Mariners Announce June Minor League Awards

By Mariners Baseball Communications | 3:30 PM EDT

SEATTLE – Seattle Mariners Director of Player Development Justin Toole announced today the following Mariners Minor League Award winners for the month of June:

Anderson, 21, has been named Pitcher of the Month for the 3rd consecutive month after going 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA (2 ER, 22.2 IP), 32 strikeouts to just 3 walks over 4 starts with Double-A Arkansas in June. He also posted a 0.62 WHIP while limiting opponents to a .145 batting average (11x76) and a .177 on-base percentage. He threw a quality start with no earned runs allowed in back-to-back starts on June 13-19, marking his first 2 quality starts of his professional career.

The southpaw threw 8+ strikeouts in 3 of his 4 starts in June while recording 9 strikeouts in 2 of those starts. Among all minor league pitchers with at least 20.0 innings pitched in June, he ranked 3rd in WHIP (0.62), 4th in ERA (0.79) and T-6th in SO/BB (10.67). He was 1-of-3 minor league pitchers with a sub 1.00 WHIP and sub 1.00 ERA in the month of June (min. 20 IP). Continuing on his success from May, Anderson did not allow a run in 27.2 consecutive innings (5/22-6/19) and has not allowed a home run in 6 straight starts (6/22-c).

Across his first 13 professional appearances this season, he is 8-0 with a 1.22 ERA (9 ER, 66.2 IP) and 99 strikeouts to just 10 walks allowed with a 0.71 WHIP and a .162 opponent batting average (37x228), a .177 on-base percentage and a .374 OPS. He leads minor league pitchers (min. 60.0 IP) in ERA, SO/BB, K% (41.4%), and WHIP while ranking among the leaders in SO/9 (2nd), BB/9 (2nd), strikeouts (3rd) and lowest opponents AVG (3rd).

Anderson was recently selected to represent the Mariners alongside RHP Ryan Sloan at the 2026 All-Star MLB Futures Game on July 12 in Philadelphia. He has also been named Texas League Pitcher of the Week four times this season: April 12, June 7, June 14 and June 21.

Anderson was selected by the Mariners with the 3rd overall pick of the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Louisiana State University, the team’s highest draft selection since 2012. The 2025 Baseball America National Player of the Year did not appear in a game in 2025 and entered 2026 ranked as the Mariners No. 2 prospect (No. 1 pitching prospect) and MLB’s 17th overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

Montes, 21, posted a 1.199 OPS with 12 home runs over 25 games with Double-A Arkansas in June. He hit .299 (26x87) with 29 runs, 16 extra-base hits (4 2B, 12 HR), 30 RBI and 19 walks for a .400 on-base percentage and a .759 slugging percentage during the month. His 12 home runs in June were tied for the most among all minor league hitters while his 30 RBI were tied for 5th-most and his OPS ranked 3rd-best in Double-A (min. 50 AB).

The Mariners No. 3 prospect (MLB Pipeline) recorded a hit in 7-consecutive games from June 1-9, while batting .433 (13x30) with 12 runs, 2 doubles, 6 home runs, 15 RBI, 3 walks, and a stolen base, reaching base at a .500 clip while slugging 1.100 (1.600 OPS). He reached base safely in 21 of 25 games in June, including each of his first 12 games of the month (6/1-13). He recorded multiple hits in 6 games and multiple RBI in 7 games in June. Montes turned in two multi-homer games on June 2 and 25, which followed his 3-home run and 8-RBI performance on May 2. He also recorded a season-high 4 hits on June 25, matching his career-high (done 3x prior, last: 8/30/24 w/ EVE).

The Havana, Cuba native is batting .239 (63x264) with 64 runs, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 24 home runs, 63 RBI, 49 walks and 5 stolen bases across 75 games with the Travelers this season, posting a .369 on-base percentage while slugging .561 with a .930 OPS. His 24 home runs rank 4th-most among all minor-league batters while his 63 RBI are tied for 11th-most. With his last home run on June 30, he eclipsed 100 career home runs in the minors.

Montes has spent 5 seasons (2022-c) in the Mariners organization since signing a minor league contract on Jan. 15, 2022. He was selected to represent Seattle at the 2025 Futures Game in Atlanta, GA and entered the 2026 season as the Mariners No. 4 prospect (MLB Pipeline).

Kelly, 22, did not allow a run in 9.0 innings pitched, posting a 0.89 WHIP over 6 relief appearances in June. The righty reliever allowed only 4 hits with 15 strikeouts to 4 walks for a 3.75 K/BB this last month and owned a 15.00 K/9, ranking 5th among High-A relief pitchers with 9.0+ IP and 6+ appearances. His 0.89 WHIP in June ranks 11th in High-A. He tossed 3+ strikeouts over 1.2+ innings of work in 2 outings in June and closed out the month with back-to-back appearances of 2.0 scoreless innings.

The 22-year-old right-hander was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 6th round of the 2025 MLB First-Year Draft (182nd overall) out of Arizona State University. Kelly made 5 appearances with High-A Everett, recording 6.0 innings pitched with 6 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .182 (4x22) batting average. He entered the 2026 season as the Mariners No. 27 prospect (MLB Pipeline).

Taurek, 22, went 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts over 22 games with Class-A Inland Empire in June. An aggressive baserunner, his 9 doubles in June ranked T-7th most in Single-A while his 11 extra-base hits were 11th most in the California League. The right-handed hitting outfielder reached base at a .330 clip, batting .253 (23x91) with 9 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 walks for a .726 OPS. He logged his 3rd career game with 2+ stolen bases on June 5th and knocked 2 doubles on 2 occasions this last month to become 1-of-7 players in the California League to do so.

The No. 28 Mariners prospect (MLB Pipeline) was drafted 392nd overall by Seattle in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Saint Mary's College of California. Taurek made his professional debut with the Mariners former Class-A Affiliate, the Modesto Nuts, on August 7, 2025 going on to bat .336 (37x110) with 9 doubles, 10 RBI, 24 runs, and 7 stolen bases across 27 games in his debut season.

Arruda, 28, recorded a .978 fielding percentage with only 2 errors over 92 total chances in 18 games played between second base and shortstop with Double-A Arkansas in June. The middle-infielder turned 11 double plays, racking up 29 putouts and 61 assists. His 10 double plays executed at short in June are tied for 7th most among Double-A shortstops while his .971 fielding percentage ranks 8th best among Double-A shortstops with at least 60 total chances.

The Mariners signed Arruda to a Minor League contract prior to the 2026 season after being drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft (333rd overall) and spending the last 7 season with the Nationals Organization. Since joining the Arkansas Travelers, Arruda has played 367.2 innings, 4th most on the team, notching a .982 season fielding percentage, 10th best among all Double-A middle infielders (min. 100.0 innings).

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