Seattle Mariners catching prospect Luke Stevenson continues to turn heads among prospect insiders, with Baseball America saying on Saturday that he could finish the 2026 season inside the BA Top 100.

Stevenson just looks like another 'draft and develop' win for the Mariners, who have built their major league roster on homegrown stars like Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, JP Crawford and Matt Brash. Rodriguez was not drafted, but he was signed out of the Dominican Republic. Crawford and Brash were taken by other teams, but were traded to the Mariners while minor league players.

Furthermore, Cole Young, Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Ryan Sloan, Jurrangelo Cijtnje, Kade Anderson, Jonny Farmelo, Michael Arroyo and Felnin Celesten are all M's prospects who have been recently, or currently are, ranked inside the Top 100. 

About Stevenson

Drafted with the M's second pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of North Carolina, Stevenson got 75 bats at Single-A Modesto after getting drafted. Revered for his plate discipline and contact rate, Stevenson hit .280 in those 75 at-bats with an .860 OPS.

It's unclear where he'll start this season, but it would be logical if he began the year at High-A Everett and finished the season at Double-A Arkansas.

What's his ultimate future? 

The Mariners just had another Top 100 prospect, Harry Ford, and traded him to the Washington Nationals for reliever Jose Ferrer. Part of the reason for that? The M's have the best catcher in the game in Cal Raleigh and had no room to provide Ford with regular at-bats.

The same conversation will be had about Stevenson in the near future as well.

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How it could differ

Raleigh will be 30 going into the 2027 season and while he still figures to be able to catch most of the time, there could be more regular opportunity for Stevenson. Randy Arozarena, Crawford and Victor Robles are all free agents after the 2026 season, so there will be some roster turnover, which could open up more designated hitter at-bats for Raleigh.

That was not the case this season for Ford, as the M's currently face a glut of options at the DH position.

When could Stevenson be ready? 

The start of 2027 seems plausible, but even that would be very aggressive. Should he come up later in 2027 or even in 2028, the Raleigh conversation will continue to evolve, making Stevenson's presence more valuable.

About the rest of the M's offseason 

The Mariners continue to be linked to second base options on the trade market, including Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Beyond that, they could use another reliever to round out the bullpen. 

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