One Seattle Mariners pitching prospect picked up pitcher of the week honors in Double-A.
He could be building up what would complete an unlikely path to pitching in MLB for the Mariners sooner rather than later.
The pitcher: Left-hander Reid VanScoter.
VanScoter is coming off his best start of the season at Double-A Arkansas. He pitched 5.0 innings, allowed just one hit and struck out three.
The southpaw has battled injuries, and he began this season on the IL. He has now made four starts.
In his minor league career, VanScoter has a 3.58 ERA and has 253 strikeouts in 258.2 innings pitched.
VanScoter is originally from Livonia, New York, a picturesque town in upstate NY. He was one of the most dominant high school pitchers that region of the state had ever seen, then wound up at Coastal Carolina.
After shining for the Chanticleers, VanScoter was a fifth-round pick in 2022.
MORE: Nic Enright makes MLB debut after cancer battle: ‘That was everything I wanted it to be’
The Mariners have a lack of high-end pitching talent in the upper minors.
SI’s Teren Kowatsch writes, “If VanScoter continues at his current pace, he could be the next starting pitching prospect to get a shot in the big leagues.”
That’d be quite the step on VanScoter’s journey, but it does seem possible. Effective lefties are always at a premium, and VanScoter certainly has the stuff to make an impression and then stick around.
MORE MLB NEWS:
