Mariners First Round Pick’s Under Jack Z.

When it comes to the top picks of the Mariners since Jack Z. became general manager in late 2008 his success hasn’t been very good; however,  he has done better than his predecessor Bavasi.  Of course, it is not hard to do that since Bavasi gutted the farm system all together.

The Mariners have had more success with players on the lower rounds than the first round under Z. The first pick that Jack made in his first year was Dustin Ackley who the Mariners finally gave up on just before the training deadline in July sending him to New York Yankees. As far as drafting Ackley he was the second overall pick that year, and any general manager would have selected him. 

The best player the Mariners drafted that year 2009 is gold glove third baseman Kyle Seager who was a third round pick and college teammate of Ackley’s. He is the player the Mariners thought Ackley would become. Though the Mariners struck out on Ackley they certainly got a great fit with Seager who signed a multi-year contract after last season. The thing about Seager he is durable and misses very few games for the Mariners. You can’t say that for some of the other draft picks the Mariners have had.

The same year the Mariners drafted Ackley they also drafted as supplemental picks in the first round were Nick Franklin who the Mariners sent packing last July to the Tampa Bay Rays. He hasn’t lived up to expectations yet, and most likely will be the same kind of player Ackley has turned out to be. Another supplemental player that year was Steve Baron who like Franklin was drafted out of high school. His career as a catcher started out slowly; however, this year he has spent almost the whole year with the Tacoma Rainiers sharing catching duties with John Hicks. Baron is the best defensive catcher in the Mariners farm system but his hitting started out slowly so it took him a while to move up the system spending a lot of time in Class A ball. With the Rainiers he has hit the ball with more authority; initially he started hitting over .300 for Rainiers.  However, he is now hitting in the .260 range. It is possible now that he could end up the backup catcher for the Mariners next season unless the Mariners go out and get a veteran catcher to either backup or start ahead of Zunino.

In 2010 the Mariners drafted in the first round with a supplemental pick  was high school flame thrower TaiJuan Walker. I expect other teams passed on Walker because he was an outstanding basketball player as well and many teams felt that he would go onto college. This year being his first full season in the major leagues he is showing why the Mariners drafted him. He has had his ups and downs; however, the Mariners have seen more steady improvement over the season. You could say right now he has been the most successful player the Mariners drafted in the first round by Z. He is showing a lot of potential to becoming a second ace on the Mariners pitching staff besides King Felix. Walker most success has been throwing his fast ball over 95 miles per hour. The whole key for a pitcher is location so Walker gets in trouble when he isn’t locating the ball correctly. He still has to work on his secondary pitches but the fast ball is still the pitch that will make him successful.

Most likely disappointment in the first round during Z. regime outside of Ackley would be Danny Hultzen. He was another two overall draft pick out of Virginia University. The problem with Hultzen isn’t that he hasn’t lived up to his potential the last three years he has rarely pitched because of shoulder injuries. He pitched very little in 2013 as well as this year and not at all in 2014. The Mariners were hoping that he could get in a good season with the Rainiers, and be able to pitch for the Mariners in September this year. He started off on the disabled list; after rehabbing he went to Mariners Double A team; however, he didn’t pitch long  so the Mariners  shut him down for the season. There is a possibility that Hultzen could come back and pitch making it to the major leagues; however, it is anyone’s guess. Also, he will be out of options after this season so the Mariners would have to put in on the major league roster or lose him to another team unless he passes waivers. At this point no one knows whether another team would take a chance on him.

In the 2012 draft the Mariners took catcher Mike Zunino in the first round and the third overall pick. He came up in the middle of the 2013 and has been the Mariners starting catcher the last two years. His defense has been outstanding since he has arrived on the scene; however, his hitting has been quite disappointing. Actually last year his batting average was low but he did hit over twenty home runs in the season. This year he has been batting below .200 all season, and he hasn’t hit close to the twenty home run mark. He has improved somewhat after Edgar Martinez became hitting coach. Most people feel just like Ackley he came to the major leagues way to soon. At this point his future is questionable though he is a great defensive catcher; the Mariners still need him to hit in the .240 range if he is expected to start.  

The top picks in the 2013 and 2014 D.J. Peterson and Alex Jackson are still questionable though they are rated the top two prospects in the Mariners farm system. Last year Peterson had a decent season playing high A and double A; however, this season the Mariners expected him to do much better. He did hit with some power in double A but his batting average was lower than expected but even so the Mariners brought him up to the Rainiers at the beginning of August where he actually got hurt and is now on the disabled list. I am sure the Mariners wanted to see him in September in Seattle which may or may not happen now. Alex Jackson has had a tough start to his baseball career beginning with having injuries. He played very little in 2014 and just some in 2015; he started out in high A but then was sent to Arizona to rehab because of injury. Most recently he has been playing with the very low A team in Everett. The Mariners can only hope that he will meet the expectations they had when he was drafted out of high school as a   catcher but with his power and the Mariners need they switched him to the outfield.

I am not sure that the Mariners have had poor choices in the first rounds since Jack Z has been general manager but they certainly have had bad luck. Ackley and Zunino you could say they were rushed to the majors to fast. Hultzen, Peterson, and Jackson have progress slowed because of injuries.  The Mariners should learn from the past experiences not to rush either Peterson or Jackson and we can hope that Hultzen will find his way onto a major league roster to pitch whether for the Mariners or someone else. So in the end has it been bad luck for Jack Z. or poor judgment; we may never know depending on whether he returns for another season. Go Mariners!