Farm Director Justin Toole Weighs In On Seattle’s Hitter-Heavy System

The Seattle Mariners currently have one of baseball’s best farm systems, and its strength differs markedly from that of the big league roster. Pitching-rich at the major league level, it’s Mariners position player prospects who populate the top tier of our rankings. That’s welcome news — at least on paper — for a Seattle team that has recently excelled at keeping runs off the board, but has too often struggled to score.

Justin Toole is front and center in the organization’s quest to graduate productive bats into the parent club’s lineup. Brought on as director of player development following the 2022 season, the 38-year-old Council Bluffs, Iowa native has both the background and the acumen to help make that happen. Prior to coming to Seattle, Toole played seven professional seasons, then served four years as a minor league hitting coach, followed by three as a major league hitting analyst. All of his pre-Mariners experience came with Cleveland.

Toole discussed several of the system’s most promising prospects prior to heading to Arizona for the start of spring training.

———

David Laurila: What is the current strength of the system?

Justin Toole: “From a player development standpoint, I think the strength is the individuality with how we handle our players. When we get people into our system, we figure out their strengths, we figure out their weaknesses, we help them understand their identity. We work with our players to get a feel for where they think they are, and where they want to go.

“Our group has done an unbelievable job of creating good player plans that are clear, that are are easy to follow. They’re simple. I think that’s kind of been the strength of our player development group. Of course, any good player development group is going to be good because of the scouting group. They bring in good players, players that fit what we want to do, and who we want to be.”

Laurila: The organization has a good reputation for developing pitchers, but not so much for developing hitters. Does the challenging environment at T-Mobile Park impact the hitting development program?

Toole: “Any time you’re looking at the big picture of what’s going on at the major league level, you ultimately want to create players that succeed in that environment. From a player development standpoint, CJ Gillman, Tyger Peterson, and Ed Paparella — our minor league hitting leadership group — focus on scoring runs. We look at it as, ‘We’re on offense.’ We talk a lot about hitting. We talk about the swing. We talk about the plans and approaches. But we also talk about the baserunning. We talk about scoring runs. I think that’s something our group has done a great job of embodying.

“Ultimately, at the major league level, regardless of the park you’re playing in, you’re trying to score runs. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to develop players that score runs. As you mentioned, we’ve got a lot of really young, talented position players. It’s a lot of fun to see them run with those ideas and build off of each other.”

Laurila: You’ve been with the Mariners for a little over two years. Have there been any notable tweaks to the hitting development program over that time?

Toole: “The biggest thing is trying to maximize each player. From a player development standpoint, each player is going to be different. In our system, you look at guys like Colt Emerson and Cole Young; they’re going to be different types of players than a Lazaro Montes. That’s the beauty in our group, finding the individual things that make each guy go, and then really trying to bring those strengths to the forefront while also continuing to develop the other parts of their game. So I don’t think there is one specific thing of we’re trying to develop this, or we’re trying to develop that. We’re trying to develop good baseball players that compete, and from an offensive standpoint, help us score runs.”

Laurila: Emerson and Young are the system’s most prominent prospects. I don’t know if there is much you can say about either that isn’t already well known.

Toole: “You know, Cole is the steady Eddie, the slow heartbeat. That’s often what gets written about him. He’s probably the guy in our system where what you see is what you get. You know what to expect each time you go watch him play. That’s been pretty well documented. But the other part of it is the drive, the desire to get better, the want to win, the want to compete.

“With Colt, it’s the leadership. People gravitate towards him, but there’s also what he’s able to do on the field. Being a young player and being able to do what he did in the Fall League really shows his ability, not only as a leader and as a teammate, but also as a player. It’s the whole package.”

Laurila: Young and Michael Arroyo both profile as second basemen. How do they compare?

Toole: “With Arroyo, you’re going to see a little bit more power; there’s a little bit more strength within the swing. With Cole, you’re going to see a little bit more of the contact and hitability. They do a lot of the same things, but in different ways. We’re trying to bring out [the best] in a guy like Arroyo, and a guy like Cole, but we’re not trying to make them the same. We’re allowing them to be who they are, and have their games fit who they are.

“There are a lot of similarities, obviously, with them being middle infield types. But again, they do things a little bit differently. That said, I think Michael’s speed will probably surprise you, and I think Cole’s power at times will surprise you. Those aren’t necessarily the things that will jump out, but they’re great competitors that find a way to move the ball around the park.”

Laurila: You mentioned Lazaro Montes. His carrying tool is plus power from the left side. How does he compare to Nolan Jones at the same age?

Toole: “That’s awesome. I was actually a minor league hitting coach of Nolan’s.”

Laurila: Hence my question…

Toole: “Perfect. So, Nolan is a little bit more goes-about-his-business, but they’re very similar in terms of the lankiness within their swings. I think the most exciting thing about Laz is the [developmental strides] that he’s made. Coming over from the D.R. and being able to cut down on the swing-and-miss, and the chase, and how he’s been able to handle left-handed pitching… a lot of that stuff is really exciting.

“There are a lot of similarities in terms of projectability, but there are also differences. There’s a natural power to Laz, whereas I think Nolan had to work for the power a little bit more. Ultimately, it developed more at the major league level when he got to Colorado and got the opportunities there. But yeah, that’s a very interesting comp.”

Laurila: Yandy Díaz was a teammate in your final year as a player. Is there anybody in the system who comps to him in terms of skill set and could potentially go on to have a similar career?

Toole: “Yeah, I think if you look at the Emersons, the Youngs, the Arroyos, Jonny Farmelo, Felnin Celesten — types that put the bat on the ball — that was the thing Yandy loved to do. He loved to put the ball in play. He loved to hit the ball the other way. Obviously, he’s developed some power as he’s gotten into his major league career.

“I think that’s what you ultimately look at, the guys that put the bat on the ball. Ben Williamson is another guy we have that makes a lot of contact. He knows where the barrel is. Those are the types of guys that excite you in terms of their development path, because the power piece usually comes as guys develop, as they learn their bodies, learn their approaches, learn how to manipulate the barrel. With our group, we’re continuing to stress the importance of being able to drive the ball, hit the ball hard. You see a lot of the contact ability that Yandy showed when he was in the minor leagues, and from there the power will come.”

Laurila: Farmelo has plus speed. What else does he bring to the table?

Toole: “Great makeup. Great mentality. He’s a competitor. Obviously went through the knee injury last year. We’re planning on him being back early, or middle of the season. It’s not something we’re going to rush. We’ll let his body — let him — tell us when he’s ready to go.

“You’re looking at a guy that’s got game-changing speed on the bases, game-changing speed to play defense in the outfield, and some pretty good bat-to-ball skills. Not only was he a guy we were really excited about out of the draft, he was exceeding our expectations before the injury.”

Laurila: Celesten is a shortstop, correct?

Toole: “Yes. He’s got good actions, good footwork, a good arm. I think he’s going to have the ability to stay there. Obviously, he’s young, and with young players you’re always trying to project; you never know exactly where things are going to go. But there’s a lot to like. He’s one of my favorite guys to watch fielding a groundball. It’s natural instincts. Whether it’s in the field, in the box, or around the bases, he moves like a baseball player. That’s something you see with a lot of really good infielders. He’s fluid and smooth. He picks the right hops. It’s a lot of fun to watch.”

Laurila: Harry Ford is known for being extremely athletic. How does the organization view him going forward?

Toole: “I think we see him as catcher. Obviously, we introduced him to some outfield last year, but a lot of that is trying to figure out, ‘Hey, he’s super athletic, so what does that athleticism look like when you take him out from behind home plate?’ But again, we see him as a catcher. We see him as a guy that can play that position in the big leagues.

“When you have guys like that, who are super athletic, you don’t want them to lose the athleticism. He’s still really young. He’s still developing and learning a lot when it comes to the position, but we’re obviously really excited about his future. But I think you nailed it when you said that when you think of Harry Ford, you think of the athleticism.”

Laurila: Cal Raleigh obviously has the position locked down right now. Is catching at all similar to pitching in that it’s impossible to have too much of it?

Toole: “I mean, you want to get as many good players as you can. We’re always trying, whether it’s in the draft or international signings, to bring in good players. Once they’re here, we’re going to continue to try to help them get better. You can never have too many good players, and Harry is definitely one of those.”

Laurila: We should at least touch on a few of the young arms. Ryan Sloan has the highest ceiling in the system among pitchers, true or false?

Toole: “True. Just looking at the age, the pedigree, the strike-throwing and the velo. He’s been down in Arizona the last few weeks getting ready for spring training, and the things you saw coming out of the draft that you hoped would be there are there. And along with his physical abilities, there has been his attention to detail. His routines, the questions he’s been asking, the relationships he’s been building with our development group. They’ve been awesome. There’s definitely a lot of excitement with where he’s at, but there is also the understanding that this will be his first year of pro ball. He’s yet to throw a pitch for us. But the answer is yes, for those reasons.”

Laurila: The other arm I really need to ask you about is Jurrangelo Cijntje. Being a switch-pitcher who was born in the Netherlands, and drafted in the first round, he’s a bit of a unicorn.

Toole: “Talking about him going into the draft, and the possibility of him being in our system, had a lot of our people excited. I think you just let him do his thing. He’ll naturally kind of tell us what direction, or what path, makes sense. We’re going to go into the season with him throwing with both arms. Exactly what that looks like, we’re still trying to figure out. We’ll see how things go. How his body reacts, where he’s at, and what he thinks is best, will all be a piece of that puzzle.

“He’s also been down in Arizona with our group, and the velos and the stuff that he’s shown early on are definitely super exciting. So, a fun puzzle to put together as we go. The cool part with that is there are so many avenues where he can be a successful and impactful pitcher in our organization — hopefully with our major league group.”

Laurila: Any final thoughts?

Toole: “There is so much information out there. A lot of everything is out there, and I think the key, and the magic, and kind the whole piece of the puzzle, is what you do with the information. The people-and-process part is huge for what we do as a group.”