SEATTLE — The Amarillo (Texas) Sod Poodles play in a stadium called “Hodgetown,” which features a berm beyond the right-field fence and a massive blue batter’s eye stretching skyward in center. The baseball Lazaro Montes bombarded on June 27 cleared all of the above.

With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Sod Poodles pitcher Jonatan Bernal threw a 92-mph fastball along the inner edge of home plate. Montes — a 20-year-old outfielder for the Arkansas Travelers, the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate — raised his right leg, flipped his hips, extended his arms and catapulted a comet that flew 475 feet before bouncing out of the concourse and into a grass field.

It was the most majestic of Montes’ 23 home runs this season (18 with High-A Everett and five with Arkansas), second-most in the minor leagues. A 6-foot-5, 245-pound fountain of untapped potential, Montes held his helmet and took a bow as he touched home plate.

“This guy has stupid pop, and there’s not a better way to describe it,” Travelers broadcaster Steven Davis said. “He takes a bow. If that’s his thing when hitting home runs, he’s going to be taking a lot of bows.”

That’s just it. As baseball fans, we spend years reading about our franchise’s unblemished future, about the parade of prospects set to dominate for the next decade. We watch grainy hard-cam highlights of heaters and homers and hope. We fall in love with Montes’ mouthwatering power, with catcher Harry Ford’s athleticism, with switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje’s incomparable skill set and shortstop Colt Emerson’s infinite ceiling. We fall in love with the untold bows-to-be.

That’s not a knock; it’s inevitable. It’s why so many college football fans pay more attention to recruiting than their team’s roster. The five-star freshman quarterback must be better than the flawed starter. And if he’s not, the next will be.

But as the July 31 MLB trade deadline approaches, it’s time for the Mariners (51-45) to prioritize the present over the future.

It’s time to take advantage of a cavalcade of coalescing opportunities — a weak American League with just four teams 10-plus games above .500; a historic season from catcher Cal Raleigh, who may be hitting another home run as you read this; a starting rotation that should finally round into form, and won’t be here forever; a roster with five All-Stars … and obvious issues.

A farm system with nine of baseball’s 100 best prospects, most in MLB.

For fans it’s hard to part with prospects — to ship your shooting stars to other solar systems. More so when president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has done little to earn their favor in a decade on the fringe. More so when a seller’s market suggests that few impact players will be available, and desperate buyers may bid each other into oblivion. More so when the inconsistent Mariners have not made a convincing argument that they’re a bat or a bullpen arm from winning the World Series.

But if not now, when? Never?

So: now.

There are, after all, upgrades to be had. Like Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez (.250/.320/.569, 31 HR, 78 RBI) and/or first baseman Josh Naylor (.294/.361/.456, 11 HR, 58 RBI), both of whom would provide instant impact. Like Orioles first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, an All-Star starter. Like Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquantino or Cleveland’s Carlos Santana, capable first basemen on floundering teams.

Like, if the most improbable dominoes drop, Atlanta right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. or Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman.

Seattle has the prospect capital to immediately improve. That doesn’t mean leveraging your future for lukewarm returns. But the organization owes it to fans, Raleigh and everyone else not to engage in an eternal waiting game.

So, my advice for fans in the next couple of weeks?

Don’t be too precious about prospects who may never hit.

After all, the Mariners made 18 first-round draft picks from 2001 to 2017, and just three (Adam Jones, Taijuan Walker and Mike Zunino) made an All-Star Game — none while still with Seattle. Nine of the 18 compiled a career Baseball Reference WAR below 1.0. Shortstop Michael Garciaparra and third baseman DJ Peterson never made the majors.

What about the Mariners’ top five prospects each year from 2012 to 2021? Just eight of the 28 (there was some carry-over from year to year) earned an All-Star honor, and 11 were out of MLB after four or fewer seasons. Fifteen of the 28 have produced a career bWAR below 1.0.

The point is not that Mariners prospects can’t become bona fide stars. Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Edwin Diaz, etc., are proof of process.

But don’t forget the longer list. Jarred Kelenic. Evan White. Justus Sheffield. Justin Dunn. Alex Jackson. Danny Hultzen. Dustin Ackley. The future you fell in love with never actually arrived.

In 2022, Seattle traded prized prospect Noelvi Marte (among others) to the Reds for standout starter Luis Castillo. While Castillo helped end the Mariners’ 21-year playoff drought, Marte has compiled a -0.1 WAR in two-plus seasons in Cincinnati.

Five years from now, Montes may be bowing at T-Mobile Park; his stupid pop may translate at the highest level. Ford, Cijntje and Emerson’s faces may be plastered outside the stadium. The next wave may take Seattle by storm.

But if a trade or two can deliver this starving fan base success even sooner?

Hope won’t win a pennant. What are we waiting for?

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