The Seattle Mariners are reportedly promoting their top pitching prospect Emerson Hancock, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Hancock is Seattle's No. 4 overall prospect and No. 1 pitching prospect, per MLB.com. The young right-hander features a balanced repertoire of pitchers and some people around the league believe he can blossom into a star at the big league level. He throws a fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up.

Hancock's stuff isn't quite as dominant as other young pitchers around MLB. He is going to need to focus on control rather than simply blowing fastballs by hitters. Still, the Mariners believe in Hancock. The 24-year old owns a 4.32 ERA across 20 Triple-A starts during the 2023 season. He's recorded 107 strikeouts during that span.

Mariners' 2023 season

The Mariners' 2023 season started out slowly. Seattle has caught fire in recent action, however, going 8-2 over the course of their past 10 games. Seattle currently sits 6.5 games behind the first place Texas Rangers in the American League West. The Mariners are just three games out of an AL Wild Card spot though.

It was not clear whether Seattle would buy or sell prior to the trade deadline. The Mariners made some low-profile moves, but didn't change their roster in dramatic fashion. Now the Mariners have placed themselves in a position to compete given their latest hot stretch. Promoting a young pitcher like Hancock during such a time is a risky, albeit potentially very impactful move. Perhaps Hancock will perform up to his potential and become an X-Factor down the stretch for the Mariners.