A look at the AquaSox’s opening-day roster

The Everett AquaSox open their 2022 season Friday night at Funko Field. It marks the AquaSox’s second season as the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Here’s a look at Everett’s 26-man opening day roster. It’s highlighted by prized shortstop prospect Noelvi Marte, as well as two other well-regarded prospects in left-handed pitcher Adam Macko and outfielder Alberto Rodriguez.

Note: Jersey numbers are in parentheses to the left of a player’s name.

PITCHERS

(33) RHP Jarod Bayless

Age: 25

6-3, 225 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 33rd round (Dallas Baptist)

Bayless made 20 relief appearances with the AquaSox last season, sandwiched around some time on the injured list. He posted a 4.18 earned-run average in 23.2 innings, while limiting opponents to a .198 batting average. He recorded a 33.3% strikeout rate, with 33 punchouts and just seven walks.

(17) RHP Isaiah Campbell

Age: 24

6-4, 225 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 2nd round (Arkansas)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 35 (Baseball America)

Campbell made just five appearances with the AquaSox last season before being shut down to remove bone chips in his elbow. The former second-round pick recorded a 2.33 ERA over 19.1 innings in those five outings, with 20 strikeouts and six walks.

(9) RHP Luis Curvelo

Age: 21

6-1, 170 lbs.

Acquired: 2018 international free agent (Venezuela)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 39 (Baseball America)

Curvelo posted a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings last season with Low-A Modesto, where he was nearly two years younger than the league’s average pitcher. He recorded a 34% strikeout rate, while racking up 80 punchouts and just 18 walks.

(23) RHP Tim Elliott

Age: 24

6-1, 200 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 4th round (Georgia)

Elliott is coming off a rough season last year with the AquaSox, logging a 6.78 ERA in 82.1 innings. He had a decent first half of the season but endured a brutal second half, with a 9.15 ERA over his final nine outings.

(16) RHP Kyle Hill

Age: 24

5-11, 200 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 10th round (Baylor)

Hill posted a 3.94 ERA in 32 innings of relief with the AquaSox last season, totaling 36 strikeouts and 21 walks. He limited opponents to a .204 batting average and didn’t allow a home run all year, but missed the last month of the season while on the injured list.

(31) RHP Leon Hunter

Age: 25

6-3, 230 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 trade with Rangers

Hunter was a 35th-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2019 out of North Carolina A&T. He spent most of last season with Low-A Modesto, logging a 3.00 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 21 walks in 54 innings for the Nuts.

(7) RHP Evan Johnson

Age: 25

6-0, 170 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 undrafted free agent (Creighton)

Johnson spent nearly all of last season as a reliever for the AquaSox, posting a 2.70 ERA in 26.2 innings with Everett. He recorded a 37.2% strikeout rate with the Sox, totaling 42 punchouts and 16 walks before missing the last month of the season while on the injured list.

(11) RHP Jimmy Joyce

Age: 23

6-2, 210 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 16th round (Hofstra)

After being drafted last summer and making a brief stint in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Joyce skipped over Low-A with a promotion to the AquaSox. He made four starts for Everett and recorded a 3.63 ERA in 17.1 innings, with 25 strikeouts and just six walks.

(15) LHP Adam Macko

Age: 21

6-0, 175 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 7th round (Vauxhall Academy, Alberta, Canada)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 8 (Baseball America), No. 11 (MLB.com)

Macko, who was born in Slovakia and moved to Canada at age 12, is aiming to become just the third player from his homeland to reach the majors. Last year, the lefty showcased an electric arsenal in nine starts with Low-A Modesto before his season was cut short by a non-structural shoulder injury. He struck out a whopping 56 batters in 33.1 innings, posting a 36.1% strikeout rate in a league where he was nearly two years younger than the average pitcher. He spun three consecutive 10-strikeout games in May, but will look to improve his control and consistency after finishing the season with 21 walks and a 4.59 ERA.

(16) RHP Bryce Miller

Age: 23

6-3, 200 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 4th round (Texas A&M)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 21 (Baseball America), No. 23 (MLB.com)

Miller posted a 4.07 ERA in three seasons at Texas A&M, where he spent two years as a reliever and one as a starter. After being drafted last summer, he made five appearances with Low-A Modesto. He recorded 15 strikeouts and just two walks in 9.1 innings, but allowed five earned runs and 15 hits.

(20) RHP Mike Mokma

Age: 23

6-7, 235 lbs.

Acquired: 2022 minor league free agent

After elbow surgery cut short his junior season at Michigan State, Mokma signed with the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. The tall righty made his pro debut with the Dodgers’ High-A affiliate last year, posting a 4.14 ERA with 47 strikeouts and just 13 walks in 45.2 innings.

(22) RHP Bryan Pall

Age: 26

6-1, 215 lbs.

Acquired: 2017 draft, 25th round (Michigan)

After recovering from Tommy John surgery, Pall had a strong 2019 season with Single-A West Virginia in his pro debut. But he had a rough season last year with Everett and Triple-A Tacoma, spending some time on the injured list and logging an 8.75 ERA in 23.2 innings.

(10) LHP Max Roberts

Age: 24

6-6, 185 lbs.

Acquired: 2017 draft, 7th round (Wabash Valley College, Ill.)

Roberts returned to the mound last May after a nearly 33-month gap between outings, due to Tommy John surgery in 2018 and the cancellation of the 2020 season. The tall lefty posted a 3.97 ERA in 34 innings last year with Low-A Modesto and Triple-A Tacoma, totaling 39 strikeouts and 21 walks.

RHP Fred Villarreal

Age: 24

5-11, 185 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 draft, 25th round (Houston)

Villarreal spent most of last season with the AquaSox, while also making a few appearances with Triple-A Tacoma. He recorded a 3.71 ERA in 51 innings with Everett, totaling 50 strikeouts and just 13 walks.

(36) RHP Robert Winslow

Age: 24

6-5, 215 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 undrafted free agent (The Master’s University, Calif.)

Winslow spent nearly all of last season with Low-A Modesto, logging a 6.28 ERA in 43 innings with the Nuts. The tall righty totaled 59 strikeouts with Modesto, but allowed 41 hits and 32 walks.

CATCHERS

(25) Andy Thomas

Age: 23

6-2, 210 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 5th round (Baylor)

Thomas, a career .327 hitter in five seasons at Baylor, batted .337 with a team-high 11 home runs for the Bears last year. In his pro debut last summer, the lefty slugger hit .182 in 11 games with Low-A Modesto and .290 in 11 games with the AquaSox.

(19) Charlie Welch

Age: 22

6-0, 210 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 19th round (Arkansas)

Welch posted a slash line of .388/.494/.821 in 28 games with Arkansas last season, homering in eight of his 67 at-bats. He carried over his success into the rookie-level Arizona Complex League last summer, batting .348 with three homers in 20 games.

INFIELDERS

(1) 1B Dariel Gomez

Age: 25

6-4, 190 lbs.

Acquired: 2019 Rule 5 draft

After spending five seasons in the Cardinals’ organization, Gomez was selected by the Mariners in the minor league portion of the 2019 Rule 5 draft. The lefty slugger split last season between Low-A Modesto and Everett, slashing .266/.370/.496 with 15 homers in 97 games.

(32) 3B/1B Tyler Keenan

Age: 23

6-4, 250 lbs.

Acquired: 2020 draft, 4th round (Mississippi)

Keenan batted .306 with 31 homers in three seasons at Ole Miss, but struggled last year in his pro debut with the AquaSox. The big-bodied lefty power hitter batted just .196 in 64 games with Everett and had a 37% strikeout rate.

(13) 2B/3B Justin Lavey

Age: 24

6-1, 205 lbs.

Acquired: 2020 undrafted free agent (Louisville)

Lavey, who batted .277 in four seasons at Louisville, signed with the Mariners after going undrafted in the condensed 2020 draft. He split his first pro season last year between Low-A Modesto and Everett, hitting .243 with eight homers in 85 games.

(4) SS Noelvi Marte

Age: 20

6-0, 180 lbs.

Acquired: 2018 international free agent (Dominican Republic)

Overall prospect ranking: No. 11 (MLB.com), No. 18 (Baseball America)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 2 (MLB.com), No. 3 (Baseball America)

Marte, a prized shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is one of the top prospects in baseball and a potential future cornerstone for the Mariners. His electrifying combination of raw power, hitting prowess and natural athleticism was on full display last year in his stateside debut, which came mostly in Low-A Modesto before a late-season promotion to Everett. Marte slashed .273/.366/.460 in 107 games across both levels, with 17 homers, 47 extra-base hits and 24 stolen bases in 31 attempts. And he did all of that at age 19, which was more than two years younger than the average hitter in the Low-A West.

(8) 3B/SS/2B James Parker

Age: 22

6-1, 200 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 8th round (Clemson)

Parker was a career .303 hitter at Clemson and batted a team-high .324 last year as the Tigers’ starting shortstop. He continued to hit well in Low-A Modesto after being drafted last summer, slashing .327/.381/.520 with 21 extra-base hits in 35 games.

OUTFIELDERS

(2) Victor Labrada

Age: 22

5-9, 165 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 international free agent (Cuba)

Organization prospect ranking: No. 20 (Baseball America), No. 26 (MLB.com)

Labrada split his first pro season last year between Low-A Modesto and Everett. The speedy left-hander batted .270 in 99 games across both levels and stole 32 bases in 47 attempts. He hit .294 in Modesto and .246 in Everett.

(3) Myles Miller

Age: 25

6-2, 190 lbs.

Acquired: 2022 undrafted free agent

Miller, a native of Ontario, Canada, played two years of NAIA ball and then one season at Division II Cameron University in Oklahoma in 2019. He spent last year playing independent ball with the Boise Hawks, batting .339 in 94 games.

(34) Spencer Packard

Age: 24

6-1, 205 lbs.

Acquired: 2021 draft, 9th round (Campbell)

Packard was a career .324 hitter at Campbell and slashed .371/.488/.629 in 55 games with the Camels last year as a junior. After being drafted last summer, he hit .250 in 29 games with Low-A Modesto.

(45) Alberto Rodriguez

Age: 21

5-11, 230 lbs.

Acquired: 2020 trade with Blue Jays

Organization prospect ranking: No. 8 (MLB.com), No. 13 (Baseball America)

Rodriguez signed with the Blue Jays in 2017 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic. In 2020, the Mariners acquired the left-handed-hitting slugger as the player to be named later in a trade that sent big-league pitcher Taijuan Walker to Toronto. Rodriguez had a breakout season last year with Low-A Modesto, slashing .295/.383/.484 with 10 homers and 45 extra-base hits in 93 games with the Nuts. He had a scorching final two-thirds of the year, overcoming a slow start to bat .332 over his final 70 games. He earned Low-A West player of the month honors in August and a promotion to the AquaSox in September.