Travelers’ opening roster has top prospects for Mariners
Baseball season is in full swing, and the Arkansas Travelers minor league club will have plenty of new faces when the season opens Friday.
After a few seasons of elite pitching as the headline for the Travelers, this season will feature the Seattle Mariners’ top two prospects, shortstop Cole Young and catcher Harry Ford, both consensus top 100 prospects across baseball.
Ford and Young were the Mariners’ first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and will be two of the youngest players in Class AA this season. Ford was taken with the 12th overall pick out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga., while Young was the 21st overall pick from North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa.
The Travelers have five of the Mariners’ top 30 prospects, including Young, Ford, infielder Tyler Locklear (No. 8), right-handed pitcher Logan Evans (No. 20) and Alberto Rodriguez (No. 24). Evans was named Arkansas opening day starter in its matchup against the Springfield Cardinals on Friday night Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. Juan Mercedes leads all of the Travs’ returning pitchers with just 10 starts last season. Ford and firstyear Manager Christian Colon said they expect big things out of Evans and the staff.
“We’ve got a really good pitching staff,” Ford said. “We’ve got five guys who all can pitch here or higher. And you know there’s no weak part there. They’re all working their butts off. I’ve got the pleasure to catch a few of them over the last couple years. And so they’re all ready for this.”
“Logan Evans is going to be really good,” Colon said. “But overall, our pitching is going to be very solid. We’re going to have quite a few left-handers in there to start, and it’s going to be fun to just to piece it together.
“There’s going to be some hiccups in there. It’s a younger group, but we’re ready for it. We’re up for the challenge.”
Under Colon, the Travelers are looking for similar success to last season, finishing as the Texas League runner-up.
“This group has a real identity,” Colon said. “They know who they are. They know how good they are. … They’re coming in here and you could tell in their preparation, they take this seriously, and they want to achieve great things as a group, and that’s what we’re excited about.”
Including Locklear and Rodriguez, the Travelers feature 12 players who have previously played for the team. One standout returner is Robbie “Byrd” Tenerowicz. The first baseman became a fan-favorite last season while posting a .941 OPS with 16 home runs and 80 RBI before being promoted.
“I don’t expect anything,” Tenerowicz, 28, said. “I just want to have fun with the team. I want us to win games. I want us to hit homers. I want the pitchers to strike dudes out.”
One Arkansas native made the Travelers’ roster. Relief pitcher Logan Gragg, 24, of Prairie Grove was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019 out of Oklahoma State. He signed with the Mariners this offseason.