Seattle Mariners
Day One
Round 1, overall 14 – Logan Gilbert, Stetson
Round 2, overall 54 – Josh Stowers, Louisville
The Mariners had one of the more impressive collegiate pitchers this season fall right in their lap the way the draft played out as Gilbert had a brilliant summer, then some inconsistency in his stuff this spring that led to him dropping on some boards. He finished the season strong, however, and he should be a guy who can move quickly. Stowers is a low-ceiling, high-floor sort of player that should work as a 5th outfielder at least with a ceiling of a low-tier starter.
Day Two
Round 3, overall 90 – Cal Raleigh, C, Florida State
Round 4, overall 118 – Michael Plassmeyer, LHP, Missouri
Round 5, overall 148 – Nolan Hoffman, RHP, Texas A&M
Round 6, overall 178 – Joey O’Brien, RHP, JC of Southern Nevada
Round 7, overall 208 – Jake Anchia, C, Nova Southeastern
Round 8, overall 238 – Joey Gerber, RHP, Illinois
Round 9, overall 268 – Keegan McGovern, OF, Georgia
Round 10, overall 298 – Matt Sanders, SS, Troy
The Mariners continued their college ways in the MLB draft, not selecting a single high school player in the first two days of the draft. Raleigh is a very good pick in the third, with skills behind the plate and impressive raw power at the plate. O’Brien is an intriguing player as a two-way player who has some above average contact and power as a center fielder but has a premium arm that can reach mid-90s with minimal effort. He’s also eligible for the NPB draft after growing up in Japan.
Day Three
Round 11, overall 328 – Damon Casetta-Stubbs, RHP, Washington HS
Round 12, overall 358 – Ryne Ogren, 2B, Elon
Round 13, overall 388 – Charlie McConnell, OF, Northeastern
Round 14, overall 418 – Tyler Suellentrop, RHP, Indian River State JuCo
Round 15, overall 448 – Matt Willrodt, RHP, Cisco JuCo
Round 16, overall 478 – Holden Laws, LHP, North Carolina HS
Round 17, overall 508 – Cesar Trejo, SS, UNC Greensboro
Round 18, overall 538 – Noah Zavolas, RHP, Harvard
Round 19, overall 568 – Dean Nevarez, C, San Diego State
Round 20, overall 598 – J.T. Salter, RHP, West Alabama
Round 21, overall 628 – Grant Anderson, RHP, McNeese State
Round 22, overall 658 – Nick Rodriguez, SS, UNLV
Round 23, overall 688 – Ryan Ramiz, OF, Seton Hall
Round 24, overall 718 – Ben Onyshko, LHP, Stetson
Round 25, overall 748 – Connor Kopach, 2B, Southern Illinois
Round 26, overall 768 – Cal Hernandez, 3B, Oral Roberts
Round 27, overall 798 – Cash Gladfelter, 2B, Shippensburg
Round 28, Overall 838 – Beau Branton, 2B, Stanford
Round 29, Overall 868 – Bobby Honeyman, 3B, Stony Brook
Round 30, Overall 898 – Cody Staab, OF, Rice
Round 31, Overall 928 – Rigo Beltran, LHP, Lynn
Round 32, Overall 958 – Zach Scott, 2B, St. Leo
Round 33, Overall 988 – Penn Murfee, RHP, Santa Clara
Round 34, Overall 1018 – Nick Wegmann, LHP, Binghamton
Round 35, Overall 1048 – Will Gambino, RHP, New Jersey HS
Round 36, Overall 1078 – Justin Wrobleski, LHP, Georgia HS
Round 37, overall 1108 – Parker Towns, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Round 38, overall 1138 – Jack Montgomery, 2B, Connecticut HS
Round 39, overall 1168 – Jacob Maton, RHP, Illinois HS
Round 40, overall 1198 – David Rhodes, RHP, Canada HS
In the MLB draft in general, you do not draft for need, but instead, take the best player available as the development path of even the top draft picks is typically at least a year after drafting before reaching the major leagues. The Seattle Mariners showed a good example of when drafting for need is viable in the MLB draft on day 3, however, as they selected 9 college infielders in their first 24 selections before really switching to players they knew were unsignable. Infield depth in the farm system is sorely lacking, and grabbing a wealth of college and JuCo infielders with good assurance to sign does help the system and can be a good usage of the late rounds of the draft.
Overall Outlook
Gilbert was a blessing that fell right into the Mariners’ collective laps, but their heavy focus on the college side of things has to leave one wondering from the outside if they may have missed out on some potential impactful talent along the way, even on day 3.