Seattle

Mariners

Kim is coming off an impressive season for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization. The 25-year-old hit .326 with a .841 OPS, 11 home runs, and 30 steals. Kim has had at least 25 steals in five seasons and has never stolen fewer than 20 bases in any KBO season. The speed is obviously an asset, but Kim has also made double-digit errors in three straight seasons at 2B and was a disaster defensively at shortstop in 2021, so he’s likely a high batting average hitter with little power and good speed. That could make him a solid fantasy asset in deep leagues.

Seattle is merely being cautious with one of their top prospects with only a handful of games left in the AFL campaign. The 19-year-old phenom got off to a sizzling-hot start in Arizona and finishes with a robust .370/.435/.537 triple-slash line with nine doubles, 10 RBI and eight stolen bases across 13 games. He’s a borderline top 15 prospect from a dynasty standpoint heading into next season.

This one doesn’t come as a surprise after Haniger turned in his second consecutive down year, slashing .208/.286/.334 with 12 homers and 44 RBI in 423 plate appearances over 121 contests. The 33-year-old slugger’s over-the-fence pop has been trending in the wrong direction ever since belting a career-best 39 round-trippers back in 2022. At this point, it’s difficult to envision him carrying much fantasy appeal in 2025 or beyond.

Castano earns a spot on Seattle’s 40-man roster to shield him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft after posting a respectable 4.38 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 108/43 K/BB ratio across 125 1/3 innings (29 appearances, 26 starts) between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma.

Urias was placed on waivers by the Mariners, and unsurprisingly, no one was interested in picking up an ineffective player that would have been paid around $5 million arbitration. The 27-year-old will likely be looking at a minor league contract now that he’s on the market.

Polanco instead receives a $750,000 buyout. The 31-year-old was not effective in 2025 with a .213/.296/.355 slash in 469 plate appearances, and he underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his knee earlier in October. He’s expected to be ready for the start of the season, and there will assuredly be interest from a club that hopes Polanco can find the form that made him such a strong option with the Twins.

The Mariners still have a decision to make on Polanco for next year. The club can keep him on a $12 million option or buy him out for $750,000. Seattle has until five days after the World Series to make the call. Polanco hit .213/.296/.355 in 469 plate appearances this year.

Emerson also had five hits on Tuesday, so he’s off to a scorching hot start in the Arizona Fall League. He has ten batted balls in the AFL with an average exit velocity of 97 mph, topping out at 110.4 mph on Wednesday. He hits the ball on the ground or on a line often, which will cap his power upside, but the batted ball quality is elite.

That’s a decent way to open up your AFL season, particularly for a player that doesn’t turn 20 until next July. Emerson is considered the top prospect in the Seattle system, and the 2023 first-round pick has a chance to have a plus hit-tool along with solid power while playing the shortstop position. It’s unlikely Emerson will help in 2025, but he could be the everyday shortstop in 2026.

J-Rod roped an RBI single to score Victor Robles in his final at-bat of 2024. It was an uneven season for the 23-year-old, but an uneven season that saw him hit 20 homers and steal 24 bases despite missing a month of the year with his ankle injury. You’d like to see more consistency, but the highs of Rodríguez compete or beat all but a select few. He should still be a first-round pick in 2025.