Seattle Mariners: The Top Prospects You Should Know
The Seattle Mariners have what could be the best farm system in all of baseball. The group features two Top-10 prospects (Noelvi Marte, Julio Rodriguez), a collection of pitching that is unmatched by nearly all MLB teams (Emerson Hancock, George Kirby, Matt Brash, Brandon Williamson), and 2021 draftee, Harry Ford, who will make a big splash real quick. A prospect who’s not getting near the same amount of love and attention is Alberto Rodriguez. In a deep Seattle prospect pool, he could, when the dust settles, end up as the best power-hitter the Mariners have at their disposal.
Rodriguez, acquired by Seattle in the Tajuan Walker deal, has gotten literally no love from the prospect community. Why? I honestly can’t give an explanation for that. What I can say, this is not a prospect who can be overlooked for much longer. Make the case for Julio Rodriguez as the Mariners’ best power hitter, I’ll hitch my wagon to Alberto Rodriguez.
There is plenty of merit to my belief. In 2021, Rodriguez joined Julio Rodriguez and Jared Kelenic as the only players in the Mariners organization to post an average exit velocity of 89 mph. While I’ve not seen Julio in person, I’ve been front row for both Alberto and Kelenic. Let me say, (no disrespect to Kelenic; he’s fantastic), Alberto Rodriguez has quite possibly the most lethal bat speed I’ve seen of any prospect last season.
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During a game in Modesto, I was witness to his power firsthand. The smallest bit of contact with the ball, Rodriguez just absolutely smoked. Alberto Rodriguez has a monster of a swing. It is true that Julio Rodriguez might be the better overall hitter (as with Kelenic), but I can’t fathom, if the contact remains consistent (and scarily improves) moving up the minor league ranks, Alberto Rodriguez not being the biggest home run threat at T-Mobile Field.
In Lo-A West play this season, Rodriguez ranked 6th in OPS. This was ahead of prospects such as Marco Luciano, Luis Matos and Ezequiel Tovar. He’s got a pedigree in the minors. The aforementioned players were some of the highest-rated in Lo-A ball across all of the majors. I’m not going to proclaim Rodriguez will maintain that OPS through his minor league tenure (regression did come during a Hi-A promotion). The OPS definitely won’t regress enough to bring his stock lower to warrant less attention than he’s already getting (which isn’t much).
The idea that Rodriguez could be the best power hitter in Seattle should intrigue most. It is rather odd nobody is giving him the publicity he’s been warranted. In the Mariners eyes, Rodriguez should be valued as untouchable. They will obviously deal him over some of the other mega prospects, however that will prove to be unwise. I’m not saying the new ARod is a franchise savior. I am saying he’s a a threat to hit the ball out of the park every at-bat. Can you really afford to not excited for that if you’re the Mariners or their fans?
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
