Ryan Sloan is one of the top prospects in the sport.
Seattle Mariners pitching prospect Ryan Sloan received high praise from MLB Pipeline on Monday, with the outlet ranking him as the No. 6 right-handed pitching prospect in the sport entering 2026.
Sloan is ranked as the No. 44 prospect in the game by MLB Pipeline, and the only righties ahead of him are Nolan McLean (Mets), Bubba Chandler (Pirates), Trey Yesavage (Blue Jays), Andrew Painter (Phillies) and Seth Hernandez (Pirates). McLean, Chandler and Yesavage have all made their major league debuts already.
More on Sloan
A second-round pick of the Mariners in 2024 from the Illinois high school ranks, Sloan is still just 19 years old. He did not pitch in affiliated ball after getting drafted, making 2025 his first taste of professional baseball. Pitching for a combination of Single-A Modesto and High-A Everett, Sloan went 2-4 with a 3.73 ERA, striking out 90 batters in 82.0 innings. Opponents hit .256 against him, which seems high, but the Cal and Northwest Leagues are both seen as hitter-friendly.
He's anticipated to make the big leagues in 2028. He should begin the next campaign at Everett, and then progress to Double-A Arkansas by the end of the season.
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About the Mariners system as a whole
The Mariners have one of the best farm systems in baseball, loaded with Top 100 prospects. Sloan, Kade Anderson and Jurrangelo Cijntje are all pitchers that fit that description, while the likes of Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Jonny Farmelo and Michael Arroyo are all position players on that list.
Could Sloan get traded?
Anybody could get traded, but Sloan feels about as untouchable as prospects get. The Mariners have been engaged in trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals about infielder Brendan Donovan, but Sloan is too great an ask for a player with just two years of team control.
The M's have been known to be willing to include Cijntje in a trade for Donovan, but they've stayed away from connecting Sloan to any deals.
About the rest of the Mariners offseason
With one month to go until spring training, the Seattle offseason still feels incomplete. The M's have traded for reliever Jose Ferrer and re-signed Josh Naylor, while also signing Rob Refsnyder and Andrew Knizner. They need to figure out if they can finalize the trade for Donovan, or if they could pivot to old friend Eugenio Suarez.
If they don't do any of those things, they could end up just rolling with Emerson and Cole Young at third and second base, respectively.
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