Peachy play with plenty of promise.
The final multi-digit member of our prospect list is one of its youngest, with the 19 year old Tai Peete preparing for his third professional season. All but one of our list’s top 10 (recent Meet at the Mitt Podcast guest Ryan Sloan) made at least one major top 100 prospects list this winter. Peete’s placement comes on the heels of a promising 2024 campaign that included defensive shifts and a learning curve that highlights the challenge of learning to hit against some of the best players in the world every day.
In limited spring action, it’s been evident that Peete has worked to quiet his hands pre-pitch. Still featuring a bit of waggle, the athletic lefty looks as if he’s grown a tick beyond his 6’2 listing, and certainly has begun to add muscle to his projectable frame. Few players in Seattle’s system can turn on the ball like Peete, and the aspiration in watching him is that he can become a plus power player to accompany blazing speed. Swiping 45 bags in 50 attempts last year is exceptional, the 10th-most steals by a Mariners minor leaguer since 2006, and comes from a confluence of foot speed and precocious technique from Peete.
The adjustments at the dish, however, are likely an effort to build consistency in the Georgian’s swing, which at times got long and left him vulnerable to pitches on the outer half. That led to a suboptimal ability to make contact period, and a >30% strikeout rate that’s not going to work for a player whose power isn’t being accessed as readily in games as it is in batting practice.
Don’t mistake that for a major complaint on Peete’s contact quality, however, as the youngster ran a potent BABIP with Low-A Modesto thanks to his speed and some fortune, but also an exceptional line drive rate just shy of 30%. Peete’s hands and wrists are strong, and he gets the barrel to the ball with precocious precision by avoiding lengthening his swing too frequently. Improved pitch selection is a part of the growing process for the teenager that will be most impactful in his progression, whether he’s asked to repeat in the California League or heads north to High-A Everett at the season’s outset.
Wherever he ends up, it’s likely Peete will be playing all over the diamond. Seattle saw fit to give Peete 24 games in the outfield, alongside 17 at third base behind his majority 71 at shortstop. Peete’s arm is strong enough for any position, and his speed is appropriate in center field and at short, but between the organization’s depth in middle infield and Peete’s rawness, it seems he’ll continue to be worked in a multi-positional capacity up the organizational ladder.
Walking 10% of the time, striking out a bit too much, with sneaky power and potent base-stealing prowess, while playing plus defense across the diamond sounds like a player the Mariners have continually relied on heavily over the past half decade: Dylan Moore. Based on my interpersonal conversations, that’s damning with faint praise, but I think it’s a plausible outcome with far better possible. At age 19, Moore was a slap-hitting infielder slugging .326 at JUCO Cypress College, while Peete is taking on top prospects and pitchers 3-4 years his senior. He’ll be given plenty of time to build out his toolkit in 2025.