As the 2025 MLB Draft quickly approaches, the Prospects Live team wants to make your life as easy as possible. In this series of articles, I'll be providing team-by-team analysis of their recent draft trends, their available draft capital for 2025, any areas of the draft they've heavily targeted, as well as a few names in this year's class that might fit into their historically preferred archetype.
Max Ellingsen
This analysis isn't sourced for the upcoming year, nor is it a guarantee the organization won't pivot from what they've done in the past. Simply put, this article aims to provide an in-depth look at teams and their recent draft classes to try and decipher trends that could help uncover players your favorite team might be targeting. It's far from a perfect science, but I've done my job if it makes things easier to follow on draft day.
Seattle Mariners
- 2025 Bonus Pool Value - $17,704,400 (1st)
- Top 100 selections - 3, 35, 57, 91
After nearly running the table in the draft lottery last winter, the Mariners find themselves with the biggest collection of bonus pool money and the third overall pick despite missing the playoffs by just one game in 2024. They’ll have four selections in the top one hundred and two first rounders to play with, ultimately leaving them as one of, if not the most, flexible teams in the league. They’re a major factor to watch for as the back of the first round transpires; If there’s a guy they want at 35, it’s going to be tough for teams in the latter half of the first round to compete with the bonus offerings. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll wreak havoc on things, but they certainly have the resources to do so.
2024 Draft Overview
Last year’s draft class was a tale of the top two rounds for Seattle, selecting switch pitching phenom Jurrangelo Cijntje (slot) in the first and following it up with projected first rounder Ryan Sloan ($1,360,000 overslot) in the second. Going drastically overslot hasn’t been a typical strategy for Seattle in recent years, however Sloan was reportedly in contention for their pick in the first round and simply was too much talent to pass up. This hindered much of the rest of their draft, ultimately opting for a myriad of underslot older signs outside of fourth rounder Josh Caron (slot). There’s some potentially interesting relief prospects like Hunter Cranton ($763,000 underslot) and Brock Moore ($61,000 underslot), but the vast majority of the production is expected to come from the top two pitchers.
2023 Draft Overview
In one of the deeper classes of late, the Mariners were equipped with a hefty amount of draft capital thanks to both a PPI pick from Julio Rodriguez and a Comp A pick as well as their usual first rounder. This led to them selecting a quartet of highschoolers in their class, all of which have appeared on top prospects lists around the league. Colt Emerson ($300,000 overslot), Jonny Farmelo ($400,000 overslot), Tai Peete ($230,000 underslot), and Aidan Smith ($670,000 overslot) all have shown promise in the low minors, with Smith being the centerpiece of last summer’s Randy Arozarena deal. Additionally, they were able to nab Ben Williamson ($840,000 underslot) in the second round as a premiere senior sign and Logan Evans in the 12th, both of whom have already cracked the major league roster. The other pieces of the aforementioned trade last summer, Brody Hopkins ($75,000 underslot) and Ty Cummings ($7,000 underslot), were the 6th and 7th rounders in this class.
2022 Draft Overview
Another class that saw Seattle spread some money around, 2022’s class featured three overslot picks in the first four picks and was heavy on the prep talent. First rounder Cole Young ($10,000 overslot), Comp B pick Walter Ford ($360,000 overslot), fourth rounder Ashton Izzi ($625,000 overslot), and ninth rounder Tyler Gough ($115,000 overslot) were all prep players that received an overslot pay day and again put a damper on the remainder of the draft. Outside of second rounder Tyler Locklear (slot), the group of senior signees up and down the rest of the class haven’t made an overwhelming impression on the Seattle system. Troy Taylor made his major league debut last season, however he’s had mixed results thus far and is strictly a middle relief option. It’s clear they made a bet on their pitching development with a pair of high school arms, and the future of that decision looks murky at best thus far.
Early Round Demographics
Based on their past few draft classes, the Mariners have made it clear they believe heavily in their development program, emphasizing high upside prep players at the top of the draft. Even last year’s first rounder (Jurrangelo Cijntje) was relatively young for a college player and oozed projection and athleticism. They’ve stayed away from college bats as of late, however it should be noted they haven’t picked this close to the top of the draft in several years which could easily lead to a deviation in their overall draft strategy. Getting college bats that possess the kind of toolsy upside they’ve desired typically demands a top pick, and now that they have that opportunity, it would not shock me to see them go that route. Regardless of position, look for them to target athleticism near the top, and don’t be shocked if they take a few overslot shots on some prepsters a few rounds in.
Late Round Demographics
The later rounds have been largely dominated by college pitchers for Seattle, and they’ve found relative success in turning some of those players into legitimate pieces for their system. Outside of the aforementioned names we’ve already touched on, arms like Brandyn Garcia (11th round), Darren Bowen (13th round), Tyler Cleveland (14th round), and Matt Tiberia (19th rounder) have all shown relative promise considering their draft position and have far exceeded expectations thus far. They’ll dabble in the position player department here and there, but it’s clear they’ve put an emphasis on adding to their minor league stable of arms via the draft. With their recent track record being as good as it is, I don’t expect them to deviate much from this strategy.
Names to Know
Eli Willits, HS SS - A projectable, hit-over-power shortstop that’s young for the class sounds an awful lot like top prospect Colt Emerson. It wouldn’t shock me if they like him.
Tyler Bremner, UCSB RHP - Seattle loves right handed pitching, and Bremner just might be the best college option out there for them.
Seth Hernandez, HS RHP - There might not be a higher ceiling in this draft than Hernandez, a right handed flamethrower that checks a whole lot of boxes and possesses an advanced arsenal for his age.
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