Mariners Take a Massive and Drastic Step with Top Pitching Prospect
The Seattle Mariners are taking a drastic step with regards to top pitching prospect Logan Evans, who recently entered the Baseball America Top 100 prospect list.
The team is moving Evans to the bullpen at Double-A Arkansas with the goal of him joining the major league bullpen in the near future.
Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times:
Logan Evans got an unexpected call last week from Jerry Dipoto, who laid out a plan to fast-track the 2023 12th-rounder to the Mariners bullpen — perhaps even by the All-Star break.
There's reasonable hope the M's 'pen will add Evans and Gregory Santos for a second-half push ...
Logan Evans got an unexpected call last week from Jerry Dipoto, who laid out a plan to fast-track the 2023 12th-rounder to the Mariners bullpen — perhaps even by the All-Star break.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) June 5, 2024
There's reasonable hope the M's 'pen will add Evans and Gregory Santos for a second-half push ... https://t.co/pbsZ2zQKHv
It's been a quick and meteoric rise for Evans, who was just drafted last season as mentioned above.
Evans is 6-2 this year at Double-A with a 1.18 ERA. He's struck out 48 batters in 53.1 innings.
A few things are at play here:
1) The Mariners need bullpen help: As the Mariners chase another playoff berth this year, and possibly the organization's first World Series crown, they need more arms in the bullpen. With Matt Brash out for the season and Santos having not thrown yet this year for the team, the bullpen is a bit wobbly - and that's before Andres Munoz's troublesome back injury. If the team can upgrade the pen without having to spend money or prospect capital to do it, it makes sense.
2) It will limit Evans's innings: This decision also will help keep Evans fresh in the long run. The 23-year-old only threw 15.0 professional innings in 2023 and has already thrown 53.1 this year. Going to the bullpen will allow him to pitch, while not running him completely into the ground.
3) The M's have done this before: The team moved Matt Brash from the starting rotation to the bullpen in 2022 and before that, they moved Edwin Diaz from the rotation to the bullpen in the minor leagues. Jerry Dipoto and Co. have executed this playbook before. Brash and Diaz both became elite relievers once the switch was made - although Evans still likely profiles as a starter moving forward.
I remember when they did this with Edwin Diaz at Double-A Jackson in 2016. They moved him to the bullpen on May 10th & made his MLB debut on June 6th.
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) June 4, 2024
The following comes from a portion of Evans's MLB.com prospect profile:
...as the Mariners have uncovered with much of their pitching pipeline, some of the underlying stuff stood out, particularly with elite extension that he leverages from his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame. Primarily a two-seam guy, Evans sits in the 93-94 mph range with his fastball. He pairs it with a slider that can consistently miss bats -- particularly against lefties -- and a cutter that’s been a weapon to righties.
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