Mariners minor league daily wrap up: May 14th, 2024
By Berlin Kofoed, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Starting with this article, Circling Seattle Sports will be bringing you regularly daily and weekly recaps of what the Seattle Mariners Minor League affiliates are up to, regarding how they are doing with wins and losses, individual performances, call ups, and more. It was a great day of baseball for the Seattle Mariners minor league teams as each one took a win on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024.
Felnin Celesten with the home run trident with the ACL Mariners. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Mariners)
ACL Mariners
The Arizona Complex League Mariners continue to see exciting prospect Felnin Celesten perform at a high level, and it’s really just a matter of time before Celesten is able to join the Modesto Nuts and several other of the Seattle Mariners top prospects. Considering his hitting streak and the power that he’s been able to show at the plate, alongside the success that the rest of the ACL Mariners have seen (the 14-1 win yesterday certainly helps), there isn’t anything that Celesten is really learning right now and he’d be better served competing against better competition with the Nuts.
ACL Mariners notes
YESTERDAY: The ACL Mariners defeated the ACL Rangers 14-1 yesterday…this is their largest win so far this season…Dylan Wilson and the bullpen (Roiber Talavera, Steven Sanchez, Jake Haberer and Eduardo Tovar) only allowed 1 run on 3 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts combined in 9.0 innings…Both Carlos Jimenez and George Feliz had home runs last night…this is Jimenez’ 3rd home run of the season…this is Feliz’ 1st home run of the season.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Carlos Jimenez mashing in Arizona. 7G, .440/.576/.840/1.416, 11H, 1 2B, 3HR, 10R, 15RBI, 8BB, 8K, 3/3 SB.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Juan Cruz in his first 4 stateside games: .429, 6-14, 2HR, 7R, 5RBI, 3BB, 6K, SB.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Felnin Celesten’s 8-game hitting streak to open his professional career: .452/.541/.806/1.347, 14H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2HR, 7R, 9RBI, 6BB, 5K, SB.
TODAY: OFF DAY
TOMORROW: The ACL Mariners will face the ACL Brewers Thursday with first pitch at 6:00 pm (MT).
Low-A: Modesto Nuts
Modesto Nuts win vs the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants) 7-3, giving pitcher Will Schomberg his 4th win of the season and lowering his ERA to 2.12. His final line: 5.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 5K, 70-51.
Left fielder Carson Jones popped up with some impressive playing, responsible for 4 of the night's runs in. A scoring double and a 2-run home run really solidified his star player status for the game. In the bottom of the 5th, he picked up his 11th stolen base when he stole home.
Modesto notes
YESTERDAY: The Nuts defeated the Giants with a 7-3 win last night…Will Schomberg pitched in 5.0 scoreless innings while allowing 0 runs on 3 hits, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts…Carson Jones went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, 1 home run and 1 strikeout…Jonny Farmelo and Luis Suisbel each had a multi-hit game.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Will Schomberg’s last 3 starts: 3-0, 16IP, 5H, 0R, 2BB, 21K, .089 BAA.
TODAY: Modesto takes on San Jose in the 2nd game of the series with first pitch at 4:05 pm (PT).
STREAKING: Jonny Farmelo extended his active on base streak to 19 games from 4/16/24 – 5/14/24.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Lazaro Montes was added to the Top-100 Prospects list earlier this week…Montes is the only Mariners player to join the Top-100 in the May update and is debuting at No. 85…this season Montes has led the California League, batting .309 (38x123) with 28 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 39 RBI, 21 walks and a .943 OPS in 31 games…his 6 home runs rank him 1st in the California League and 3rd in Single-A (6)…his 39 RBI also rank him 1st in the California League and in Single-A.
Everett AquaSox first baseman Gabriel Moncada. (Photo by Shari Sommerfield)
High-A: Everett Aquasox
Everett Aquasox battled into the 10th inning for an ultimate 3-2 victory over the Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants) courtesy of a walk-off double from first baseman Gabriel Moncada, scoring shortstop Axel Sanchez.
An earlier home run from designated hitter R.J. Schreck gave the team an early lead, paired with a 1 run single from SS Axel Sanchez scoring third baseman Josh Hood. The team kept the lead until the final regular inning.
While the team might be missing promoted pitcher Troy Taylor, the pitchers put up a challenge for the Emeralds. Marcelo Perez had 4.0 IP with 4K and 3H, and Juan Burgos entered his own 4.0 IP with 1H and 5K. Eugene tied it up in the 9th on a home run during Nick Davila’s first inning of the night on the mound, but the Frogs were able to secure him a win. His final line: 2.0 IP, 3H, 2R, 0BB, 4K, 29-22, 5.79 ERA.
Everett notes
YESTERDAY: Everett walked it off last night against Eugene in a 3-2 game in 10 innings…Gabriel Moncada drove in the winning run on a double to right field… Marcelo Perez pitched the first 4.0 innings, allowing 0 runs from 3 hits and 4 strikeouts…Juan Burgos also pitched 4.0 scoreless innings and gave up 1 hit and 5 strikeouts…RJ Schreck hit his 4th home run of the season, tied for most on the team with Brock Rodden.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Juan Burgos in his last 4 games: 0.56ERA, 16IP, 8H, 3BB, 16K.
TONIGHT: The Aquasox host the Emeralds with first at 7:05 pm (PT)…Brandyn Garcia (2-0, 4.13) is slated to start tonight.
ONE WEEK: In the last week, RJ Schreck has led the team in batting average (.316), OBP (.536), slugging (.648), OPS (1.220), home runs (2), runs (6) and walks (9)…in 28 plate appearances he has 1 strikeout.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: RJ Schreck since April 23rd: 17G, .351/.487/.596/1.083, 20H, 2 2B, 4HR, 14R, 11RBI, 16BB, 8K, SF, 3SB.
(Photo from the Arkansas Travelers)
AA: Arkansas Travelers
Arkansas Travelers faced the AA Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals while the Mariners faced the real team, but AA definitely fared better. A walk-off single in the 10th gave the Travelers a 5-4 win against the NW Arkansas Naturals.
Kyle Hill was awarded the win after keeping the Naturals from scoring in the 10th, but Reid VanScoter was on the mound for 5.1 IP. VanScoter has been having a great start, going 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA over 36.1 IP. Having seen him on the mound before in Everett, it’s exciting seeing him continue to do amazing after his promotion.
Speaking of promotions, Troy Taylor pitched a scoreless inning with 1K over 11 pitches in his first AA appearance. Time will, of course, tell how well the promotion suits him, but it’s starting off amazing.
A three run home run from first baseman Tyler Locklear gave Arkansas a lead after designated hitter Grant Witherspoon got Locklear home an inning earlier, but NW Arkansas fought back to a tied game after a two run homer and a one run single in the 6th and 9th.
Ghost runner and third baseman Ben Ramirez started the game on 2B, but was then swapped out with pinch runner Jared Oliva. Center fielder Kaden Polcovich took first base after being hit by pitch, and Oliva advanced to third base after a wild pitch.
Enter top Mariners prospect and #28 overall MLB prospect, shortstop Cole Young. After running the pitcher to a full count, he smacked a line drive into right field, scoring Oliva and earning the Travelers the first win in the series.
Arkansas notes
YESTERDAY: The Travelers started off the series strong by defeating the Naturals 5-4…Reid VanScoter got the start on mound while pitching 5.1 innings allowing 3 runs (3 ER) on 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 home run and 8 strikeouts…Tyler Locklear went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI and hit his 5th home run of the season in the 5th inning…Kaden Polcovich and Cole Young each had a double in the game.
TODAY: Arkansas takes on NW Arkansas tonight with first pitch at 6:35 pm (CT)…Juan Mercedes (1-1, 3.77) is expected to start on the mound for the Travelers.
LOCKED AND LOADED: Tyler Locklear continues to make his mark in the Texas League by ranking highly in a number of categories…he is 4th in extra-base hits (15), T-4th in doubles, 4th in OPS (.939), T-5th in hits (35), 5th in slugging (.521), 5th in OBP (.418), 5th in total bases (61), 5th in runs (23), T-7th in walks (20), 8th in average (.299) and T-9th in home runs (5).
Per @MiLB Mariners on Twitter: Alberto Rodriguez in his last 9 games: .343/.395/.486/.881, 12H, 5 2B, 4R, 3RBI, 3BB, 7K, SB.
Tacoma Rainiers infielder Ryan Bliss during the August 11th, 2023 game. (Photo by Liz Wolter)
AAA: Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers got an early lead courtesy of catcher Blake Hunt and a one run single scoring third baseman Michael Chavis in the 3rd inning and never looked back, ending with a 8-5 win against the Salt Lake City Bees (Los Angeles Angels affiliate). Emerson Hancock, recently reassigned from the Seattle Mariners as they welcomed Bryan Woo back into their rotation, picked up his first win. His final line: 6.0IP, 4H, 0R, 4BB, 2K, 98-56, 0.00 ERA.
Right fielder Cade Marlowe stole his 20th base of the season, currently averaging one steal every other game.
Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford both made rehab appearances (the third for Canzone and first for Crawford) and while neither drove in any runs themselves, they did show promise of making healthy returns. Crawford is expected to need just one more appearance (later today) before he is expected to join the ballclub on the upcoming long road trip.
Blake Hunt knocked another ball out of the park in the 5th, showing that catchers can hit bombs with the rest of them. He’s batting .319 with 69 base appearances.
As of writing this, Canzone has been reactivated to the Seattle Mariners with Sam Haggerty reporting back to Tacoma. After the strong contact that Canzone made during his rehab outings and no signs of a setback, it makes sense that the Mariners opted to bring him back already and send Haggerty, who has largely struggled at the plate, back down to Tacoma.
Tacoma notes
YESTERDAY: Opened their series with Salt Lake with a 8-5 victory…every member of the starting lineup recorded a hit, with Jonatan Clase, Jason Vosler and Blake Hunt having multi-hit games…Emerson Hancock made his 1st start in Triple-A this season, he threw 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts.
Per @MiLBMariners on Twitter: Blake Hunt at Tacoma 21G, .319/.392/.580/.972, 22H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4HR, 15R, 20RBI, 6BB, 3HBP, 10K, SF.
TONIGHT: The Rainiers continue their series with Salt Lake and Levi Stoudt (2-3, 5.46) is expected to start…first pitch is slated 6:05 pm (PT).
CRAWFORD: On rehab protocol, J.P. Crawford played in his first game with the Rainiers this season…Crawford played shortstop and went 1-for-4 with 1 strikeout.
HUSTLE ANDERSON: Brian Anderson extended his on-base streak yesterday to 18 games, reaching base in every game he has played in from 4/14-5/14…it is tied for the 7th-longest active streak in Triple-A.
SCORE, SCORE, SCORE: Cade Marlowe drove in 2 runs yesterday in the 8-5 win, he has now driven in a run in each of his last 4 games, tied for the longest active streak in Triple-A.
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