Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalized, can be an opportunity to change minds.
Seattle, WA
Hollander: 'Big time' for Seattle Mariners' loaded farm system
After graduating a slew of pitching talent in previous years, the Seattle Mariners’ farm system took a brief dip, but it’s built plenty of momentum since thanks to a contingent of promising young bats.
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The Mariners feature one of baseball’s most intriguing farm systems, with seven players ranked in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects and four in MLB Pipeline’s.
Seattle general manager Justin Hollander joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy recently for a conversation about the organization, and he believes it’s a “big time” for the franchise and its farm system.
“We should keep talking about them because we’re about to go back to the point where we have one of, if not the best, farm systems in baseball over the next 12 months,” Hollander said. “… It’s a big time for us.”
Next in line
The top-100 prospect that appears closest to making his major league debut is first baseman Tyler Locklear. The 23 year old is ranked as the No. 94 prospect by Baseball America. He played just 22 Double-A games a season ago and was called up to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on Monday after 41 games in 2024.
With Arkansas this season, Locklear slashed .291/.401/.532 with 12 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 26 RBIs, 23 walks and 49 strikeouts. The Virginia Commonwealth product’s .933 OPS with Arkansas ranks third in the Texas League.
Tyler Locklear (@Mariners‘ No. 8 prospect) unloads on a projected 425-foot homer for the @ARTravs!
Watch the final innings LIVE: https://t.co/aKtGFgWBY3 pic.twitter.com/SsarZFB5J8
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 18, 2024
Since being called up to Tacoma, Locklear, a second-round draft pick in 2022, is slashing .304/.407/.391 in six games through Sunday.
“We just promoted to Triple-A after he really just beat (up) Double-A, which is hard to do,” Hollander said. “That’s a big jump from A-ball to Double-A, particularly for a right-handed hitter in the ballpark that we play in, and he just obliterated that league very quickly.”
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The top prospects
The Mariners highest-rated prospects are shortstop Cole Young and catcher Harry Ford. Baseball America ranks Young at No. 34 and Ford at No. 51, and MLB Pipeline has them ranked 26th and 27th, respectively. Both are excelling with the Double-A Travelers.
The 21-year-old Ford posted a scorching month of May, producing a .304/.418/.467 slash line five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 13 RBIs, nine stolen bases, 16 walks and 23 strikeouts. His 34 walks rank second in the Texas League, which comes after he led all of minor-league baseball in walks last season.
“Harry has just gone ballistic over the last month or so,” Hollander said. “He’s been one of the best minor league players at any level over the last month.”
Harry Ford just keeps hitting 😤
The @Mariners‘ No. 2 prospect has a 3-hit, 3-RBI night for the @ARTravs, raising his Double-A slash line to .275/.416/.477: pic.twitter.com/BTJZVedq9I
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 25, 2024
The Mariners drafted Ford No. 12 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Hollander pointed out that this year would have been when Ford became draft eligible had he signed with a college out of high school.
“I would be shocked if we weren’t talking about Harry Ford as, like, one of the five best amateur players in the country at this stage,” Hollander said, “and he’s in Double-A at 21 and showing us that he may be ready for a step up at some point later in the year.”
Young, the No. 21 overall pick in 2022, is another one of the high school bats the organization invested in early during the past three drafts. He’s had a quick ascent through minors, starting the season in Double-A after playing just 48 games with the High-A Everett AquaSox in his second minor league stop of 2023.
Young impressed during his first spring training with the club, posting a .333 average with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs in just 24 at-bats. His first month with Arkansas didn’t wow, but like Ford, Young had a red-hot May. In 21 games, Young slashed .298/.375/.524 with four doubles, five home runs, 13 RBIs, 10 walks and just 13 strikeouts.
The top arm
The Mariners’ newest addition to Baseball America’s list is also in Arkansas with Ford and Young. Right-hander Logan Evans recently made his debut at No. 99 to signify his status as the organization’s top pitching prospect after a dominant start to his second pro season.
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Evans, a 12th-round draft pick out of Pittsburgh in 2023, has a 5-2 record with a 1.23 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 10 starts. He’s struck out 47 and allowed 15 walks over 51 1/3 innings. Evans also allowed only one run over 15 minor league innings in 2023.
According to Baseball America, Evans gained considerable velocity this past offseason and now sports a six-pitch mix that includes a mid-90s fastball and an elite slider.
This team is Nuts
The highlight of Seattle’s farm system thus far is what’s been going on with the Single-A Modesto Nuts. Modesto holds the top record in the California League at 35-14. Even more impressive is the squad’s whopping plus-142 run differential, which is over 100 runs better than the next-closest team.
Modesto is full of promising young hitters. Infielder Colt Emerson and outfielders Lazaro Montes and Jonny Farmelo each have at least one Top-100 ranking by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. Hollander also noted infielder Michael Arroyo and outfielder Aiden Smith.
“It’s one of the best minor league teams in all of affiliated baseball right now,” Hollander said. “… You just go down the lineup, up and down the roster is just loaded with talent.”
This @ModestoNuts lineup 🫨
Jonny Farmelo, Colt Emerson + Lazaro Montes — three of the @Mariners‘ Top 6 prospects — serve as instant offense out of the chute: pic.twitter.com/wRIAYciWRO
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 9, 2024
Emerson has skyrocketed up the prospect rankings since being drafted No. 22 overall out of John Glenn High School in New Concord, Ohio. He’s ranked as the No. 49 prospect in MLB by Baseball America and No. 51 by MLB Pipeline. Emerson hasn’t played since May 16 and went on the IL May 21 due to a small fracture in his foot. After an impressive 24 games in the minors last season, Emerson is slashing .271/.441/.414 in 19 games this season.
Montes is ranked as baseball’s No. 82 prospect by MLB Pipeline and 79th by Baseball America. The hulking left-handed bat was an international free agent signing in 2022 out of Havana, Cuba. At just 19 years old, Montes sports an impressive .330/.429/.534 slash line through 48 games with the Nuts. He’s currently on pace for the Triple Crown in the California League. He leads the league in homers (nine), RBIs (57), batting average, slugging and is second in OPS (.962).
Lazaro Montes goes deep for the second time in three games 💪
The @Mariners‘ No. 4 prospect leads all Minor Leaguers with 56 RBIs for the Single-A @ModestoNuts. pic.twitter.com/zM6AaMzVrn
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 1, 2024
Farmelo is the final M’s prospect with a top-100 ranking, coming in at No. 98 for Baseball America. The speedy outfielder is also hitting well in Modesto with a .286/.426/.460 slash line, 10 doubles, three triples, four homers, 25 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 42 games. The 19-year-old Farmelo was one of three high schoolers picked in the first round by Seattle in 2023, going No. 29 overall.
Smith and Arroyo are also off to strong starts with the Nuts. The 19-year-old Smith, a 2023 fourth-rounder, is slashing .273/.390/.460 with 13 doubles, one triple, five homers, 24 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, 29 walks and 43 strikeouts in 43 games. Arroyo, a 19 year old who signed as an international free agent in 2022 out of Cartagena, Columbia, has compiled a .255/.373/.435 slash line with seven doubles, four triples, six home runs, 36 RBIs, 27 walks and 47 strikeouts in 45 games.
“We’re really excited about where we’re at,” Hollander said, “and we do think over the course of the next year we’re gonna jump right back into the top five, in terms of the talent that we have coming, across all of baseball.”
Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
Seattle, WA
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post
Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place and Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, ahead of December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organizers designated the June 26 match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.”
Then the draw happened — and the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body FIFA to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural and religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with FIFA.
Some in Seattle have doubts over the teams in the ‘Pride Match’
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned.
“The World Cup is going to come and go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organizing committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration … has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years.
“It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.”
Some in the city’s LGBTQ community had mixed feelings given the participants, said Jon Cairns, 49, manager of local LGBTQ+ club Kremwerk.
Cairns, however, said his own view was that it provided a platform to promote acceptance that only the world’s biggest sporting event could offer.
“My reaction is let’s have them,” he told Reuters. “International sports is one of the biggest brokers historically of social change and individual rights and freedoms worldwide, including in the U.S.”
He cited black U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised-fist protest in 1968 as moments where “only international sports could reach that big of an audience.”
“They’re not going to turn off the World Cup on state television in Iran or Egypt to block out a Pride flag in the audience,” Cairns said.
The Pride Match is “a host city initiative” and separate of FIFA, a spokesperson for soccer’s governing body told Reuters.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community sees an opportunity
Egypt and Iran’s involvement in the Pride Match is not the first time the World Cup has grappled with stark differences in attitudes between hosts and visitors.
In 2022 World Cup host Qatar, the emir said visitors should “respect our culture” when asked about gay people attending the tournament.
FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the “OneLove” armband, citing its rules against political slogans. Teams including England and the Netherlands that had been planning to wear the armbands to protest Qatar’s laws against same-sex relationships abandoned the plan.
For Ryan Webster, a 40-year-old lifestyle manager who was at Kremwerk the weekend before Pride, Seattle’s “Pride Match” was an opportunity to show solidarity with people in countries where their sexuality was outlawed.
“I’m choosing to believe that this is our moment to allow the members of the LGBTQ community that come from those countries to have the opportunity to celebrate themselves in totality that they might not have otherwise,” he said outside the club, which will host a watch party for Friday’s game.
Inside, ‘Venus Fengz’ lip-synced to Cher’s “Believe” before introducing fellow drag performers to the stage, clapped and cheered by a raucous crowd.
Fengz, who only wanted to provide their stage name, said Pride coinciding with the World Cup would bring increased visibility, anticipating perhaps some new audience members.
“I think it’s always great for us to be able to share space and share places with people who don’t have the same experiences as us,” they told Reuters.
“Sometimes you just have to be the bigger person and show grace where you can and know that everyone is a human learning (from) different experiences, but also it can get hard — because you’re on the shorter end of the stick, always trying to have to explain yourself around people who don’t grow up with the same worldview.”
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