PEORIA, Ariz. -- Every year it seems the Mariners manage to uncover a previously unheralded, hard-throwing young reliever ready to rise quickly through the system. And this spring's candidate could well be big Art Warren, a strapping 24-year-old who has opened eyes with his mature presence and upper-90s fastball.
Warren is another converted reliever -- similar to previous success stories Edwin Diaz and Dan Altavilla -- who had a breakthrough second half last year in Class-A Advanced Modesto in his first full season out of the bullpen.
After being drafted in the 23rd round in 2015 out of Division II Ashland University in Ohio, Warren was getting decent results in Low-A ball as a starter with an 88-92 mph fastball.