’re back in action recapping everything Seattle Mariners minor leagues! There’s no better spot to start that the red hot Tacoma Rainiers, a squad that’s been playing their best ball of the season when it’s mattered most.

Tacoma Rainiers

52-44

The Rainiers have been playing some really good ball as of late and have positioned themselves well for their second half playoff push, currently sitting atop the rankings with a three game lead. Should they manage to keep this level of play up for the bulk of the second half, there’s little doubt they’ll be vying for a bid into the PCL postseason.

It wasn’t the best weekend for Tyler Locklear after the minor leagues took a break for a few days, but Locklear’s month of July has put him squarely in the conversation for a big league promotion. Batting a cool .404 on the month, Locklear’s OPS of 1.148 in July has his season stats in excellent shape, and the ability to reduce his swing and miss has managed to stick over the course of his power surge. He’s back to looking like the old version of himself that managed to grace the back end of some top one hundred prospect lists and seems like an ideal candidate for a 1B/DH role in Seattle. If the trade deadline doesn’t fill the hole at first base, perhaps Locklear can.

Perhaps the only other player on this roster with a clear path to playing time in the majors, Brandyn Garcia has looked good in his time with the Rainiers and should be getting some run out of the Seattle ‘pen sooner than later. His fastball-slider combo is hell on opposing batters and though the command isn’t necessarily pinpoint, it should be more than good enough to play in a bullpen setting. With as dire as the current state of the Mariners’ bullpen is, Garcia’s potential as a backend arm should be of considerable interest for Jerry and Justin and could provide much needed aid to the sixth or seventh inning on a nightly basis.

Arakansas Travelers

47-43

The Travs might be in second place in the second half standings, however as Springfield won the first half, they’re technically in a playoff spot for the time being. This team is far too talented to be denied a playoff spot and I sincerely hope we get as much bonus baseball as possible.

Michael Arroyo continues to epitomize consistency at the plate and looks like a legitimate threat to crack the big leagues at some point next season. Clocking in with a .964 OPS during his time as a Traveler, Arroyo is walking considerably more than he’s striking out and looks like a seasoned veteran at the dish despite being just 20 years old in Double-A. There’s not much to be said about Arroyo other than “this kid is special”. Sure, the glove isn’t all that good in the field and might limit him a bit defensively, but we’re talking about some tremendous talent he innately possesses that is far too potent to overlook. The feel for the barrel, the power, the discipline; It’s the complete package. How aggressive they’ll choose to be with his promotion schedule isn’t clear at present, but he’s given little indication he’d struggle with Triple-A pitching. Starting next season in the PCL is looking more and more like a possibility with each passing day.

Another potential relief option that’s on the horizon is Charlie Beilenson, last year’s fifth rounder out of Duke. A senior sign as a draftee, Beilenson uses his plus changeup to pile up K’s and could be an interesting option for next year’s bullpen picture. He’s already 25 and doesn’t have overwhelming velocity (he’s typically 92-95), but his ability to command his arsenal allows his already solid stuff to play up, and it’s dominated minor league hitters thus far. He’ll likely start the season in Triple-A next year and might even get a look there later this season if he continues to trend positively.

Everett AquaSox

45-45

It’s been a brutal go for Everett this second half and despite being less than 25 games into things, they’re realistically out of the hunt entirely. Barring a crazy run, it seems unlikely we’ll get the Frogs competing for a Northwest League title in 2025.

Jurrangelo Cijntje looked fantastic in his first outing coming off the break, logging 5.2 IP against the Hops and tallying seven K’s along the way. Allowing just one run on a solo homer and three hits in total, Jurrangelo continues to be lethal as a right hander on the mound and lowered his ERA down to 3.45 as a starter despite a couple of clunkers of late. It seems unlikely Cijntje will continue to mess with the switch pitching for much longer as he’s clearly superior as a righty, though it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see him continue throwing with both hands until the offseason arrived, a prime time to work on a new offering to get lefties out as a right hander.

Colt Emerson, Everett’s other top prospect, launched a birthday homer during Sunday’s matinee and continues to look more and more comfortable at the plate after his slow start to the season. Now 20 years of age, the young shortstop has continued to show off his polished approach at the plate and has gotten into more power recently, a welcome sight as it’s really the last bit of his game that needs to become more consistent. With his increased defensive chops, mature eye at the dish, and blossoming power, Emerson’s upside remains incredibly high and comes with a relatively high floor considering his lack of track record against upper minors pitching.

Modesto Nuts

51-39

The Nuts will have to track down a loaded San Jose team to find their way to the playoffs, but just three games back with plenty of season left to go, they’ll have every shot to do just that. It will be interesting to see how much help they get via new draftees, however it seems likely at least a handful of new faces will make their way to Modesto in the coming days.

Aiden Butler really spun the ball well in Sunday’s game and continues to be an underrated arm in this talented system. Last year’s ninth rounder logged six shutout innings against the league leading Giants and continues to perform excellently in his first professional season. The lanky right hander repeats his mechanics well for someone of his stature and is looking like a name people need to familiarize themselves with sooner than later. Now with an ERA at 3.29, expect Butler to continue his strong performance in the coming months and lock down his spot in the rotation for the rest of their playoff push.

ACL Mariners

We got treated to both Brock Rodden and Cade Marlowe rehab stints in the ACL over the past week, a welcome sign for two bats who’ve been on the sidelines for quite some time. Getting those two back into the lineup with regularity should provide a big time boost for two teams in the middle of the playoff picture.

With draftees making their way into the organization, Dustin Crenshaw seems like a prime candidate for a promotion to Modesto. He’s been the team’s best producer all season and deserves a shot against better competition.

DSL Mariners

Yorger Bautista and Maximo Rodriguez both made the DSL All-Star team! Congrats to both on the accomplishment and to their excellent production on the field.

That concludes our weekly roundup. GOMS!!