In my first live look of the season, I was able to see the High-A matchup between the Everett Aqua Sox and Hillsboro Hops. Diamondbacks prospects Gino Groover and Tommy Troy are both currently on the injured list, which shortened some of the top prospect power in this matchup. Even still, there were a handful of notable names on both sides, including a 2023 second-round pick by the Mariners, Ben Williamson. The pitching matchup in this one was Ryan Hawks (Seattle, unranked) up against Wyatt Wendell (Arizona, unranked). It was a pitching duel early until Everett finally broke through with three in the fourth inning. The Hops got one run across in the top of the fifth but were otherwise held scoreless by a strong performance for Mariners pitching prospects. The Diamondbacks had Jack Hurley (#13 prospect) playing in this one. The lone Mariners' top prospect was Ben Williamson (#15) but most of their big-name talent in Low-A Modesto should make its way up to Everett later this season.

Ryan Hawks - RHP (Mariners, unranked): Win - 5.0IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Hawks has a funky arm slot from the right side of the mound. The low, side-arm release made it difficult for hitters to square up what is, in all, a below-average arsenal from Hawks. Hawks drops his arm slot mid-delivery and hides the ball well with a short arm action. Hawks featured a fastball, slider, and changeup. The slider has great, sweeping movement but misses the zone regularly. Although the arm slot is difficult to pick up, it also creates inconsistency in the release point. Hawks struggled with command early, navigating some walks but settled in as the outing went on and found the zone more. Once he did, hitters made plenty of contact but it was generally weak contact that Hawks navigated nicely to limit damage. Hawks profiles best as a mid-inning reliever, something he did at times at Louisville. The fastball sat 93-94 on the day but didn’t generate too many swinging strikes. Hawks found the most success with his changeup and slider. The slider is the best weapon in the arsenal, sitting mid-80s with great sweeping movement.

Brock Rodden - 2B (Mariners, unranked): 2/3, HR, BB, RBI

Rodden was a fifth-round pick in 2023 by the Mariners out of Wichita State. Rodden started the scoring with his fourth-inning home run — a line drive home run over the right-center wall. Despite his small 5-7 frame, Rodden can really barrel the baseball. The walls are fairly short in Everett and the home run would’ve been a double in a big league park, but Rodden has solid potential at second base. He looked to do damage early in counts, swinging within the first three pitches on both of his line drive hits on the night. He also squared up a ball in the first that ended up a line drive out to right field.

Ben Williamson - 3B (Mariners #15): 0/2, 2 BB, RBI

Williamson has been the best hitter for Everett all season and entered the game hitting well above .300. Hillsboro pitchers clearly got the memo and didn’t give him anything to hit all game. He walked on six pitches in his first plate appearance of the night. He walked again on four pitches with the bases loaded and no outs in the home half of the eighth inning. Williamson struggled some against reliever Alfred Morillo, but even with the strikeout he worked a three-ball count. He has a good eye at the plate and showed a willingness to wait for his pitch at the plate. Defensively, Williamson showed off a strong arm both in pre-game warmup work and during the game. His arm is strong enough to stick at third base and he should be at least average defensively there.

Gabriel Moncada - 1B (Mariners, unranked): 3/3, BB, 2 RBI, SB

Moncada was the biggest standout of the night, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances. Although he’s never found his way onto the team’s top 30 list, Moncada is still an intriguing name with an impressive swing at the plate. Strikeouts limited his output in the last two minor league seasons, but he didn’t swing and miss a single time against Hillsboro. He’s improved his patience at the plate in 2024 and took a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the seventh. Moncada also broke the game open with an RBI single in the eighth. That single brought in two runs and widened the Aqua Sox lead to six runs. Defensively, he’s a true first baseman and the bat will need to carry his value. Although all three hits on the night were singles, the potential exists for Moncada to lift the ball more and hit for the power we’ve seen in the past. The swing mechanics are simple and fluid, with few moving parts. When he’s quick to the baseball as he was against Hillsboro, there’s an ability to use all fields.

Holden Laws - LHP (Mariners, unranked): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Laws is an older prospect for High-A at 24 years old. He was a late-round pick by the Mariners back in 2018 and has been a depth arm throughout his professional career to this point. He uses a long arm action, dropping his arm straight down and fully extending his elbow towards the ground. Against Hillsboro, he leaned heavily on a solid slider with life and an average fastball. Laws didn’t allow a base runner over two innings and leaned heavily on weak groundball contact. That combination worked well, but he still profiles as an organizational arm long-term.

Wyatt Wendell - RHP (Diamondbacks, unranked): 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO

Wendell was great early on, holding the Aqua Sox without a hit through the first two innings. He worked around a couple of walks and got help from his defense. Things changed in the fourth, however, as Everett honed in on his arsenal. Wendell uses a short arm action on the mound. He uses a fastball, changeup, and curveball. The changeup worked well early with good fade. Wendell’s curveball has the potential to be a solid out pitch but isn’t commanded well and Everett hitters quickly learned to lay off and let it pass. Wendell had below-average command on the night and profiles as an organizational arm long-term. He doesn’t generate swing-and-miss but could be better as a single-inning reliever.

Andrew Pintar - CF (Diamondbacks, unranked): 1/4, K

Pintar entered the night as one of the best hitters in the Hops’ lineup. He entered leading the Northwest League in both walks and home runs. Everett did a nice job limiting him in this one, limiting him to just a single in the second inning. Pintar has some twitch before his swing, but his overall swing mechanics are relatively quiet. He has a square stance at the plate and leads with his front elbow into his swing. The bat speed isn’t all that great, which hurt Pintar on the night. He struggled to catch up to pitches up in the strikezone. He was often late to the baseball and couldn’t square up for line drive contact. Long-term, there’s some fourth-outfielder potential thanks to his strong batted-ball skills and eye at the plate. The power won’t play up as well in the upper minors, which leaves him without a true leading tool at the next level.

Jack Hurley - LF (Diamondbacks #13): 1/3, 3B, BB, RBI

Hurley was a top-50 prospect in the 2023 draft. The Diamondbacks selected him in the third round after he fell a ways and severe swing-and-miss thus far in his pro career have shown why that fall in the draft happened. The hit tool is well below average currently and doesn’t figure to ever reach average. Hurley struck out twice against Everett, but one was on a borderline called third strike on the outside half of the zone. Everett worked him away all night. By the fifth, he caught on to that game plan and was happy to go the other way when the opportunity arose. With two strikes, Hurley punched a fastball down and away to the left field corner. He’s an above-average runner and turned the sharp ground ball into three while it bounced around in the left-field corner. Hurley has a closed stance with his front foot maybe a tick open. His mechanics are a bit busy, with twitchy hands and a busy front foot. He uses a toe tap for timing and closes his hips while moving into his load and swing. Because of that, Hurley struggled to open up his hips and couldn’t extend his arms. Instead, he got twisted up inside, especially against pitches up in the zone. Long-term, he has above-average power potential with good speed. More simplified mechanics to help him open up more quickly and extend his hands could help that raw power play more in-game.