A move from Cincinnati, where he wasn’t getting much mound time, into the rotation at Division II Ashland helped Warren get noticed during his junior year. That led to the Mariners drafting him in the 23rd round of the 2015 Draft and sending him out initially as a starter. A move to the bullpen in 2017 allowed him to take off, but a shoulder injury not only shelved him for most of 2018, it also left him off of the 40-man roster and unselected in that December’s Rule 5 Draft. His arm stayed healthy in 2019 and he received his first callup to the big leagues last September.
There have never been any questions about Warren’s pure stuff coming out of the bullpen in short stints. He’s typically up to the upper-90s and has touched triple digits at times with his fastball. He actually has two breaking balls, a curve that analytics folks love and a slider with good cutting action to it. He does have a below-average changeup that he doesn’t use much. His stuff has led to a strikeout rate of 12 per nine innings over the two seasons he spent in Double-A.
Warren’s command has contributed to his slow progress along with his injury history. He did find the strike zone more frequently in 2019, and during his brief big league debut, where he was 95-98 mph with his fastball and threw a hard 85-88 mph breaking ball, the kind of power stuff that could help a big league bullpen out, especially if he can keep throwing strikes.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40
Warren spent his first two college seasons at Cincinnati, pitching somewhat sparingly in relief. He transferred to Division II Ashland University and started as a junior. The Mariners took a flier on him in the 23rd round of the 2015 Draft and let him spend most of his first full season as a starter. A move to the bullpen paid off, and he turned in a big California League campaign and was the talk of the Arizona Fall League following the 2017 season. His progress was stalled when a shoulder injury kept him out for most of 2018. The Mariners left him unprotected, but he wasn't taken in December's Rule 5 Draft.
After spending all winter in Arizona, Warren appears healthy and ready to go, with the Mariners hopeful he can get back to the dominant reliever he was in the AFL. He was closing out games, coming in hitting 98-99 mph with his fastball and an absolutely filthy breaking ball. Analytics say his curve is the better pitch, though he also has a good slider with cutting action.
Other than health, Warren's biggest obstacle is his command. He doesn't need pinpoint control, and he has thrown enough strikes at times in the past. Putting the shoulder issue behind him will be step one towards proving he can pitch at or near the end of games.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
A 23rd-round pick in 2015 out of Division II Ashland, Warren began his career as a starter, earning mid-season All-Star honors with Class A Clinton before advancing to the Class A Advanced California League in his first full season. He returned to the Cal League in 2017, this time as full-time reliever, and promptly turned in a breakout campaign as part of a loaded Modesto bullpen and furthered that success in the Arizona Fall League. A candidate to move quickly in 2018, Warren instead has spent much of the season on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder.
Warren's stuff has ticked up out of the bullpen, where he'll operate with a 94-98 mph fastball that previously sat in the low-90s as a starter. The pitch has late life, which enables him to pitch effectively up in the zone, and he complements it with a hard, late-breaking slider that serves as a swing-and-miss out pitch, and a less-consistent curveball. Warren's changeup was a pitch he had focused on developing as a starter, though that has become a bit of a moot point after his move to the bullpen.
Warren's struggles in consistently repeating his high-effort delivery result in below-average control and too many free passes, some of which he's able to offset with his ability to induce whiffs. Both his stuff and feel require further refinement in the high Minors, but the overall profile is that of a seventh- or eighth-inning reliever.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
Selected in the 23rd round of the 2015 Draft out of Division II Ashland, Warren began his career as a starter, earning mid-season All-Star honors with Class A Clinton before advancing to the California League in his first full season. He returned to the Cal League the following year, only this time as full-time reliever, and then capped his 2017 campaign with an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League.
Warren's stuff has ticked up out of the bullpen, where he'll operate with a 94-98 mph fastball after previously sitting in the low-90s as a starter. The pitch has late life, which enables him to pitch effectively up in the zone, and he pairs it with a hard, late-breaking slider that serves as a swing-and-miss out pitch.
Warren's changeup was a pitch he had focused on developing as a starter, though that has become a bit of a moot point after his move to the bullpen. He struggles to repeat his delivery, resulting in below-average control at times, but the overall profile is that of a seventh- or eighth-inning reliever.
