Seattle Mariners

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We’re weeks away from making any bold declarations about the Seattle Mariners. The Cactus League helps show us that baseball is indeed back, but outside of confirming what we already knew, very little useful information can be obtained by watching these games. Starters are only throwing about 30 pitches. The regulars are getting 2 at-bats, and the quality of competition is all over the map.

As it is often said, you can’t make any regular season decisions based on the performance of an individual in the spring training. Small sample sizes are in play, but so is the total inconsistency of the quality of competition players see on a daily basis, or sometimes inning-to-inning basis. So while we’re not going to make any bold predictions, we can at least start to collect some information and stow away some notes as we sneak up on the regular season. So let’s get started.

A Bullpen Dark Horse

A lot has been made of the Mariners bullpen early in camp. From the buzz of Matt Brash’s potential return to Andres Munoz’s kick-changeup to the flashy outings of Shintaro Fujinami and Casey Legumina. But a different veteran “pile arm” has piqued my interest, at least slightly. Enter veteran righty Jesse Hahn.

While he hasn’t seen the big leagues since 2021 and has only thrown 25.1 big league innings since the end of the 2017 season, I can’t help but be surprisingly intrigued by what I’ve seen. He’s up to 96 with the fastball and has shown a good changeup and curveball thus far. While he’s only faced seven hitters thus far, he’s collected four strikeouts. He’s probably not going to make the opening day roster, but he could very well pitch himself into consideration at some point in 2025.

Second Base Surprise?

Dylan Moore has been slated to be the primary second baseman since the Mariners basically punted the off-season, and that is still the most likely outcome 30 days out from Opening Day. But Cole Young, the top prospect many hoped would push Moore to his utility role, hasn’t gotten on the field yet with a sore arm, losing critical reps in the field and an opportunity to secure the job.

But while many fans were hoping Young could push Moore to a part-time role, another young player is making that push. Ryan Bliss is off to a really good start. He’s shown power, speed, and range in his limited time this spring and was solidly useful for a time with the Mariners last year. We need to see Bliss face more big leaguers going forward, but with the Mariners openly stating their desire to use D-Mo in his usual role, Bliss might be able to earn that chance to secure his spot in the Mariners infield.

Ben Williamson…

It seems weird, but the prospect in camp that seems to be generating the most buzz among fans is Ben Williamson. Jorge Polanco has yet to appear in a Cactus League game despite an assurance he was healthy and ready to be the primary third baseman. Luckily for the Mariners, they still have plenty of time to get him up to speed, but those concerns will only grow louder the longer he doesn’t play.

https://www.mlb.com/mariners/video/ryan-bliss-doubles-1-on-a-sharp-line-drive-to-center-fielder-alek-thomas?partnerId=web_multimedia-search_video-share

This concern has led many fans to fixate on Williamson, who is likely slated to begin the 2025 season as the everyday third baseman for the Tacoma Rainiers. And the results in camp thus far have been promising. The exit velos look good. He’s a plus defender at third base. He’s shown off speed with a stolen base and triple already. But we need to keep in mind that Williamson isn’t always facing MLB-quality arms in these games. In fact, his OppQual (opponent quality score) is just 6.2, placing the average quality of pitchers faced solidly between High-A and Double AA arms.

Williamson had a good year in 2024, splitting time between Everett and Arkansas, but he wasn’t incredible by any stretch. Making the leap to AAA is already going to be a challenge for him, so skipping the level for some short-term excitement is a dangerous proposition. Williamson is a good prospect. He’s a plus 3B who can handle SS pretty well. He runs well and is a good athlete. He got on base and doesn’t have contact issues, but his flat swing leaves him unable to tap into solid-average raw power. He has hit just 4 homers in 585 professional PAs, which doesn’t translate well for a corner infielder.

Williamson could very well make his debut in 2025, but I think trying to push him into the Opening Day roster mix is a bit extreme.