All six tools in one place (one of them is a scalpel).
We’ve entered the Chris Rock range, greeted by the player who has demonstrated in his brief pro career the greatest capacity for stardom of any of the Seattle Mariners’ current prospects.
20 year old OF Jonny Farmelo is a Mariner thanks to Julio Rodríguez, whose Rookie of the Year campaign earned Seattle an additional first round pick in the 2023 draft. That pick was 29th overall, and the $3.2 million signing bonus was enough to lure the Chantilly, VA kid away from his commitment to the University of Virginia. For the M’s, that was fortune in the extreme, as the lanky prep was gaining attention for his fleet-footed baserunning and chasm-covering outfield play. In his first full pro season, following a momentary cup of coffee with the Modesto Nuts in the playoffs of 2023, Farmelo was a brilliant comet. Though the season ended abruptly with a torn ACL, he’s now about a month away from starting #baseballactivities and on trajectory at the moment to return to games midseason.
When he does so, Seattle hopes to eventually see a full bore version of the player who tore up Low-A Modesto at just age 19. As you can see in this video below, as a prep, Farmelo had a short, somewhat cut-off swing from the left side.
That was the primary knock on the 6’2, 205 lbs speedster, whose snub from the Team USA ballclub spurred major improvements that have carried him forwards in the pros. The swing’s orientation with his back elbow out at times made for a hack that looked almost as though Farmelo was trying to avoid touching his elbow to his inner hip, and made for a more slash-and-dash projection. His pre-draft performance changed things, and since joining the M’s the swing has been tightened into a short scoop that allows Farmelo to better elevate line drives and utilize his burgeoning power.
It’s that power-hit combo that’s now made Farmelo into a five-tool talent, particularly as his plate discipline has been impressive early given his youth. Walking nearly as often as he struck out in 2024, Farmelo’s 46 game line is stellar, a .264/.398/.421 performance with tons of line drives and the ability to lash the ball all over the field. He swiped 18 bags in 20 attempts, as well as utilizing his speed to turn tweener plays into extra bases consistently.
And the glove, my goodness. Gliding across the outfield, Farmelo often doesn’t need to dive or slide as he swaddles the gaps of center field in his embrace. This is the area of his game that is most under scrutiny as he returns from injury. The good news on Farmelo’s injury, such that there is for any major knee damage, is that it was only the ACL. Few sports injuries have seen greater improvements since the mid-20th century in terms of rehabilitation than the common but nasty ACL tear, and indeed it is seen as common these days for players to both return to full health and not be at inherently heightened risk for recurrence. Ronald Acuña Jr. is the most prominent recent ACL tear sufferer, and did in fact face a second time on the table, however between his first and second injuries he was so limited that he merely went 40-70 in 2023 and played 159 games. A bit of caution is the motto now for Acuña, and the same may be true for Farmelo, at least as he is building himself back up.
A healthy Farmelo looked to me to be the best player in this system. That’s a packed competition, but there’s nobody who can combine Farmelo’s offensive balance and defensive brilliance, even if it’s in center field instead of on the infield dirt, particularly until we see Felnin Celesten in affiliated ball. That’s the prospect Seattle will be hoping they get to cultivate for the long haul.