Mariners Draft Day Three

The Seattle Mariners on Wednesday drafting rounds eleven thru forty. The odds are against any of these players making it to the major leagues. The most recent draft pick to make it was Andrew Moore who pitched for the Mariners for a short period because of injuries last year. He was recently traded to Tampa Bay Rays however he is pitching in the minor leagues. He was a second round draft pick by the Mariners. The odds are good that he will make it.

The most recent draft pick on the Mariners right now is Dan Altavilla who was drafted in the fifth round in 2014. The only other player drafted by the Mariners the same season Ryan Yarbrough traded to Tampa Bay when they picked up Drew Smyly last year. He was picked right ahead of Altavilla as a fourth round pick. In 2013 Tyler O’Neill the Mariners drafted  in the 3^rd round was traded to the St. Louis last July for Marco Gonzales who is now in the starting rotation for the Mariners. Other players in the major leagues who were drafted the same year by the Mariners seventh round pick Tyler Olson out of Gonzaga is a left handed pitcher now for the Cleveland.  Emilio Pagan the Mariners traded to the Oakland A’s during the off-season for Ryon Healy in the  tenth round and Zack Littell  eleventh round pick now with the Minnesota Twins.

The most successful draft in most recent years is 2012 when the Mariners drafted Mike Zunino as the 3^rd overall pick in the first round is the regular catcher, Edwin Diaz in the 3^rd round is the team’s closer, Joe DeCarlo who was drafted between them with second pick as a shortstop is now catching with AA Arkansas. He was invited to training as non-roster invitee. Other players most known because he played well last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers is Chris Taylor. According to Jerry Dipoto the worst trade he made as Mariner general manager. Taylor was drafted fifth round in 2012 and the last to have some success as a reliever is Dominic Leone a thirteenth round pick by the Mariners and now he is on the disabled list for the St. Louis.

Now we look at this draft eleven thru forty for the Mariners. In the eleventh round they finally took a high school senior in Damon Casetta-Stubbs from Vancouver Washington a right handed pitcher. He had committed to Seattle University however choose to sign with the Mariners. The next high schooler the Mariners took was Holden Laws with the sixteenth pick out of North Carolina. The only other high schoolers were Jack Montgomery a left handed hitting second baseman out of Simsbury, Connecticut with the 38^th pick, Jacob Maton from Glenwood High School in Illinois, and  David Rhodes out of Langley British Columbia both being right hand pitchers with the 39^th and 40^th picks. I would not be surprised if those three don’t sign and play college ball.

A look at the positions the Mariners picked up in these rounds of eleven thru 40^th. The Mariners drafted fifteen pitchers, six second baseman, two shortstops, one third baseman Cal Hernandez out of Oral Roberts with the twenty-sixth pick, four outfielders and one catcher Dean Naveraz  from San Diego State with the 19^th pick. All these players all have interesting stories. One to give you is the 18^th round pick Noah Zavolas a right handed starting pitcher from Harvard University who was Ivy League Pitcher of the year and threw a no-hitter against their rival Yale. Over the months and years we will see who may make the Mariners or who they may trade to pick up other players. I hope these are players that will make the Mariners a stronger farm system. In the meantime Mariners play ball.