Top Seattle Mariners Pitching Prospect Could Debut as a Reliever in 2025
The Seattle Mariners will need to answer several questions about the roster before Opening Day on March 27, 2025.
The Mariners President of Baseball Operations, Jerry Dipoto, and General Manager Justin Hollander have both mentioned the infield as the main group in need of improvement in the offseason. But recent moves have also left openings in the bullpen.
Seattle non-tendered JT Chargois (after designating him for assignment) and Austin Voth, respectively. The two were predicted to be the highest-earners among the team's five arbitration-eligible relievers.
The Mariners have signed bullpen arms like Yunior Marte and Adonis Medina to minor league deals with spring training invites in the offseason. They could potentially factor into the major league roster pending their showings in Peoria.
There's also several recovering pitchers from 2024, like Gregory Santos and Matt Brash, that are expected to be featured in 2025.
But according to a recent story from the Seattle Times' Adam Jude, one of Seattle's best starting pitching prospects could make his first impact on the major league level as a reliever in 2025.
Jude explored the outlook for the Mariners bullpen in 2025 in the story and had a surprising detail about Brandyn Garcia.
Garcia is perceived as one of Seattle's two best minor league pitchers along with Logan Evans. Garcia, a left-handed starter, won co-Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year honors, annually awarded to the organization's best pitcher in the farm system.
Despite his current status as a starting pitcher, Garcia is no stranger to throwing in relief. He was drafted in the 11th round of the 2023 draft out of Texas A&M. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the Aggies and was anticipated to continue that role with the Mariners when they selected him.
Per Jude's article, Garcia could return to that role in 2025:
Long term, Garcia could still be an option as a starter, but the Mariners project him as a valuable left-handed reliever in 2025, and his transition to the big-league bullpen will be one of the more interesting storylines during spring training.
Garcia finished 2024 with a 2.25 ERA across 27 appearances (25 starts) in High-A and Double-A. He struck out 134 batters in 116 innings pitched.
WELCOME TO THE ROCK, BRANDYN GARCIA 🌟
— Arkansas Travelers (@ARTravs) July 2, 2024
Final line of his AA debut:
5.0 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 8 K pic.twitter.com/t0kPqoFFYa
Garcia is one of the most physically imposing pitching prospects Seattle has, standing at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. He has a fastball that touches the upper 90s and a cutter and slider that are effective in generating swings-and-misses.
It's interesting that the Mariners would have their most pro-ready left-handed starting prospect debut in the bullpen. But given the current status of the rotation, it makes sense.
All of Seattle's five starting pitchers are under team control for several more years. And if there's any legs to rumors that the Mariners are seriously going after Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, that group could be even more crowded.
Having Garcia start out in the bullpen in low-leverage spots could help with his development and make him more prepared to step into a starting role later in his career.
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