Seattle Mariners' Top Prospect Overcomes Scary Incident in Triple-A Game on Wednesday
Seattle Mariners' top prospect Tyler Locklear, who was just sent down to Triple-A Tacoma this week, overcame a scary incident on Wednesday night while playing for the Rainiers.
Playing against Sugarland (Astros' affiliate), Locklear was hit in the head by a pitch. He remained in the game and continued to play.
The popular @MiLBMariners account had the video:
This was scary. Tyler Locklear hit on the helmet. He’s ok & staying in. pic.twitter.com/EDodxwoaIM
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) June 27, 2024
The 23-year-old had a three-hit night, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. He is now hitting .298 in the minor leagues this season (both Double-A and Triple-A) with 10 homers, 36 RBI and four stolen bases.
When Ty France got injured earlier in June, Locklear was promoted to Seattle and got 30 at-bats. He hit .200 with two homers, three RBI and a stolen base. Drafted in the 2022 draft out of Virginia Commonwealth, Locklear may end up being the Mariners' first baseman of the future. France is a free agent after the 2025 season and it looks increasingly less likely that the team is going to pay him big money moving forward.
Locklear was sent down a few days after France's return once Jorge Polanco came back from his injured hamstring. The Mariners elected to keep Ryan Bliss on the roster.
Locklear is currently ranked the No. 8 prospect in the organization by MLB.com and is part of the Top 100 prospect list for Baseball America as well.
As for the Mariners themselves, they are off on Thursday but will be back in action on Friday against the Minnesota Twins. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:40 p.m. PT. The M's are 46-37 and lead the American League West by 4.5 games.
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