On August 9 Emerson Hancock made his Major League Debut against the San Diego Padres. The 24-year-old is the third Mariners starting pitching prospect to make his debut this season behind Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. He pitched five innings and allowed one run on two hits while walking three and striking out three.
The former sixth overall pick in 2020 got all three of his strikeouts on his two-seam fastball that is identified as a sinker in Baseball Savant. Overall he had a 24.4% whiff percentage on his 87 pitches in his five innings of work.
Emerson Hancock’s 1st MLB K. pic.twitter.com/wxPOaaWbHj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 10, 2023
The rookie was having a solid season in Double-A Arkansas before getting the call to the big leagues. He started 20 games and pitched 98 innings for the Travelers and had a 4.32 ERA. He struck out 107 batters and walked just 38. In his minor league career Hancock has pitched 241 innings and has a career 3.77 ERA.
Hancock took the place of injured starter Bryan Woo in the Seattle rotation and will get another opportunity to start before Woo could come off the Injured List. If he performs well again, the Georgia native could continue to get chances to pitch out of the rotation if the club goes with a six man rotation or if Woo needs more time on the Injured List.
Modesto Nuts (A) – California League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 4 | Michael Arroyo | SS | .264/.383/.451, 3 HR, 10.3% BB, 17.7% K |
| 11 | Lazaro Montes | OF | .261/.429/.515, 6 HR, 21.1% BB, 25.1% K |
| 18 | Michael Morales | RHP | 19 GS, 95.1 IP, 4.44 ERA, 24.6% K, 9.5% BB |
| 28 | Milkar Perez | 3B | .275/.385/.373, 1 HR, 13.3% BB, 25.1% K |
| 35 | Tyler Gough | RHP | 9 G, 8 GS, 28 IP, 6.11 ERA, 17.7% K, 11.3% BB |
| 36 | Ben Williamson | 3B | .281/.343/.469, 5.7% BB, 17.1% K |
Everett AquaSox (A+) — Northwest League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 1 | Cole Young | SS | .281/.407/.466,9 HR, 14.8% BB, 14.2% K |
| 2 | Harry Ford | C | .254/.413/.419, 12 HR, 18.3% BB, 18.3% K |
| 5 | Gabriel Gonzalez | OF | .315/.373/.517, 16 HR 6.2% BB, 16.4% K |
| 10 | Tyler Locklear | 1B | .313/.422/.557, 11 HR, 12.4% BB, 21.9% K |
| 24 | Axel Sanchez | SS | .199/.285/.353, 7 HR, 8.5% BB, 29.2% K |
| 30 | Hogan Windish | 2B | .253/.364/.462, 14 HR, 12.6% BB, 32.8% K |
Arkansas Travelers (AA) – Texas League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 13 | Jonatan Clase | OF | .248/.359/.470, 17 HR, 13.7% BB, 27.3% K |
| 15 | Prelander Berroa | RHP | 32 G, 5 GS, 51.1 IP, 3.16 ERA, 37.2% K, 15.8% BB |
| 27 | Alberto Rodriguez | OF | .298/.379/.539, 11 HR, 9.4% BB, 21.9% K |
| 32 | Robert Perez Jr. | 1B | .249/.332/.433, 11 HR, 7.8% BB, 29.2% K |
| 38 | Ty Adcock | RHP | 19 G, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 29.3% K, 6.7% BB |
Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) – Pacific Coast League
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | STATS |
| 9 | Ryan Bliss | 2B | .321/.383/.537, 13 HR, 7.8% BB, 17.5% K |
| 22 | Zach DeLoach | OF | .290/.397/.480, 17 HR, 13.8% BB, 27.8% K |
| 26 | Juan Then | RHP | 22 G, 26 IP, 10.04 ERA, 16.1% K, 11.7% BB |
| 29 | Eduard Bazardo | RHP | 29 G, 41.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 30% K, 6.5% BB |
Jason Churchill Releases Updated Top 50 Mariners Prospect Rankings
Jason Churchill released his most recent prospect rankings this week via his Mariners After Midnight newsletter. The newsletter is free and can be sent to your inbox by subscribing here.
Here is Churchill’s top 10 Mariners prospects.
#1 – Cole Young, SS – Everett AquaSox (A+)
#2 – Harry Ford, C – Everett AquaSox (A+)
#3 – Colt Emerson, SS Mariners (R)
#4 – Michael Arroyo, 2B Modesto Nuts (A)
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez, OF Everett AquaSox (A+)
#6 – Felnin Celesten, SS Mariners (DSL)
#7 – Jonny Farmelo, OF (NA)
#8 – Tai Peete, SS Mariners (R)
#9 – Ryan Bliss, 2B Tacoma Rainiers (AAA)
#10 – Tyler Locklear, 1B Everett AquaSox (A+)
Mariners Prospects In the News
Harry Ford was named Minor League Player of the Week in the Northwest League and was highlighted in an MLB Network interview earlier this week.
MLB Pipeline came out with a new and updated version of their top 100 overall and top 30 prospect rankings for each organization. Click here to see how they ranked Seattle’s prospects.
Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series released his updated top 100 prospect rankings and his top 30 Mariners prospects.
Curtis Christianson
Curtis Christianson is the Athletic Director at Concordia Christian Academy. He also works in the Tacoma Rainiers clubhouse during the baseball season.
