The Seattle Mariners may have landed another draft-day surprise in Ace Reese, and ESPN’s latest comparison gives fans plenty to dream on.
Reese came off the board at No. 24, a spot where he wasn’t expected to still be available. That makes him the second straight year the Mariners have benefited from a player sliding farther than projected. He’s not Kade Anderson at No. 3, but the buzz around Reese was real: many evaluators saw him as a top-20, even top-15, talent.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN took that idea and drew a line to one of the minors’ loudest bats. Reese, McDaniel said, is basically the new Andrew Fischer. The full quote only sharpens the comparison: "Scouts argued that Reese has the same bat-to-ball ability and defensive ability along with more raw power than Fischer did at draft time."
That’s a big statement, especially considering what Fischer is doing right now. The 22-year-old has played 76 games in his first pro season with the Milwaukee Brewers organization and already has 29 home runs. His .405 ISO leads every hitter at every level of the minors.
The numbers make the comparison feel less like a stretch and more like a legitimate blueprint. Reese posted a .385 ISO in his final season at Mississippi State, while Fischer finished his last year at Tennessee with a .419 ISO. Both came out of SEC programs, so the power production is at least coming from the same kind of stage.
There’s also the body type angle. Fischer is listed at 6-foot, 210 pounds, but Reese is four inches taller and listed at 220. Reese earned a reputation for launching tape-measure shots for Mississippi State, including one on June 7 that Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter joked "is still going."
Of course, the power comes with tradeoffs. Fischer’s stock has already shown that loud pop alone doesn’t guarantee a fast rise, even if the bat is unmistakable. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 7 prospect, a placement that reflects the same concern that follows Reese: the power is real, but the athleticism isn’t loud, and the swing-and-miss issues are too.
That’s why Reese is viewed more as a strong prospect than an elite one, even after the draft-day value the Mariners found at No. 24. He fits better in the top-10 conversation than the top-five one.
Still, Fischer’s path offers a useful reference point for how quickly Reese might move. Fischer began at High-A, spent only 73 games there, and was pushed to Double-A in June, less than a year after the 2025 draft. His ETA sits at 2027, with the possibility of an even earlier arrival if the bat keeps carrying him.
If Reese follows a similar timeline, Seattle could see him before his two-year draft anniversary in 2028. That would not be a long wait at all, and the idea of Reese eventually joining Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Lazaro Montes in the same lineup is enough to keep Mariners fans watching closely.
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