As we are kicking off our own prospect rankings here at the site, Baseball America is readying to drop their Top 100 list on Wednesday. A year after having no players appear on the Top 100 prospects list, the Mariners will have three on the list this year. Prospect rankings aren’t everything in assessing the health of a farm system, but having zero players seen by one of the top prospect ranking sites as among the best in baseball is...not great. For comparison, the Braves had ten top-100 players last year, and the Blue Jays had two in the Top 10.
As for which three they will be, it’s pure speculation at this point, but both Justus Sheffield and Jarred Kelenic made the list last year. Sheffield ranked 22nd last year, but was subjected to some criticism this past season and did not impress in his cup of coffee with New York. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him move down slightly. Kelenic, on the other hand, should be trending up after a strong start to his pro career, and should make a sizable jump from 72nd place, where he ranked last year.
The third place is where the mystery lies. Will it be RHP Justin Dunn, who made huge strides in 2018 as he shaved a full run off his FIP and punched up his strikeouts? Or perhaps it will be 1B Evan White, named to MiLB’s All-Defense Team and the fastest riser in the Mariners system after a 2018 that saw him unlock his power potential. White has been heavily buzzed about in the scouting community following a strong AFL performance. Maybe it’s a dark horse candidate, like basically-MLB-ready Erik Swanson, making a cursory appearance on a list before he packs his bags for Seattle. The list goes live on Baseball America on Wednesday (subscription required).
Poll
Who will be the third Mariner on BA’s Top 100 list?
This poll is closed
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22%
Justin Dunn
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69%
Evan White
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2%
Erik Swanson
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5%
Someone else
UPDATE, Tuesday evening: I just received an e-mail that after some reshuffling, the Mariners will actually have FOUR prospects appearing on the list. So if we’re considering Evan White to be the clear favorite based on the poll—who do you think the fourth will be?