Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 40 | Overall: 40

Knipp spent most of his time over his time at Campbell University as a catcher, becoming the starter and putting up big numbers at the plate in 2024. He also returned to the mound to make four relief appearances that year, showing off tremendous arm strength that intrigued several teams. The Mariners initially announced him as a two-way player when taking him in the sixth round of the 2024 Draft, but it seemed like they were inclined to have him focus on the mound only. He didn’t make much progress as elbow trouble in Spring Training resulted in Tommy John surgery, and he missed the 2025 season.

Not only is Knipp coming back to pitch at some point in 2026, the Mariners have decided to let him also get at-bats as a DH after seeing him swing it well last spring, taking since-traded prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje deep twice. As a hitter, he’s strength over bat speed with raw power and questions about him making enough contact to get to it. 

On the mound, he had been up to 96 mph with his fastball last spring, showing good ride and induced vertical break on the pitch to go along with an interesting sweepy 84-85 mph slider. It will be interesting to see how long the Mariners conduct this two-way experiment, with Knipp in his age-24 season.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Ambidextrous pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje wasn’t the only really intriguing member of the Mariners’ 2024 Draft class. They also announced Campbell University standout Grant Knipp as a two-way player when they took him in the sixth round and signed him for a slightly under-slot bonus of $275,000. Knapp wasn’t a “normal” two-way guy -- he had been Campbell’s primary catcher, hitting over .400 with 18 homers in his Draft year with a grand total of four collegiate innings on the mound. But most teams, including the Mariners, were intrigued enough in the arm strength to prefer him on the bump. They didn’t get a very long look at him, however, as elbow trouble in Spring Training led to Tommy John surgery and ended his debut season before it began.

To say the Mariners don’t know what they have on their hands with Knipp is an understatement. He had no track record in college and hasn’t gotten any real mound time yet as a professional. But there were enough glimpses in Spring Training -- a fastball up to 96 mph with good ride and induced vertical break to go along with a sweepy 84-85 mph slider -- to create some buzz on the player development side of the organization.

Big, strong and physical, Knipp could hit the ball very hard from the right side of the plate, but some questions about how it would translate as a pro provided more reason to have him pitch full time. He’s still very much an unformed piece of clay, but the Mariners are very curious to see how he can be sculpted once he’s healthy.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/05/2026	TWP Grant Knipp assigned to Seattle Mariners Prospects.
	11/06/2025	ACL Mariners activated TWP Grant Knipp from the full-season injured list.
	03/26/2025	ACL Mariners placed TWP Grant Knipp on the full-season injured list.
	03/06/2025	Seattle Mariners Prospects activated TWP Grant Knipp.
	03/06/2025	activated TWP Grant Knipp.
	02/27/2025	TWP Grant Knipp assigned to ACL Mariners.
	07/23/2024	Seattle Mariners signed TWP Grant Knipp.
	06/16/2024	College Workout activated C Grant Knipp.
	04/02/2023	C Grant Knipp assigned to Campbell Fighting Camels.