Seattle Mariners 2025 International Free Agency Tracker

The newest batch of baby M’s

It’s that time of year again! January 15th marks the opening day of international free agency in the MLB, and this year’s crop of young Mariners features some supremely exciting teenagers teeming with talent. As we get more and more names coming in throughout the day, we’ll try to update this list with as much information as we can find about the player.

Yorger Bautista

A centerfielder out of Guárico, Venezuela, Yorger “La Bestia” (The Beast) Bautista is a dynamic talent that is considered the top talent in the Seattle 2025 class. Featuring an aggressive lefty swing that’s catered to drive the ball in the air, Bautista possesses tremendous power for a 17 year old and should comfortably grade out with at least plus power when it’s all said and done. His combination of bat speed and pure strength are tantalizing and have some evaluators saying “it’s the best they’ve seen in the international scene in a half decade” (MLB Pipeline). If this were coming from a hulking first baseman it’d be one thing, however when it’s a 6’1 175lb centerfielder, the upside becomes that much more exciting.

Outside of the power, La Bestia has grown into plus speed and plus defense, both grades he didn’t possess just a year ago. Once seen as more of a corner outfield slugger type, Yorger greatly developed his athleticism and now posts borderline double-plus run times with good instincts in the outfield. If all that wasn’t enough, he possesses a massive throwing arm that is amongst the strongest of any player this year. Most scouts have it as plus, though some have ventured higher in double-plus territory. Both a testament to his raw athleticism and work ethic, Bautista can now call himself one of the toolsiest players in the entire 2025 IFA class.

If (and it’s a big if for any 17 year old) Bautista is able to hit enough as a professional, the sky is truly the limit. His swing has mellowed out considerably in the recent months, now much smoother than its previously herky-jerky form. It’s still not super conventional per se, but it’s much improved and looks to be repeatable enough to have hope the contact ability will play at the next level. We didn’t include this class of IFA signings in our 2025 prospect rankings, however Bautista would likely figure somewhere in the teens if we did. It’s impossible to bank on anyone this young being a future stud, but Bautista certainly possesses enough tools for me to closely monitor his progress in the DSL next season.

Kendry Martinez

Another highly touted prospect in this 2025 class, Martinez is a shortstop out of the Dominican Republic’s capital city Santo Domingo. Seen as a pure hitter that’s oriented his swing to spray line drives into the gaps, Martinez employs a fluid swing from the left side of the plate and keeps things fairly simple in his set up. The 5’11 160lb Martinez isn’t projected to be a major power threat, though there is some hope he can approach average pop once he’s fully matured. Additionally, Martinez is praised for his keen eye and advanced swing decisions for a player his age. He rarely chases pitches off the plate and does a solid job at impacting pitches he can handle.

Defensively, Martinez appears to be closer to “fine” at shortstop than above average, with some speculating an eventual move to second may be necessary. Given his average-ish tools in the field and on the base paths, Martinez isn’t necessarily considered a high ceiling prospect, but rather a very polished player that’s stood out in competition for many years. The hit tool, up the middle traits, and high floor relative to his peers secured Martinez a similar bonus to that of the aforementioned Bautista, with the two players being somewhat antithetical of one another on the diamond. He might get it done differently than Bautista, but Kendry is another exciting prospect to add into a Seattle system that’s begging for some high upside depth. Martinez would likely fall somewhere in the late teens or 20’s if he fell into our system rankings.

Elias Perez

A stocky, muscular center fielder, Perez has good twitch and fast hands from both sides of the plate. From the very limited video I was able to scrounge up on his Instagram, it seems to be a compact and explosive swing that’s looking to impact the ball over the fence. Reports have him as a plus runner with a chance to stick in centerfield, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s eventually moved to a corner. Perez is a member of JD Ozuna’s Baseball Factory, the same trainer that worked with top Mariner prospect Felnin Celesten.

Po-Chun Lin

Lin is an athletic right handed pitcher from Taiwan that already features a fastball into the mid 90’s. Though it typically sits just below that, he pairs it with a splitter that he’s shown good feel for. Lin has pitched for Taiwan in the U-18 World Championship tournament since 2022, where he’s totaled 8.1 IP of shutout baseball, striking out thirteen and walking four. He’s not a very projectable pitcher at just 5’11, however he’s shown good enough stuff thus far against solid competition to warrant some intrigue.