Seattle Mariners minor league players
Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Seattle Mariners system.
Players
Jack Anderson
Jack Anderson is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. Anderson is a submarine pitcher.Anderson attended Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. Undrafted out of high school, Anderson attended Pennsylvania State University and played four years of college baseball for the Nittany Lions.
Anderson played for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League in 2015. In his senior season of 2016, he pitched to a 2.14 ERA and 13 saves in innings. Anderson set Penn State school records for career saves, appearances, and single-season saves. Anderson was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round, with the 687th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft, and signed with them.
Anderson split his professional debut season of 2016 between the AZL Mariners and the Everett AquaSox, going 3–1 with a 1.71 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 21 innings. He split the 2017 season between the Clinton LumberKings and the Modesto Nuts, going a combined 3–5 with a 2.51 ERA and 75 strikeouts over innings. He spent the 2018 season with Modesto, going 2–4 with a 2.68 ERA and 57 strikeouts over innings, and was the recipient of the Mariners 2018 “60 ft. 6 in. Club” award. Anderson spent the 2019 season with the Arkansas Travelers, going 4–2 with a 1.50 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 54 innings.
Anderson graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business with a degree in supply chain and information systems.
Sam Delaplane
Delaplane is the son of Fred and Sue Delaplane, and has a brother, Brad. He attended Leigh High School in San Jose, California. Playing baseball as a pitcher and catcher, he was All-League First Team and San Jose Mercury Honorable Mention in his senior season, as he was 6–2 with a 1.66 ERA on the mound and batted.342.
Undrafted out of high school, Delaplane attended Eastern Michigan University. He spent four seasons playing college baseball for the Eastern Michigan Eagles. During the summer of 2016, he played for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League. Delaplane was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round of the 2017 MLB draft.
Delaplane split his debut season of 2017 between the AZL Mariners of the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, combining to go 2–1 with a 3.00 ERA and 50 strikeouts over 33 innings. He spent the 2018 season with the Clinton LumberKings of the Class A Midwest League, going 4–2 with 10 saves and a 1.96 ERA, and 100 strikeouts over innings.
In 2019, he split the season between the Modesto Nuts of the Class A-Advanced California League and the Arkansas Travelers of the Double-A Texas League, going a combined 6–3 with 7 saves and a 2.23 ERA, and 120 strikeouts over innings. Delaplane had the highest K-BB% and pure strikeout rate in minor league baseball. He was named a mid-season California League All Star. In September 2019 Jim Callis named him to MLB Pipeline's Second Team Prospect Team of the Year. Following the 2019 regular season, Delaplane played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, and was named a Fall League All-Star.
Delaplane mixes up a low-90s fastball, and an excellent curveball that has a high spin rate and which he releases straight over the top like his fastball.
Aaron Fletcher
Fletcher attended Langham Creek High School in Houston, Texas. He attended the University of Houston and played college baseball for the Cougars. Fletcher underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, 2016. Fletcher was named the AAC 2018 Pitcher of the Year.
Fletcher was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 14th round, with the 431st overall selection, of the 2018 MLB draft. In 2018, he played for the Gulf Coast Nationals and the Auburn Doubledays, going 2–1 with a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings. He pitched for the Hagerstown Suns, Potomac Nationals, and Harrisburg Senators in the Washington organization in 2019, going a combined 5–4 with a 1.79 ERA in 60 innings.
On July 31, 2019, the Nationals traded Fletcher, Taylor Guilbeau, and Elvis Alvarado to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Roenis Elías and Hunter Strickland. He was assigned to the Arkansas Travelers, compiling a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings. Fletcher played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 season, and was named a Fall League All-Star.
Joey Gerber
Joseph Cliff Gerber is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.Gerber graduated from Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota in 2015. He went undrafted in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft out of high school and enrolled at the University of Illinois where he played college baseball for the Fighting Illini.
As a freshman at Illinois in 2016, Gerber pitched only six innings, compiling a 7.50 ERA. In 2017, his sophomore season, he went 2–1 with a 4.36 ERA in 33 relief innings pitched, striking out 43. In 2018, as a junior, he went 1–1 with a 3.14 ERA in relief innings along with compiling 14 saves, tying the Illinois single-season record, earning a spot on the All-Big Ten Third Team. After his junior year, Gerber was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.
Gerber signed with Seattle and made his professional debut with the Everett AquaSox before being promoted to the Clinton LumberKings in July. In relief innings between the two clubs, he went 1–0 with a 2.10 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Gerber began the 2019 season with the Modesto Nuts, earning California League All-Star honors. He was promoted to the Arkansas Travelers in June, and finished the season there. Over relief innings pitched between the two clubs, Gerber went 1–4 with a 2.59 ERA, striking out 69 and compiling a.215 batting average against.
Adam Hill
Adam Dean Hill is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.Hill attended T. L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 39th round of the 2015 MLB Draft, but he elected to honor his college commitment to the University of South Carolina. In his first year with the Gamecocks, he posted a 3.53 ERA in 66.0 innings, allowing 49 hits, walking 28, and striking out 72. In his sophomore year, he posted a 3.04 ERA in 77.0 innings, allowing 56 hits, walking 39, and striking out 87. Through 14 starts this season, Hill has posted a 4.08 ERA in 75.0 innings, allowing 49 hits, walking 46, and striking out 92.
Hill was taken by the New York Mets in the fourth round with the 110th overall pick of the 2018 MLB draft. On June 22, 2018 the Mets officially signed him. He spent his first professional season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, going 1–1 with a 2.35 ERA over relief innings pitched.
On January 5, 2019, the Mets traded Hill, Bobby Wahl, and Felix Valero to the Milwaukee Brewers for Keon Broxton. He spent 2019 with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, going 7–9 with a 3.92 ERA over 26 games, striking out 109 over innings.
On December 5, 2019, Hill and a 2020 competitive balance round B draft pick were traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Omar Narváez.
George Kirby
George Joseph Kirby is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.Kirby graduated from Rye High School in Rye, New York, where he played baseball. As a senior, he went 6–0 with a 0.32 ERA and 73 strikeouts in innings. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 32nd round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign and instead chose to attend Elon University to play college baseball for the Elon Phoenix.
As a freshman at Elon in 2017, Kirby appeared in 16 games and pitched to a 1–3 record with a 4.84 ERA, striking out 55 batters in innings. He was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. In 2018, as a sophomore, Kirby appeared and started in 15 games, going 10–3 with a 2.89 ERA and 96 strikeouts in innings. He earned a spot on the All-CAA Second Team. After the season, Kirby played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Harwich Mariners where he posted a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings. Prior to the 2019 season, Kirby was named a preseason All-American by both Baseball America and Perfect Game. He was named the 2019 CAA Pitcher of the Year after going 8–2 with a 2.75 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 107 batters and walking only six in innings.
Considered to be one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, Kirby was drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 20th overall pick. He signed with Seattle for $3.24 million. After signing, he was assigned to the Everett AquaSox, with whom he spent all of the 2019 season. Over nine games, Kirby compiled a 2.35 ERA, striking out 25 over 23 innings.
Noelvi Marte
Noelvi Marte is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Seattle Mariners organization.Marte signed with the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent in July 2018. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Mariners in 2019. In 65 games, he hit.309/.371/.511 with nine home runs and 54 runs batted in.
Darren McCaughan
Darren McCaughan is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.McCaughan attended Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California. He committed to play college baseball at Long Beach State University during his junior year in 2013. As a junior, he went 6–4 with a 2.96 ERA. Undrafted out of high school in the 2014 MLB draft, he enrolled at Long Beach State where he played college baseball for the Dirtbags.
As a freshman at Long Beach State in 2015, McCaughan went 4–2 with a 2.47 ERA in 23 games. In 2016, as a sophomore, he pitched to a 10–1 record with a 2.03 ERA in 16 starts, earning the title of Big West Pitcher of the Year. He was named an All-American by multiple outlets including Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game. That summer, he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. In 2017, a junior, McCaughan compiled a 9–2 record with a 2.50 ERA in 17 starts. He was named Big West Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year along with being named an All-American by D1Baseball among various other media sources. After the year, he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB draft.
McCaughan signed with Seattle and made his professional with the Arizona League Mariners, going 0–1 with a 3.75 ERA in 12 innings. He spent the 2018 season with the Modesto Nuts, where he pitched to a 6–10 record and a 3.05 ERA in 25 starts and was named a California League All-Star. He also made one spot start for the Tacoma Rainers in June. He began 2019 with the Arkansas Travelers, with whom he was named a Texas League All-Star alongside earning the title of Texas League Pitcher of the Year after going 7–5 with a 2.89 ERA over 17 starts. In July, he was promoted to Tacoma, going 0–6 with an 8.09 ERA over nine starts.
Ljay Newsome
Ljay Wyatt Newsome is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.Newsome attended Chopticon High School in Morganza, Maryland. Newsome led Chopticon High School to the 2016 Maryland 3A state championship, by pitching a complete game one hit shutout with 17 strikeouts in the deciding game. Newsome was named the 2015 Gatorade Maryland Baseball Player of the Year. Newsome was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round, with the 785th overall selection, of the 2015 MLB draft and signed with them.
He spent his professional debut season of 2015 with the AZL Mariners, going 1–0 with a 0.84 ERA over innings. He spent the 2016 season with the Everett AquaSox, going 6–3 with a 4.30 ERA and 58 strikeouts over innings. He spent the 2017 season with the Clinton LumberKings, going 8–9 with a 4.10 ERA and 111 strikeouts over innings. Newsome was the 2017 recipient of the Mariners "60 feet 6 inch" award. He split the 2018 season between the Modesto Nuts and the Tacoma Rainiers, going a combined 6–10 with a 4.89 ERA and 125 strikeouts over innings. Newsome split the 2019 season between Modesto, the Arkansas Travelers, and Tacoma, going a combined 9–10 with a 3.54 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 155 innings.
Cal Raleigh
Caleb John Raleigh is an American professional baseball catcher in the Seattle Mariners organization.Raleigh attended Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, North Carolina and played college baseball at Florida State University. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 2018, his junior year at FSU, he slashed.326/.447/.583 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs over 62 games. After the season, he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.
Raleigh made his professional debut with the Everett AquaSox, batting.288 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 38 games. He started 2019 with the Modesto Nuts, with whom he was named a California League All-Star, before being promoted to the Arkansas Travelers. Over 121 games between the two clubs, Raleigh slashed.251/.323/.497 with 29 home runs and 82 RBIs.
Joe Rizzo
Joseph Rizzo is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Seattle Mariners organization.Rizzo attended Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, where he played baseball. Prior to his junior year, he committed to play college baseball at the University of South Carolina. As a junior in 2015, Rizzo batted.606 with seven home runs and was named the Virginia 6A Player of the Year. In 2016, his senior year, he hit.392 with four home runs. After his senior year, he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $1.75 million.
After signing with the Mariners, Rizzo made his professional debut with the Arizona League Mariners, batting.291 with two home runs and 21 RBIs over 39 games. In 2017, Rizzo spent a majority of the season with the Clinton LumberKings before earning a promotion to the Modesto Nuts at the end of the season. Over 115 games, he slashed.251/.349/.344 with seven home runs and 51 RBIs. He returned to Modesto in 2018, earning California League All-Star honors while hitting.241 with four home runs and 55 RBIs over 123 games. Rizzo returned for Modesto for the third straight year in 2019, once again earning All-Star honors, while slashing.295/.354/.4423 with ten home runs and 63 RBIs over 129 games, earning the Alvin Davis “Mr. Mariner” Award.
Jake Scheiner
Jake Maxwell Scheiner is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Seattle Mariners organization.Scheiner attended Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, California. He was not drafted out of high school in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College where he played college baseball.
Scheiner redshirted as a freshman at Santa Rosa in 2015. In 2016, as a redshirt freshman, he hit.402 with eight home runs and 61 RBIs in 47 games and was named Big 8 Most Valuable Player. After the season, he transferred to the University of Houston. In 63 games, he slashed.346/.432/.667 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs. He was named American Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American.
After the season, Scheiner was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Phillies and was assigned to the Williamsport Crosscutters, batting.250 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 61 games. In 2018, Scheiner played for the Lakewood BlueClaws where he hit.296/.372/.470 with 13 home runs and 67 RBIs in 122 games and was named a South Atlantic League All-Star. He began 2019 with the Clearwater Threshers.
On June 2, 2019, Scheiner was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Jay Bruce and cash considerations. He was assigned to the Modesto Nuts, with whom he finished the season. Over 119 games between Clearwater and Modesto, Scheiner slashed.266/.325/.451 with 16 home runs and 83 RBIs.