2025 Prospects Thread

[Seattle or Bust]

Not that he's a prospect, but I hadn't realized that the M's signed Daniel Bard.

Bard is now 39 years old... but he had a 1.79 ERA in '22 for Colorado. Pitched to 3.7 bWAR and finished 16th in MVP voting.

He has 6 K's in 3 innings for Tacoma.

He used to throw 100 mph with a 90 mph slider... wonder if he's still got something in the tank. Last pitched in '23.

[Donn Beach]

I'll give them credit for their ability to resurrect pitchers.
Interesting he's been through this before.

Always renowned for his fastball, Bard has seen his velocity increase through his three appearances and reach up to 95.0 mph in his most recent outing, with the potential for better still. It's also worth noting he's had huge whiff rates on his sinker and slider, at 62.5 percent and 50.0 percent respectively.

It really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see the Houston, Texas native prospering, with all of the adversity he's endured throughout his career. His mental fortitude is beyond reproach, with the best example arguably coming when he was named the 2020 NL Comeback Player of the Year after six years in the Major League wilderness.

[rockycola]

Rainiers were the comeback kids Friday night; scored 14 runs in the last 4 innings to overcome a 12-3 deficit, winning 17-12.
Appears AAA suits Taveras. He's hitting like he's insulted and got a WAKE UP slap in the face.
3 of the Express pitchers are former Mariner org guys. Plassemeyer, Dugger & Curvelo.
The ancient Bard downed the Express 1-2-3 in the 8th (two flyouts & a line out, all to outfielders) and got the W.
Haven't noticed anything on the transaction wire yet but Harry Ford wasn't in Friday's lineup but Blake Hunt was.....and committed pitched 2 errors.
~

Rainiers, Fri. 2025-06-27.png (75.03 KiB) Viewed 120 times

Rainiers 2025-06-27.png (107.78 KiB) Viewed 120 times

[rockycola]

On the other hand, AA Travelers, scored 11 runs in the 7th and held a 15-12 lead thru the 7th, but ended up losing 17-15 Friday.
~

Arkansas 2025-06-27.png (69.44 KiB) Viewed 118 times

[TravelersFan]

Rainiers were the comeback kids Friday night; scored 14 runs in the last 4 innings to overcome a 12-3 deficit, winning 17-12.
Appears AAA suits Taveras. He's hitting like he's insulted and got a WAKE UP slap in the face.
3 of the Express pitchers are former Mariner org guys. Plassemeyer, Dugger & Curvelo.
The ancient Bard downed the Express 1-2-3 in the 8th (two flyouts & a line out, all to outfielders) and got the W.
Haven't noticed anything on the transaction wire yet but Harry Ford wasn't in Friday's lineup but Blake Hunt was.....and committed pitched 2 errors.
~
Rainiers, Fri. 2025-06-27.png
Rainiers 2025-06-27.png

me and the wife were there!! it was an awesome game. Blas Castano got roughed up early. a lot of it was just bad luck. and i kinda hated it (but only just a little) for Curvelo since he was with the Travelers last year. he had a bad game on Tuesday night as well.

Harry is on the Mariners taxi squad until Garver comes back or goes on the IL for an extended period.

will be there again tonite. Logan Evans on the mound for the Rainers.

[desbcoach]

Pop designated and Burgos called up, wasting having a good year at AA and only one outing in AAA

[rockycola]

Rainiers were the comeback kids Friday night; scored 14 runs in the last 4 innings to overcome a 12-3 deficit, winning 17-12.
Appears AAA suits Taveras. He's hitting like he's insulted and got a WAKE UP slap in the face.
3 of the Express pitchers are former Mariner org guys. Plassemeyer, Dugger & Curvelo.
The ancient Bard downed the Express 1-2-3 in the 8th (two flyouts & a line out, all to outfielders) and got the W.
Haven't noticed anything on the transaction wire yet but Harry Ford wasn't in Friday's lineup but Blake Hunt was.....and committed pitched 2 errors.
~
Rainiers, Fri. 2025-06-27.png
Rainiers 2025-06-27.png

me and the wife were there!! it was an awesome game. Blas Castano got roughed up early. a lot of it was just bad luck. and i kinda hated it (but only just a little) for Curvelo since he was with the Travelers last year. he had a bad game on Tuesday night as well.

Harry is on the Mariners taxi squad until Garver comes back or goes on the IL for an extended period.

will be there again tonite. Logan Evans on the mound for the Rainers.

Exciting! Keep bringing the good vibes and enjoy the game, T.F.! Evans is a solid prospect. If the opportunity arises, get him back up to the show!

[rockycola]

Pop designated and Burgos called up, wasting having a good year at AA and only one outing in AAA

Looks like his track record is solid. This is his first cup of coffee in the Show! Good Luck, Kid!!!
~

Juan Burgos 2025-06-28 .jpg (34.81 KiB) Viewed 72 times

[TravelersFan]

Rainers blown out at Round Rock tonite. Logan Evans got roughed up for 5 runs in the first and it was downhill from there. best part of the game was Jackie Lopez pitching the bottom of the 8th. it was awesome. Harry Ford was dying laughing when they were warming up. first batter went yard, but then he struck out Piotto after Piotto actually challenged a called strike (he lost). Harry looked up after he challenged and said "really?, we're ready to get out of here, c'mon." the best part was Jack doing his Craig Kimbrel impersonation on the next batter. and his Luis Tiant' impersonation on the next. he finished by striking out Cody Freeman who is one helluva hitter. Jack actually hit 90mph on a few pitches. we talked to Harry after the game for quite some time and he said it was about the most fun he'd ever had catching. said he was doing all he could to keep from laughing. hopefully, they can even the series tomorrow.

[rockycola]

Thinking of prospects and 2nd base specifically, is there any place for Ryan Bliss on the Mariners anymore? Does he have a future with the M's?

Young is somewhat entrenched but I don't think he's won the job as much as he's still auditioning for it. Cole is still growing up in MLB with the Mariners; he'll be 22 at the end of July. I think Dipoto is pleased with how he is doing thus far in his first 23 MLB games.

Bliss will be 26 at the end of December. He is still classified as a rookie, so is he still a prospect?

We've talked about what to do when Robles returns and most are thinking he'll still have the RF spot held for him.
What of Bliss? He seems to be forgotten, out of sight, out of mind.

From MLBTR article:

By Darragh McDonald | April 10, 2025 at 2:35pm CDT

The Mariners today provided an update on infielder Ryan Bliss, who was placed on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a torn left biceps. Today’s announcement relays that an MRI confirmed the severity of the tear and the need for surgery, with an expected recovery timeline of four to five months.

It’s obviously a frustrating development for Bliss and the club. It’s unclear if that timeline includes an eventual rehab assignment or if it will take that long just to begin rehabbing. Either way, he will miss the majority of the campaign even in a best-case scenario and it seems possible that he won’t return in 2025 at all.