Continuing last year's trend that saw them select Harry Ford, Edwin Arroyo, and Michael Morales with their first three picks, the Mariners went heavy on high schoolers again this year with three more in their first four picks. They targeted premium athleticism with those prep picks, especially with the two pitchers in Walter Ford and Ashton Izzi that have strikingly similar profiles, then had to spend virtually the rest of the draft saving money. After selecting Izzi in the fourth round, four of their next six picks signed for $50,000 or less despite six figure slot values.
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1-21: SS Cole Young, North Allegheny HS [PA]. My rank: #20.
Slot value: $3.29 million. Signing bonus: $3.3 million ($7,100 above slot value).
Part of the reason Jerry Dipoto felt comfortable dealing star shortstop prospects Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo to the Reds in the Luis Castillo trade was because of this pick right here. Cole Young was one of the more intriguing prep bats available throughout the draft cycle, showing extremely well over the summer and again this spring to earn chatter throughout the first round. The Mariners were thrilled to see him fall out of the top twenty picks, and didn't let him get any further. Young is a very polished young hitter that makes extremely consistent, hard, line drive contact from the left side. He rarely swings and misses, showing some of the better barrel adjustability in the class to spoil tough pitches and get on base just as pitchers thought they had him beat. Give him one in his wheelhouse, though, and he can really turn on the ball with impressive exit velocities and sneaky power. For now though, power isn't a big part of his game and he's much better when he's focused on all-fields line drive contact, which he knows and executes. Defensively, he glides around the dirt at shortstop with above average instincts and a strong arm, giving him every opportunity to stick there in the long run. Interestingly enough, if you met the Pittsburgh-area native on the street, you might never know he's a professional athlete. He's strong and lean at six feet tall, but carries himself with great humility and strikes you more as a typical high school kid in interviews. He's a smart kid that was strongly committed to Duke, and he'll put his head down and get to work in the Seattle system. Look forward to a potential 15 homer bat with high on-base percentages and good defense at shortstop if you're a Mariners fan.
2-58: 3B Tyler Locklear, Virginia Commonwealth. My rank: #50.
Slot value: $1.28 million. Signing bonus: $1.28 million.
Tyler Locklear is one of the more polarizing prospects in this year's class, but the Mariners are all in. He has been nothing short of a one man wrecking crew at VCU, and in 2022 put up some of the best numbers in the entire country by slashing .402/.542/.799 with 20 home runs and a 25/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 62 games. He got hotter and hotter throughout the season, including an eleven game run leading up to regionals in which he slashed .700/.786/1.475 with nine home runs and zero strikeouts to lead VCU to an A-10 championship. Locklear brings tremendous raw power from the right side, a product of just good old fashioned brute strength and a calm, quiet setup that gives way to an explosive swing. He hits the ball as hard as anybody in college baseball, to the point where he can still do damage even when he doesn't quite square it up. The Baltimore-area native is also extremely disciplined at the plate and looked laughably overqualified to face A-10 pitching this spring, but he also hit .256/.333/.504 with nine home runs and a 32/6 strikeout to walk ratio in the Cape Cod League last summer and has shown he's perfectly comfortable against high end pitching as well. Now there are reasons some teams didn't like him nearly this early, and the trio of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and Prospects Live had him ranked #98, #99, and #82, respectively. He's a well below average athlete that will most likely end up at first base or in left field, putting all of the pressure on his bat to make that transition from the A-10 to pro pitching. While he did slug nine home runs on the Cape, he did expand the zone much more often than he did at VCU and some still think pro pitchers may adjust to him fairly quickly. The Mariners are clearly not of that line of thought and neither am I, and we'll get to sit back and watch to see what route he goes. The upside here is that of a 30+ home run bat that gets on base at a high clip, anchoring Seattle lineups with Julio Rodriguez, Cole Young, Harry Ford, Kyle Lewis, and Jarred Kelenic for the long run.
CBB-74: RHP Walter Ford, Pace HS [FL]. My rank: #53.
Slot value: $887,400. Signing bonus: $1.25 million ($362,600 above slot value).
Signing for nearly as much money as Tyler Locklear sixteen picks later is Walter Ford, one of the most interesting players in the class who had been committed to Alabama. Ford originally attended McAdory High School on the outskirts of Birmingham before transferring south to Pace High School in the Pensacola area and reclassifying, making him one of the youngest players in the entire draft. He was a bit uneven this spring, which quieted some first round chatter, but the reality is that the Mariners are getting an incredible ball of clay with as much upside as anybody in the class. Ford sits in the low 90's with his fastball, touching 97 when he reaches back, with high spin rates and steep downhill plane. He shows good feel for spin with a slider that flashes above average at its best, while his firm changeup is a distant third pitch. The command has been less consistent, especially with his offspeed stuff, as he's still growing into his body and learning himself as a pitcher. The 6'3" righty is a premium athlete with a ton of projection, a quick arm, and impressive ability to get down the mound and channel his strength, all well before his 18th birthday that won't roll around until the offseason. The Mariners have a lot of work to do, including ironing out his delivery and getting him more consistent with his mechanics, as well as refining his offspeed stuff, but there aren't many young kids that can move on the mound like Ford can. If they get this right, they could have a true ace on the mound and a fun Walter Ford-Harry Ford battery that will be tough on Chevy drivers.
4-126: RHP Ashton Izzi, Oswego East HS [IL]. My rank: #211.
Slot value: $474,900. Signing bonus: $1.10 million ($625,100 above slot value).
The Mariners continued their spending spree with a fourth consecutive seven figure bonus to Wichita State commit Ashton Izzi, who teamed with White Sox first round pick Noah Schultz in the Oswego East High School rotation. Izzi turned a lot of heads this spring and made his way up draft boards with his combination of stuff and athleticism. His fastball typically sits in the low 90's, but reaches 97 at its best and there should be more velocity coming. He has feel to spin a breaking ball, with a slider that flashes above average but still needs to find its identity with inconsistent shape, while he does have some feel for a changeup. The 6'3" righty stands out most for his projection, with an extremely athletic frame that has plenty of room to add weight. He moves well on the mound, utilizing a shorter arm stroke with a relatively steep approach angle on his pitches, though his command has been inconsistent to this point. It's honestly a very similar profile to Walter Ford one pick ahead, albeit with a bit less athleticism and more than a year older. The Mariners will work with the Chicago-area product to put on weight, get stronger, and get more consistent with his offspeed stuff and command. There is a lot of work to do, but the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter is within reach.
6-186: SS Josh Hood, North Carolina State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $272,800. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($22,800 below slot value).
Josh Hood has been on scouts' radars for some time now, but finally gave them what they needed to see to pull the trigger in 2022. Originally a member of the Penn baseball team, he hit .331/.411/.580 as a freshman in 2019 but only played in eight games before the 2020 shutdown and then missed the entire 2021 season when the Ivy League inexplicably barred all its young healthy athletes from competing outside. He transferred to North Carolina State in 2022 and got regular playing time for the first time in nearly three years, slashing .268/.350/.498 with 13 home runs and a 57/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 57 games. The South Jersey native has a clean right handed swing and the ball jumps off his bat, giving him potentially 15+ home run power from a lean 6'2" frame. Despite interruptions, he's hit everywhere he's gone and has kept his strikeout rates to a reasonable level, and there should be no reason that should change in pro ball. While it's not an offensive profile that jumps off the page, it's very well rounded and it profiles well at shortstop, where he projects to stick long term. It's probably a utility infield profile with some upside if uninterrupted playing time allows his offensive game to take another step forward.
8-246: C Tatem Levins, Pittsburgh. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $175,600. Signing bonus: $50,000 ($125,600 below slot value).
Tatem Levins was an accomplished hitter at La Salle, where he slashed .318/.402/.524 with 17 home runs and more walks than strikeouts over a three year career. La Salle ended up disbanding their baseball program in 2022, so he transferred to Pitt and continued to hit with a .321/.435/.613 slash line, 16 home runs, and a 31/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 56 games. Levins stands out most for his extremely advanced plate discipline, which has enabled him to get on base a ton throughout his college career and will help him make a quick transition to pro ball. He crushes mistakes and elevates the ball with authority, which is why he knocked 33 home runs over his four year college career, but doesn't necessarily have have the raw exit velocities to project for significant power in pro ball. An average defender, he projects as a backup catcher at best and if not, a decent bench bat. If his defense does take, he could move quickly through the minors due to a bat that's probably already ready for High A.
9-276: RHP Tyler Gough, JSerra Catholic HS [CA]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $159,400. Signing bonus: $275,000 ($115,600 above slot value).
The Mariners went back to the high school pitching ranks one more time here in the ninth round, grabbing Tyler Gough out of the powerhouse JSerra program in Southern California. Gough crept up boards late in the process, and wound up command sixth round money in the ninth round to sign away from an Oregon State commitment. His fastball sits in the low 90's but can touch the mid 90's in short stints, playing up with great riding life and a flatter approach angle. His go-to offspeed pitch is a curveball that gets deep break at times but needs to add significant power, while he's also flashed a harder cutter/slider and a changeup, the latter of which he slows his arm down to throw. The 6'2" righty throws strikes and generally stays around the zone, though he does have a little bit of trouble repeating his delivery and his command will need refinement in pro ball. There are numerous tweaks to be made to this profile, but the arm strength is there and he showed well at the MLB Draft Combine, giving the Mariners a lot to work with.
17-516: RHP Stefan Raeth, Washington. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $50,000.
The Mariners did make one hometown pick in University of Washington grad Stefan Raeth. Raeth is not originally from the Pacific Northwest, having grown up in Northern California and bouncing around the Bay Area from Acalanes High School to Napa Valley College to Los Medanos College before landing in Seattle. He spent two years with the Huskies and was at his best in 2022, when he posted a 3.39 ERA and an 89/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 66.1 innings as a long reliever. He sits around 90 with his fastball, but it plays up because he hides it well from a shorter arm action. His slider has some sweep and should miss bats in pro ball, while he also adds an average curve and changeup. The 6'1" righty throws a lot of strikes and has an efficient delivery, so the main focus will just be adding power to his stuff to help it play up a little better against pro bats. He already controls the zone well and missed a lot of bats in college despite a lack of velocity, so any gains should immediately impact his numbers in a positive way.
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