When the Seattle Mariners traded away their closer Paul Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks, many focused on the two Major League players that were acquired in Josh Rojas and Dominic Canzone. Those two certainly have been crucial in the Mariners August and September hot streak, but the third player brought over from the Diamondbacks has been heating up in Triple-A.
Ryan Bliss had just recently made his Triple-A debut with the Reno Aces when he was sent to the Mariners organization. He reported to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers where he struggled to find his footing at the Triple-A level. However, the young middle infielder has been starting to find his stroke.
In his last seven games Bliss is hitting .565/.656/1.130 with two doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He has also only struck out twice and walked eight times and gone six-for-seven on stolen base attempts. This stretch has raised his overall Tacoma numbers to .256/.347/.465 which is getting closer to the numbers he put up in Double-A earlier this season with the D-Backs organization. He hit .358/.414/.594 in 68 games at the Double-A level before being promoted in July.
No. 12 prospect Ryan Bliss hit two homers today for AAA Tacoma. Interesting athlete for roster consideration next season: pic.twitter.com/ezHdEnF9RV
— Jason A. Churchill (@ProspectInsider) September 4, 2023
The Rainiers are in the hunt for a playoff spot with just over two weeks to go and if Bliss can keep up his hot hitting at the plate then the Rainiers might find themselves traveling to Oklahoma City to play the Oklahoma City Dodgers for the Pacific Coast League title.
Modesto Nuts (A) – California League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 3 | Colt Emerson | SS | .385/.510/.577, 2 HR, 15.2% BB, 17.2% K |
| 4 | Michael Arroyo | SS | .252/.398/.395, 3 HR, 12.9% BB, 20.1% K |
| 8 | Tai Peete | SS | .289/.422/.422, 2 HR, 10% BB, 25% K |
| 11 | Lazaro Montes | OF | .297/.438/.550, 12 HR, 18.4% BB, 25% K |
| 18 | Michael Morales | RHP | 22 GS, 101.1 IP, 4.53 ERA, 24.4% K, 9.2% BB |
| 28 | Milkar Perez | 3B | .267/.374/.363, 1 HR, 12.9% BB, 24.7% K |
| 35 | Tyler Gough | RHP | 9 G, 8 GS, 28 IP, 6.11 ERA, 17.7% K, 11.3% BB |
Everett AquaSox (A+) — Northwest League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 1 | Cole Young | SS | .276/.400/.447, 11 HR, 14.7% BB, 15.1% K |
| 2 | Harry Ford | C | .257/.410/.430, 15 HR, 18.3% BB, 19.4% K |
| 5 | Gabriel Gonzalez | OF | .302/.366/.485, 18 HR 6.9% BB, 15.5% K |
| 24 | Axel Sanchez | SS | .199/.285/.353, 7 HR, 8.5% BB, 29.2% K |
| 30 | Hogan Windish | 2B | .272/.374/.513, 22 HR, 12.2% BB, 30.6% K |
Arkansas Travelers (AA) – Texas League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 10 | Tyler Locklear | 1B | .287/.402/.513, 13 HR, 12.7% BB, 20.7% K |
| 13 | Jonatan Clase | OF | .241/.350/.448, 19 HR, 13.3% BB, 28% K |
| 15 | Prelander Berroa | RHP | 29 G, 5 GS, 61.1 IP, 2.93 ERA, 38% K, 15.1% BB |
| 27 | Alberto Rodriguez | OF | .305/.381/.525, 14 HR, 9.3% BB, 24.1% K |
| 32 | Robert Perez Jr. | 1B | .248/.327/.432, 17 HR, 7.7% BB, 29.2% K |
| 38 | Ty Adcock | RHP | 19 G, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 29.3% K, 6.7% BB |
| 40 | Travis Kuhn | RHP | 46 G, 50.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 22% K, 10.3% BB |
Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) – Pacific Coast League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 9 | Ryan Bliss | 2B | .312/.379/.531, 19 HR, 8.4% BB, 19.2% K |
| 22 | Zach DeLoach | OF | .283/.391/.482, 19 HR, 14.1% BB, 28.2% K |
| 26 | Juan Then | RHP | 31 G, 34.2 IP, 8.05 ERA, 16% K, 12.8% BB |
| 29 | Eduard Bazardo | RHP | 37 G, 47.2 IP, 3.21 ERA, 28.9% K, 8% BB |
Modesto Nuts on Meteoric Hot Streak
The Modesto Nuts have gone on an insane winning streak and have placed themselves in the argument for the hottest team in professional baseball. They have won 16 games in a row following a Thursday night win.
Sweet 16! The are ! An 8-0 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies and we are 1 WIN away from a playoff birth.
Hottest team in minor league baseball but, job is not finished.#gonuts #seausgrow pic.twitter.com/K9vMtW5pSx— Modesto Nuts (@ModestoNuts) September 8, 2023
The Nuts have had strong performances all season long from players like Michael Morales, Tatem Levins, and Milkar Perez. In the first half of the season they also had Cole Young and Gabriel Gonzalez who were promoted to the Everett AquaSox. Now in the last month the Nuts have added Lazaro Montes, Colt Emerson, Tai Peete, and Ben Williamson. These new young prospects have helped the Nuts go on this 16 game winning streak.
Mariners Prospects In the News
MLB Pipeline showcased one 2023 draftee from each organization that is off to a hot start, including a Mariners draftee who is getting on base more than 50% of the time so far in his young career.
Two former Mariners International prospects got to play against each other this week on the field in Cincinnati.
Three players in the Mariners organization won Player of the Month awards for their August performances.
These guys brought the August heat
Congratulations to @LzaroMontes, @WindishHogan and @hart_attack_kid on being named @MiLB Players of the Month! pic.twitter.com/rWoI9dAYhB
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) September 5, 2023
Curtis Christianson
Curtis Christianson is the Athletic Director at Concordia Christian Academy. He also works in the Tacoma Rainiers clubhouse during the baseball season.
