NWinAZ
Refuse To Improve
- 22,586
- 8,347
- 533
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2013
- Location
- SW WA
- Hoopla Cash
- $ 1,000.00
- Fav. Team #1
- Fav. Team #2
- Fav. Team #3
- AGE
17 - BATS
R - DOB
05/15/2007 - THROWS
R - HT
6' 2" - SIGNED
Jan. 15, 2024 - SEA - WT
185 - ETA
2029
Joseph received the fourth-highest bonus of anyone in the 2024 international signing class, getting $3.3 million from the Mariners in January of that year as one of the perceived best shortstops in the entire crop. He had grown since first being scouted years prior, sprouting up to 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, but he wasn’t able to use his size or tools with any consistency during a rough professional debut in the Dominican Summer League, when he hit just .133 with a 29.1 percent strikeout rate.
The Mariners would like to give Joseph a mulligan and hope he can hit the reset button in 2025, but there could be a long way to go for the right-handed-hitting infielder to figure things out. There were always some concerns for his pure hit tool, but the raw power was significant and something to work on tapping into. But Joseph didn’t show much feel for contact during his debut, and even when he did, he wasn’t squaring up the ball with much impact.
Additionally, it appears like Joseph might outgrow shortstop. He’s slowed down after growing, and as he fills out, it seems more likely that he won’t have the quickness to stay at the premium position. If he can hit the reset button and start tapping into that power the Mariners liked, perhaps he can eventually profile as a third baseman, though there’s a lot of work to be done.
