Seattle Mariner Non-Roster Invitees Breakdown (Hitters)
Joe Swenson
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Outfielders
Projected Opening Day Outfielders: Kyle Lewis (Center), Mitch Haniger (Right), Jose Marmolejos (Left), Dylan Moore (Utility).
The list of non-roster invitees for the Mariners here is quite interesting. There is a compelling reason for all of these players to make the Mariners roster at some point this season.
Top Prospects
Jarred Kelenic – 21 years old – The question for Kelenic is when not if he will be in the Seattle Mariners’ lineup. It won’t be before April 16th as to affect his service-time date the Seattle Mariners need to get to before calling him up. That will buy the M’s an extra year of team control.
Kelenic only has 173 games in the minors and none above AA. There are also questions about rushing him too soon to the Majors. The time is coming, though, and it should be in 2021.
Julio Rodriguez – 20 years old – For every Mariners fan, the dream is to have Julio and Jarred roaming the same outfield sooner rather than later. Injuries have been an early concern, but his bat isn’t. His lifetime .929 OPS is only going to get better as he develops.
Rodriguez is a top-five prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Most prognosticators put him in rare company when it comes to projections. Some have even suggested Rodriguez will develop into a 40+ home run per season hitter.
The rest
Eric Filia – 28 years old – Filia was a late bloomer and still has yet to bloom completely. He had a hiccup in his college career of three years at UCLA, making him 23 when he debuted at Everett the same year. In four minor league seasons, Filia hit .320 with a .412 OBP and a career .843 OPS. He doesn’t hit for a lot of power, and he’s not speedy on the bases, but he does profile as a two-hole or end of the line-up type hitter with his ability to get on base.
Luis Liberato – 25 years old – The issue with Luis is strikeouts. He’s lightning fast (37 career minor league triples) and has modest power (45 career minor league home runs). But strikeouts continue to plague him. Coupled with a sub .250 lifetime batting average in the minors, Liberato is a long shot to reach the show. But his speed and gap power give him a puncher’s chance to get a cup of coffee in the bigs.
Dillon Thomas – 28 years old – Another candidate looking to be this year’s Jose Marmolejos. Since Thomas was drafted in the 4th round of 2011 by Colorado, he’s been a career minor leaguer. First with the Rockies, then with Milwaukee in 2018 and 2019.
In the Milwaukee organization, it appeared that Thomas was on his way to figuring out how to be successful at the plate. He had his best season’s with them. It likely won’t be enough to make the Seattle Mariners, but he’s someone to root for.
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Tomorrow we tackle the non-roster invitee pitchers. There is sure to be more drama there since there are bullpen spots that are up for grabs.
Joe Swenson is a Writer, Director, Producer for Broken Arts Entertainment www.brokenartsentertainment.com. He is also one of the hosts of the YouTube Sports show “In The Clutch” featured here Joe’s InTheClutch – YouTube.