31 Donnie Walton SS

Walton went 1-for-6 with a walk and three strikeouts over his first two major-league starts Wednesday and Thursday versus the Reds.

The 25-year-old has gotten the call at shorstop over that pair of games, although J.P. Crawford's expected return from a hamstring injury projects to displace Walton at minimum and possibly send him to the bench. The rookie is getting his first taste of big-league pitching after a stellar season at Double-A Arkansas, in which he slashed .300/.390/.427 across 558 plate appearances. Even if he does ride the pine Friday, the non-contending Mariners figure to give him opportunities for more reps against big-league arms the rest of the way.

Walton had his contract selected from Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Walton pieced together a .300/.390/.427 slash line with 11 homers and 50 RBI over 124 games this year with the Travelers, earning him a chance to finish out the 2019 campaign in the majors, where he'll likely serve as bench depth.

Walton is a likely candidate to receive a promotion to the majors now that Double-A Arkansas' season has ended, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Walton will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason anyhow in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, so Johns speculates the Mariners are likely to get that procedural move out of the way by promoting the shortstop. Walton thrived with the Travelers this season, slashing .300/.390/.427 with 36 extra-base hits (22 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs), 50 RBI, 63 walks, 10 stolen bases and 72 runs over 558 plate appearances.