Seattle Mariners: 2017 MLB Draft preview
By Nick Lee
With the 2017 MLB draft finally here, we consider some of the players the Seattle Mariners are predicted to select.
It is no secret the Major League Baseball draft is not as exciting as its NFL or NBA counterparts. It is due to the fact the majority of the time, the draft picks do not appear at the big league level for at least three years. And sometimes they are dealt to a different team before their fruits are seen. For example, only one of the 36 members of the 2014 Seattle Mariners‘ draft picks has broke into the big leagues and that is Dan Altavilla.
Last season, the Mariners selected Kyle Lewis with the 11th overall pick. Before tearing his ACL, he was batting .299 with a .915 OPS for the Single-A short season Everett AquaSox. He is just starting to play again after recovery.
This year has its share of “can’t miss” prospects. Hunter Greene seems to be the featured one. He even got his own Sports Illustrated article. He is likely to be gone before the fourth overall pick.
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Don’t get too excited though Mariners fans, as the M’s have the 17th pick and there is no such thing as “trading up” in the MLB draft like in the NFL. He is listed as a right-handed pitcher but he also has a professional swing. Some believe he can be developed into the ultra-rare two-way player.
Sitting at 17, the Mariners have some good options. Obviously the “franchise-changing” blue-chip prospects will be gone by then.
It is a little more difficult to lay out needs than it is for NFL teams. There are 40 rounds in each draft, so there is ample opportunity to find the players who can help your ballclub.
There are some whispers that the Mariners need to draft another catcher if Mike Zunino doesn’t work out. Good pitching is always in high demand.
The latest Baseball America mock draft has Seattle taking Jake Burger, a third baseman from Missouri State, who is currently playing in the NCAA Super Regionals. Burger is a big, burly right-handed hitter who is hitting .332 with 22 home runs and 65 RBI.
MLB.com has its own mock draft and they have the Mariners taking a right-handed pitcher from UCLA, Griffin Canning. He was a Golden Spikes semifinalist and went 7-4 with a 2.34 ERA with 140 strikeouts compared to just 32 walks.
Another mock draft, from sportingnews.com, also has the Mariners taking Canning. The consensus is the Mariners seem to lean on college prospects more so than high school kids. Every mock draft around has Seattle taking a collegiate player.
The draft is scheduled for Monday, June 12 with the clock starting at 7:00 pm EST. The first round will be televised on the MLB Network and all rounds will be streamed on MLB.com.