The Seattle Mariners made another minor league addition this week by signing former No. 8 overall pick Carson Fulmer. The former Vanderbilt star was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2015 draft, but has struggled to find consistency since his early prospect days. He bounced between the big leagues and Triple-A for the White Sox from 2016-2019, then split time with Baltimore and Detroit during the shortened 2020 season. He then split time between the minor leagues and the Cincinnati bullpen in 2021.
The six-foot right-hander then found success in 2022 with the Los Angeles Dodgers Triple-A affiliate. He had his first extended amount of success in a very long time. Outside of a 3.2 scoreless inning stretch with the Orioles in 2020, his 2.86 ERA for Triple-A Oklahoma City was the only time in his career he has had an ERA under 3 since 2015 when he pitched in High-A and Rookie Ball. In 56.2 innings in 2022, Fulmer struck out 62 and walked 35, good for a 9.8 K/9 ratio and a 5.6 BB/9.
He may have found something that helped him in 2022, but he will probably have to walk fewer batters in 2023 if he is going to see the Seattle bullpen. He is another example of the Mariners front office taking a shot on a former first round pick, and this one comes with zero risk because he is on a minor league deal. If he pitches well out of the Tacoma bullpen, maybe he could find himself in Seattle as a bullpen call-up if someone struggles or there are injuries.
The club also signed RHP A.J. Puckett to a minor league deal. He spent last season at Double-A as a 27-year-old.
The Mariners also appear to have signed outfielder Leonys Martin to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.
I’m coming home 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/NDwrsWa1PC
— Leonys Martin (@leonys27martin) February 10, 2023
Mariners Draft Spotlight
For this week’s Mariners Draft Spotlight, we are going to take a look at someone who the Mariners might have to float down the draft board to them, and that is TCU infielder Brayden Taylor. He has played a lot of third base at TCU, but has played some shortstop and second base as well. He is a 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter who has put up some really impressive numbers in his time at TCU.
Last season, Taylor put up a .314/.454/.576 slash line in 59 games. the 20-year-old also hit 13 home runs and had 14 doubles. Perhaps the most impressive stat that he had was that he walked more than he struck out. The Utah native walked 55 times and only struck out 40 times. He showed an ability to control the zone, which we know Jerry Dipoto and his front office love, so he may be a target of the club come draft time.
MLB Pipeline has him as the 11th best prospect for the upcoming draft. They give him grades of 50s or 55s for all five tools. They said, “Using a sweet left-handed swing and fine bat-to-ball skills, Taylor makes repeated contact to all fields. He’s not afraid to work deep counts and controls the strike zone well, walking more than he struck out in each of his first two college seasons. He lets his power come naturally… and projectable strength to provide 20-25 homers on an annual basis.”
Prospects Live also has him ranked highly, coming in at 14th on their top 300 draft prospects. They also praised his bat, “Taylor has a short, simple swing from the left side with good upper body rotation and whippy bat speed. Taylor’s profile is actually carried by the bat, showcasing loud line drive and fly ball exit velocities to his pull-side.” They also had this to say about his defense, “He played a bit of third base, but with good range to his right and a strong arm, he projects a more natural fit at third base if he’s forced off the shortstop position.”
Mariners Prospects in the News
Daniel Kramer of MLB.com wrote about the Mariners pitching prospects coming into Spring Training with high expectations.
The Mariners have multiple minor leaguers participating in the World Baseball Classic, and Ryan Divish wrote about each of the players playing in the tournament.
MLB Pipeline published an article about a few prospects that just missed the cut for their top 100 list, and it included a 2022 Mariners draft pick.
MLB Pipeline also wrote about who they predict each organization’s top prospect will be in 2025.
On Joe Doyle’s podcast Over-Slot, he talked about the debate between two SEC outfielders who may be in the mix to be drafted number one overall in the upcoming draft. He also spoke with a former Mariners pitching coach who worked with 2022 rookie sensation George Kirby.
Curtis Christianson
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