The Mariners are set to select first baseman Tyler Locklear prior to tomorrow’s game against the Royals, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. The club will have to make corresponding moves to accommodate Locklear’s addition to both the 40-man and active rosters prior to tomorrow’s game.
Locklear, 23, was Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. The Virginia Commonwealth product has moved quickly through the minors, reaching the Double-A level in just his first full professional season before reaching Triple-A 41 games into his 2024 campaign. He’s now poised to reach the majors after just ten games at Triple-A and with only 753 minor league plate appearances under his belt. His offensive output during his limited time at the minor league level certainly appears to indicate that he may be in need of a greater challenge, as he sports a career .289/.398/.508 slash line across all levels of the minors, including above average production by measure of wRC+ at every level he’s appeared at since graduating from complex ball.
That fantastic offensive performance has led him to become one of the more well-regarded prospects in the Mariners system. Baseball America rates Locklear as Seattle’s fifth best prospect and as the #83 prospect in all of baseball. BA highlights his “borderline plus-plus” power potential and patience at the plate, both traits that were on display when Locklear hit a fantastic .291/.401/.532 (155 wRC+) in 41 games at the Double-A level this season. Locklear clubbed eight home runs in just 188 plate appearances while walking at a strong 12.2% clip. That performance was good for the fifth-best on-base percentage and third-best wRC+ among all qualified hitters 25 or younger in the Texas League this season.
Locklear’s promotion to the majors comes amid injury concerns regarding first baseman Ty France. The 29-year-old is (as relayed by Divish) expected to undergo imaging on his right heel due to lingering “tenderness” after he was hit by a pitch from Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV during yesterday’s game. France indicated that he was hopeful he would only miss a few days of action, so it’s possible that he isn’t headed for the injured list to make room for Locklear on the active roster. While both Locklear and France have experience elsewhere on the infield, each has moved to first base full time in recent seasons and appears unlikely to be a factor at the other infield spots.
Should the Mariners plan to accommodate both Locklear and France in the starting lineup on a regular basis going forward, that would likely indicate reduced playing time for Mitch Garver, who has served as both the club’s regular DH as well as a backup catcher to Cal Raleigh. The possibility of Garver seeing less playing time going forward is hardly a shocking one given his struggles at the dish this year. While he enjoyed a strong .249/.347/.479 slash line with a 128 wRC+ between the 2021 and 2023 seasons with the Mariners and Rangers, Garver’s first season in Seattle has been difficult as he’s posted a line of just .177/.288/.331 (86 wRC+) in 54 games with the club this year.
He’s earned his Melrose place on the team.
oof. I wonder if he’s been called Heather all his life by people old enough to know the reference. Probably more of an issue for his dad and dad’s siblings.
It would be great if his walkup song is the Melrose Place theme.
Let’s go the replacement for Ty France
Ty hasn’t been terrible; Garver has. Move Ty to DH. Ty has actually played pretty good D so may Locklear can be the DH. Garver is killing the team.
Mary Tyler Moore and Heather Locklears love child
He’s going to make it after all
So now Tyler is expected to throw his helmet in the air?
Actually watch the walkoffs, scary how often they resort to that as their go-to move. Musta originated in Minnehaha
Garver is wide and away the Mariners hottest hitter for the last week or so lol
Garver has been hitting the ball hard and finally seeing some results over the last 6 games. They’re also getting him some time behind the plate.
With that out of the way, Locklear might be used in a platoon role with Raley at 1B while France is incapacitated.
It’s hard to imagine this promotion coming without an IL stint, because room would have to be cleared on the active roster, though Zavala hasn’t played much…
Anyway, Seattle hasn’t been shy about pressing their prospects. I don’t know if that’s wise, but it is what it is. Hopefully Locklear will find early success.
Stevil- Did you read Eno Sarris’s article that focused on 12 ‘unlucky hitters? – 25% of that group are M’s hitters!! Haha!
I know you follow a lot of M’s games Stevil: so it wont shock you to learn that Julio, Cal and Mitch Haniger were the other 3 M’s hitters who like Garver are doing the right things but not quite getting the best results!
Eno Sarris uses metrics like plate discipline, barrel rate, and exit velos to back up his prediction of a better 2nd half for the M’s
Seattle is a tough place to hit.
Hey man
No, I didn’t see his article, but I like Eno. He always puts out good stuff. I check the leaderboards on ‘Savant regularly and there’s a new one I think is worth taking note of: bat tracking,.
Among the Mariners you (he) mentioned, Moore is up there as well when you adjust for PAs, and even France is up there in the barrel/PA column.
The player who concerns me the most is Polanco, because he isn’t chasing, yet he’s whiffing, and when he does make contact, it isn’t hard. Haniger is whiffing a lot (and doesn’t chase), but at least he makes hard contact.
You should get disqus and weigh in on the blog! I go into more detail there than I ever will here. It would be good to hear your takes.
There is something about the keyhole position in Seattle ever since Robbie Cano left town. Call it an Elliott Bay curse or some Royal Brougham voodoo! …Whatever it is, Polanco has come down with it!
I’ve seen Polanco hit, I had to! ….after drafting him for 2 Cash League Fantasy teams!! Polanco was a very important cog in that 2019 Twins Team that won 101 games.
Here’s the thing about Polanco’s 2021 yr – his 70 XBH’s tied him with Kyle Tucker. They were both only 2-3 XBH’s behind some elite hitters like Raffy Devers, M Olson and Jose Ramirez. That is some good company
Tbh though like you I do worry about Polanco. I wonder if the Twins packaged Jorge after seeing a decline in him. Why else would you trade a 2B capable of giving you 70 XBH’s!? 2B men who are capable of hitting 70 XBH’s certainly don’t grow on trees either!
I would love to be wrong on Polanco…though. Baseball is a humbling game….
I don’t think it was Minnesota knowing or believing something as much as it was about clearing out an infield log-jam. They wanted a regular for Julien, but still had Correa, Lewis, Castro, and Farmer and feasibly Martin and Lee at some point.
Seattle might actually be okay without Polanco, but I’d feel better if they found another infielder at the deadline.
I think this should speed up the trade process…Robert for Ford Young and Evans and Alonso for France and Hancock.
You want to trade three T100 prospects for Robert? Robert has played more than 98 games one time in his four year career and already missed almost two months this year. As for your Alonsonidea, sure, but it’s so absurd the Mets would hang up
It would take at least that to get Robert based on all the trade projections online and Alonso is a rental so he’s not going to be super expensive maybe throw in a low level lottery ticket
The high cost is the reason not to make the trade.
You pay a high price for a good player that will help you, not a good player that sit on the IL for months each year.
You think Seattle would actually consider giving up 3 of their last 4 number one draft picks for the a rental who isn’t currently better than France, and an outfielder who is often injured, whiffs a lot, and whose value is largely related to his defense as a center fielder and will make 15m next year, then has options for 20m the following two years?
Those aren’t the kind of players Seattle seems likely to target.
They may very well trade a top prospect or two, and they may very well be willing to take on salary if they can shed salary elsewhere.
But I wouldn’t bet on them sacrificing elite talent for limited, expensive control of anyone.
That’s too much to give up for Robert IMHO
Don’t forget to add the fungo bats and bp baseballs with France…that’ll put that trade over the top lol. Keep dreamin.
No way on the Robert trade. Yes on the Alonso trade.
A ML debut of a homegrown player is one of my absolute favorite moments in a MLB season. …A debut of a young man who has been crushing it in the Minors? Even better. Tomorrow will be a special day indeed!
I am fascinated by Tyler Locklear’s potential because he did so well at Dickey Stephens Park in Little Rock AK. That AA Park is notoriously difficult for hitters. Not unlike the first 3 months at T-Mobile.
There is a lot to like about Locklear – I hope Servais lets him see both LHP and RHP alike. He’s earned the right to face both with pretty even splits.
Have a great debut kid this guy will be happy for you
I’m anxious to see him as well, but this is really pushing their luck. They probably didn’t anticipate promoting him so quickly (just 11 games in AAA!), but he is the only real option right now and he has continued to do pretty much everything you could ask of him.
Hopefully this will prove to be positive for both him and the team. I would expect to see him facing more LHPs than RHPs, but Scott will be selective with matchups (and not just based on L/R).
Related to former MLB player Gene Locklear?
Like me, you’re showing your age.
Gotta wonder if he’s being showcased for trade possibilities.
I hope not.
Seby Zavala is gonna be DFAd.
Could be, as he can’t hit and isn’t a very good catcher.
Garver could be the backup catcher. But if Garver’s legs can’t take it, there aren’t a lot of options. There are no other catchers on the 40-man roster. Ford may or may not be ready (probably not), but they wouldn’t bring him up to sit on the bench.
My first guess is France to the IL.
My second guess is Zavala DFAd.
The thing is, they have to make a 40 man spot for him, so France to the IL isn’t gonna cut it. And now they’re also calling up a pitcher who needs a 40 man spot; so this set of roster moves is gonna be interesting.
Saying that Mitch Garver has “served as a backup catcher”, is technically true, and also incredibly misleading. He has caught a total of 12 innings all year.
All of the emerging talent in the M’s farm system is why I am skeptical about them doing a big trade for a major league bat. The youngsters are the future and must be kept to be able to afford the pitching staff that may be the best in baseball. They will bring up Logan Evans to boost the relief corps and Locklear to help the offense. Behind them are a bunch of young hitters.
That is a very noble idea considering the SEA owners are cheap. However The FO should be ‘hung and quartered’ if they dont jump on this golden opportunity right now. The Ms have a 5g lead over TX despite a bad offense.
There are times to hoard top prospects and there are times to use your top prospect chips to go after a Division Title, chances like this season do not come around often. Trust me the FO is trading from this pool of young (mostly Single A) hitters. I’d bet the house on that!!
The best of those young 18 and 19 yr old top prospects are all in Modesto. I would be shocked if one of Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Jonny Farmelo, Aidan Smith, Tai Peete or Michael Arroyo plays more than a 20-30 games in 2025. I’d expect them in 2026> best case scenario. Felnin Celestin is farther away still in the AZL team. He will prob wont be up until 2026+ Remember- they get to stock up on more prospects every sgl yr! Haha
Good luck to this kid!! His uncle is a good friend out of Maryland.
*mine
Finding a way to get top level talent is the only way to win anymore (Dodgers Yankees Phillies Braves are examples) the Mariners won’t win a world series with pitching and Julio only sorry to say ..Need to trade some top level “prospects” to get there
Hopefully this means Seby Zavala is DFA’d
Yep go get Danny Jansen to take some load off the Big Dumper