PEORIA, Ariz. — What’s the best time to showcase the Mariners’ stars of tomorrow? Ideally … tomorrow.
And that’s exactly what’s going to happen Friday when the Mariners’ and Padres’ top prospects square off in the inaugural Spring Breakout game at Peoria Sports Complex (for those reading this in the paper, tomorrow is today.)
The M’s are replete with promising position players such as Cole Young, Harry Ford and Colt Emerson, who are sitting 1-2-3 according to MLB.com‘s prospect rankings for Seattle. But what about Nos. 4 and 5? What about the teenagers from Latin America who are as intriguing as they are talented?
Well, that’s who spoke with the media Thursday morning: 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Lazaro Montes and 18-year-old Dominican shortstop Felnin Celesten. Two players with upside through T-Mobile Park’s retractable roof.
If you hung around for the latter part of the Mariners’ game with the Dodgers on Wednesday, you caught the day’s offensive highlight: A two-run triple in the seventh from Montes, who scored on a sacrifice fly.
It wasn’t the three-bagger alone that stood out. It was the effervescence Montes displayed once he reached third base safely. And such sparkle isn’t a rare sight, which is why M’s manager Scott Servais said that “Laz” is going to be a fan favorite once he gets to the majors.
“There’s no question about it,” Servais said of the team’s No. 4 prospect. “He’s got big-time ability, but he’s got the personality to match up with it.”
Ability is the more important trait, obviously, and Montes displayed that in Class A Modesto last season, where he hit .321 and posted an OPS of .994 in 33 games. Asked to describe himself as a hitter, he went the concise route.
“Animal,” Montes said through an interpreter.
But he was more expansive for the rest of the Q&A.
Your impressions of spring training so far?
“I’ve felt really great being able to play with some of the guys that hopefully will be teammates of mine when I get to the major leagues. I’ve felt really great enjoying this experience I’ve had.”
It seems like you’ve gotten more patient with pitches. What do you attribute that to?
“Failure is a big thing to take or to learn from the game and in life. I think that was a big thing for me. Learn where I failed, and how do I get better with that? Instead of me failing one day and me going home and being in a bad mood, I really focused on, ‘What happened, what can I improve on, and how do I get better?’ “
Then there’s Celesten, who is ostensibly as talented as Montes but hasn’t enjoyed his good health. Fenin strained a hamstring before the start of the Dominican Summer League last June and has yet to play a professional game of consequence. But that doesn’t mean the switch-hitter — projected to reach the majors in 2028 — isn’t teeming with potential. If he wasn’t, the Mariners wouldn’t have given him a $4.7 million signing bonus when they acquired him last January, which was the largest international free-agent bonus in club history.
Still, the glimpse of his personality is more than anything we’ve seen from him competitively as a pro. Which means Friday is important. Really important.
“This is a moment that I’ve been waiting for quite a bit,” Celesten, the No. 2 prospect in last year’s international class, said through an interpreter. “Last year, I wasn’t able to play due to a lot of different situations, but this year I’m hoping to play a lot more. I’m eager to get on that field.”
And it’s not just about the hype Celesten entered the organization with, but the demands he puts on himself. It’s not easy when you pull a hammy just as you’re getting set to pull away from the pack.
How did that injury affect you?
“I’m not going to lie — it was tough for me,” said Celesten, who later said that he’s just as good batting lefty as he is righty. “But we have a motto here that says, ‘Enjoy the process.’ I took that as a positive and was able to take it, run with it, and that’s what I just did.”
It’s hard to take much from spring training and predict how it will translate to the big leagues. It’s even harder to glean something meaningful from a couple of prospects taking on other up-and-comers for nine innings.
Montes and Celesten came a long way to get here, and still have a long way to go. But for one Friday afternoon, the future will be now.
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