SEATTLE -- As Félix Hernández went about preparations for his final Mariners start on Thursday, Evan White sat several lockers away in the Mariners clubhouse at T-Mobile Park, soaking up the scene.

Hernandez is finishing up his 15th Major League season. White -- the Mariners' No. 4 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 59 overall -- has yet to play a game in the Majors and isn’t even on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.

But the 23-year-old first baseman, Seattle’s first-round Draft pick in 2017, is one of three youngsters -- along with pitcher Logan Gilbert and catcher Cal Raleigh -- who have been invited to spend this week with the team and attend meetings, even though they won't play.

“We’re just kind of getting a feel for the guys around us and the process they have to go through on a daily basis to have success at this level,” White said. “See how meetings interact and the guys’ routine in BP and early work. It’s been cool to see how much work they’re still putting in this late in the season.”

White, Gilbert and Raleigh all finished the season playing for Double-A Arkansas. Four of their Minor League teammates -- outfielder Kyle Lewis, shortstop Donnie Walton, starter Justin Dunn and reliever Art Warren -- were added to the Mariners’ roster as September callups when Arkansas’ playoff run ended, and all four have gotten their feet wet the past two weeks.

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Those four all are at the point in their Minor League careers where they would've needed to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, so adding them now made sense. But White, Raleigh and Gilbert don’t have that much Minor League service time yet, so the Mariners preferred not to jump the gun on their 40-man statuses.

White said that he wasn’t worried about being held back for now. The former Kentucky standout figures to be a strong candidate to challenge for a Major League roster spot next season and he’ll bide his time and live for now through his teammates’ experiences.

“Obviously, your goal is to come up here and play,” he said. “That’s everyone’s goal. But this is a cool experience for us that it’s not our time yet. To see the guys we’ve played with and see how they’ve developed this season, as well as the veterans, it’s been a good experience so far.”

White, Gilbert and Raleigh have sat in on pitchers and hitters meetings, shagged balls during BP, hung out in the clubhouse and been part of the team until game time, when they can’t be in the dugout.

White has been intrigued by how much information is available to hitters at the MLB level, though he acknowledged that the hard part will be limiting that data so it’s not overwhelming when he finally steps to the plate.

White put up a .293/.350/.488 slash line with 18 homers and 55 RBIs in 92 games for Arkansas and is regarded as one of the best defensive first basemen in the Minors. While he hasn’t picked up a bat since the season ended, his down time will soon end and he’ll head to Arizona to spend the winter working out and continuing to get stronger at the Mariners’ Spring Training complex.

“This is definitely exciting for me and the other two guys,” White said. “I’m itching to go. It’s been two weeks ago. I’m ready to start working out and feeling good again.”

Worth noting

• Second baseman Dee Gordon felt his back stiffen up after he was undercut by teammate Tim Lopes while making a catch in shallow right field in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Astros. Gordon wasn’t in the lineup on Thursday, but he was feeling better and available to come off the bench.

• Bullpen coach Jim Brower has left the team to attend to a family health matter for the final week of the season. Brian DeLunas, the club’s director of pitching development, is taking his place in the bullpen for the remaining games.

• Friday’s 7:10 p.m. PT game against the A’s will be Fan Appreciation Night, with a pregame ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m. that will include the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards for Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Unsung Hero.

The Mariners will also present their Minor League awards, and outfielder Mitch Haniger will receive the MLB Players Alumni Association’s Heart and Hustle Award. There will also be prizes for fans raffled off throughout the game, while every fan will receive a free poster of the team, with a 2020 schedule on it.