Seattle Mariners Minor League Roundup – Week Seventeen

Coming out of the short week with a weekend series against a talented OKC team, the Rainiers managed to best the Dodger’s affiliate by a score of 2-1, largely led by the young wunderkinds that recently joined the squad. There are going to be some very serious conversations surrounding the likes of Michael Arroyo joining the big league team before the end of the summer; he’s been slept on in part to a slower start this year, but he’s been every bit of his dominant self and looks like a strong candidate to fill in as a much-needed right handed bat.

The final totals on the weekend for Arroyo (5-14) and Montes (4-12, HR, 3 2B) underscored the pair’s strong start to PCL baseball and featured Laz showing off an underrated part of his game: his absolute howitzer of an arm.

Additionally, Brendan Donovan started his rehab work in AAA. Though going hitless, he seems to be an imminent addition that should breathe some life into a rather tepid lineup at present.

Having been down their pair of aces for the past two weeks thanks to the Future’s Game and down their star tandem that’s tearing up Triple-A, the Travs lineup will be getting a little bit of star power it’s so desperately been looking for. Felnin Celesten, top Mariner prospect and superstar shortstop, got the call up to Double-A and will be manning the six for Arkansas to close out the year. It’s been a tremendous bounceback year for Celesten; after a tumultuous 2025 that lacked much offensive output at all, Celesten has had a monster 2026 that’s put him right back to his “Top 100” status leaguewide. Best of luck, Felnin!

Less fortunate for the Travs, however, were their results on the field. The Travelers got swept by a really poor Wichita team and could not quiet a generally uninspiring offense. The right-side duo of Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Charlie Pagliarini carried their weight, but it was a tough weekend on large.

It was an offensive bonanza for Everett this weekend, with the Frogs taking a 2-1 series victory on the back of 37 runs over three games. Punctuated by Sunday’s 21-3 shellacking of cross-state rival Spokane, the AquaSox managed this kind of run production outside of their smaller home ballpark, instead doing it on the road in the much larger Avista Stadium. If this offense is able to maintain a level anywhere near this (with some recent SEC draftees likely on the way), this is sure to be one exciting summer of Everett baseball.

There’s a lot of cool moments to pick from with so much offense going on, but Luke Stevenson’s grand slam in the rubber match was a really cool sight to see. He had been struggling quite a bit in months past, but he seems to have gotten a bit more aggressive at the plate in the month of July, and it’s paid off in a major way. A hot finish to the season would do wonders in reestablishing people’s confidence in him long-term.

Not to be overlooked, catching partner Josh Caron’s 2026 season has truly been a revelation. Now with an OPS of .934, Caron’s run excellent splits against both lefties and righties, and he’s not been a product of an advantageous home ballpark, either; Caron’s 1.014 road OPS is actually considerably higher than his home mark, sparking confidence his breakout has some legitimate backing. There’s still a lot of whiff in his profile, but a backup catching role with some pop is very much in the cards.

The 66ers dropped the weekend series by a score of 2-1, showing their lack of depth on both sides of the ball all weekend. This team desperately needs some of the many Power Four sluggers the M’s recently drafted to join this lineup; the lack of arms is their biggest issue at present, but if they can manage to pull off the “Cal League Special” and out hit their pitching, maybe they can get things back into the “fun to watch” column with the win column proving elusive all year.

Despite the team’s down weekend, Aiden Taurek continues to be a bright spot for this Modesto offense. Last year’s 13th rounder out of Saint Mary’s, Taurek produced seven hits across the three games and knocked his 31st double of the year, a figure that leads minor league baseball by a wide margin. Taurek’s a weak-side corner outfield profile and will have to hit his way to the bigs, but with a bit of speed on the bases and innate feel for the barrel, Taurek could be next in a long line of late-round finds identified by Scott Hunter and Co.

Heading into their last week of play, the Baby M’s stand in first within their division and lead the Royals’ team by a game with three to play. The two squads will face off on Wednesday in what will essentially decide this year’s winner, though with no stream, we’ll have to rely on box score watching to provide the drama that will assuredly unfold on the backfields of Arizona.

Whether Nick Becker and Yorger Bautista end up making their way to the California League this season is yet to be seen, but it’s far less of a formality than it’s been for top prospects in year’s past. With some legitimate troubles that need to be sorted out both at the plate and in the field, it would not be much of a surprise to see the pair remain in Arizona and get more direct instruction at the instructional complex. If anything, despite worse overall numbers, Bautista might actually have a better chance at getting the promotion than Becker; whiff problems are unlikely to magically sort themselves out, and unfortunately for Becker, he’s struggled with just that.

The DSL team remains a major bright spot in the system. With countless producers up and down the lineup and a handful of interesting pitching prospects, next year’s ACL team is slated to be absolutely stacked. Early returns of this next wave of young talent are looking incredibly promising, and there’s an argument to be made that the tandem of Gregory Pio and Juan Rijo need to be moved up prospect boards significantly.