SEATTLE – The wait has been long, but it’s nearing its end for Seattle Mariners minor league outfielder Jonny Farmelo.

Farmelo is one top prospects in the M’s organization, but his first pro season came to an abrupt end last June when he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee catching a fly ball in center field for the Single-A Modesto Nuts.

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At the time, the 2023 first-round pick was enjoying a strong first couple of months as a 19 year old in the California League. In 46 games, he slashed .264/.398/.421 with 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 18 stolen bases.

While the injury derailed what was a promising debut season as a pro, Farmelo has focused on the positives that have come with his rehab process.

“I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a player as well,” he said Sunday during the Mariners’ opening week warm-up event at T-Mobile Park. “And I believe that even though I missed a lot of time, that I could come out of this injury better and it could be a good thing for my career. So I’m excited.”

As for the status of his knee?

“The knee is doing great,” Farmelo said. “We’re almost nine months post-op. I’m moving around, I’m swinging, I’m throwing, I’m doing a lot of everything.”

Farmelo still hasn’t reached the point of playing games, which made gearing up for the season in Arizona this spring bittersweet. He said expects to make his return to the minors in “a few months.”

“It’s not too bad when you’re there kind of alone in Arizona. When everyone comes and they’re playing and you’re not doing anything, that’s when it gets hard,” Farmelo said. “So that was tough, but I’m trying to focus on the good, and there’s been a lot of it.”

One of the good things is that Farmelo’s injury hasn’t seemed to have too much impact on his prospect status. He’s still the sixth-ranked prospect in the M’s farm system and No. 92 in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. However, the speedy left-handed hitter isn’t all that interested in those sort of accolades.

“I could care less about what my prospect ranking is, to be honest with you,” Farmelo said. “I’m just trying to play and compete and get to the big leagues. It’s definitely cool to see, but I don’t want to pay too much attention to it.”

There is one thing Farmelo is putting a lot of attention on, though.

“I think the biggest focus (this season) is to just stay on the field and, most importantly, just do everything I can to stay on the field – because some things happen like the knee injury that you can’t really control,” Farmelo said. “So just trying to stay on the field and get at-bats. I’m not really putting too much expectations on this year. I just want to play.”

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