At 26 years old, Seattle Mariners right-hander pitching prospect Adam Smith is one of the oldest players competing in the Arizona Fall League.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Smith, who has been in the Mariners Minor League system since 2021, has shown off his experience by pitching well enough to earn a spot in the Arizona Fall Stars Game on Sunday night.

Just when it looked like veteran right-hander George Kirby was on the path to turning his season around with two strong starts in early August, the bottom appeared to fall out on the Mariners' starter over the last six days.

Kirby shut out the Twins over seven innings on Aug. 2 and limited the Rays to just one earned run in five innings of work on Aug. 8. The hope was that the 28-year-old right-hander was regaining the form that made him a dependable starter in 2025 in the AL Division Series win.

For much of this season, the Mariners have been unable to see the positive effects that Brendan Donovan can have on a lineup because of the groin injury that cost him half of May and all of June and July.

Finally healthy, Donovan is starting to show the impact he can have on a lineup with his contagious energy and gritty style of play.

I’m not about asking for a man’s job either, but how can we abide by bringing Michael Rucker into a 1-0 game on the first day of a road trip that will determine the fate of the season? How could we be even a bit surprised that the two lefties leading off the inning smoked balls into right. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Wilson was selling the season. This move made no sense on any level.

I think the Chicago White Sox are a really good fit for Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo at this year's deadline. 

Some thoughts below on the match for both teams and a potential trade package. 

A year after Mariners stars played major roles in the MLB All-Star Game, Randy Arozarena with the club's only participant in Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic -- a 4-0 win for the AL over the NL.

The two teams combined for just seven hits, 27 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit in a game that featured only one run scored after the first inning.

As rumors circulate about when he'll come up, Sloan was great on Saturday for Arkansas.

Ken Griffey Jr. will forever be one of, if not the most iconic players in Seattle sports history.

Part of the legend of "The Kid" is him and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., becoming the first father-son duo to play in a game together, which they did in the 1990s with the Seattle Mariners. 

Some of the best hitters in baseball -- Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Alex Bregman, Ronald Acuna Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Will Smith and Pete Crow-Armstrong -- have gotten off to uncharacteristically poor starts so far in 2026.

Also, elite pitchers such as Tarik Skubal, Edwin Diaz, Brayan Bello, Yusei Kikuchi and Daniel Palencia have struggled with either performance, injury issues or both early this season.

In recent years, the Mariners have almost universally been thought to have the best pitching staff in baseball. While that group has shown some cracks early this season, could the imminent return of Bryce Miller lead to the M's having a dominant starting staff again?

How they fare over one of their most arduous stretches of the season could be very telling.