The Mariners Wednesday selected 30 more players on the final day of the first-year amateur draft, bringing to 40 chosen over the past three days. Seattle selected 23 pitchers, three catchers, nine infielders (two first basemen, five shortstops, two third basemen) and five outfielders). Of the 40 choices, 32 were college players, only eight high school players.
After selecting University of Kentucky first baseman/outfielder Evan White in the first round Monday (17th overall, first round), the Mariners wound up drafting 23 pitchers (15 right-handers, eight left lefthanders) and 17 position players, six of them right-handed hitters, nine left-handers and two switch hitters.
Among the 40 players drafted by Seattle, five have ties to the Pacific Northwest: RHP Wyatt Mills (3rd round/93rd overall) from Gonzaga University; OF Jesse Franklin (37th round) out of Seattle Prep High School; SS Kolby Somers (38th round) out of Century High School in Hillsboro, OR.; SS Jack Smith (39th round) from Mercer Island High, and 3B Zach Needham (40th round) from Edmonds Community College.At 17, Smith is the youngest player taken by the Mariners.
Mills went 2-2 with 12 saves and a 1.79 ERA with 58 strikeouts this past season. He is a Spokane native. Franklin was recently named Washington’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Somers was apreseason All-America for multiple positions, including outfield, pitcher and first base. He has committed to Oregon. Smith was a four-year starter at Mercer Island and helped lead his team to the 3A state playoffs. Needham, who recently completed his sophomore season at Edmonds CC, graduated from Puyallup High in 2015 and recently committed to the University of Houston.
Mariners 2017 Draft Picks
RD | PICK | PLAYER | POS | B-T | HT | WT | DOB | SCHOOL | |
1 | 17 | Evan White | 1B | R-L | 6-3 | 205 | 04/26/96 | University of Kentucky | |
2 | 55 | Sam Carlson | RHP | R-R | 6-4 | 208 | 12/03/98 | Burnsville High School | |
3 | 93 | Wyatt Mills | RHP | R-R | 6-3 | 175 | 01/25/95 | Gonzaga University | |
4 | 123 | Seth Elledge | RHP | R-R | 6-2 | 238 | 05/20/96 | Dallas Baptist University | |
5 | 153 | David Banuelos | C | R-R | 6-0 | 205 | 10/01/96 | Long Beach State University | |
6 | 183 | Oliver Jaskie | LHP | L-L | 6-3 | 210 | 11/17/95 | University of Michigan | |
7 | 213 | Max Roberts | LHP | L-L | 6-5 | 160 | 07/23/97 | Wabash Valley College | |
8 | 243 | Billy Cooke | CF | R-R | 5-10 | 175 | 09/26/95 | Coastal Carolina University | |
9 | 273 | Jorge Benitez | LHP | L-L | 6-3 | 160 | 06/02/99 | Leadership Christian Academy | |
10 | 303 | Randy Bell | RHP | R-R | 5-10 | 190 | 02/11/95 | University of South Alabama | |
11 | 333 | JP Sears | LHP | R-L | 5-11 | 180 | 02/19/96 | The Citadel | |
12 | 363 | Darren McCaughan | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 200 | 03/18/96 | Cal State Long Beach | |
13 | 393 | Luis Alvarado | RHP | R-R | 6-4 | 180 | 01/05/97 | Nebraska | |
14 | 423 | Trevor Casanova | C | L-R | 6-0 | 200 | 06/22/96 | El Camino College | |
15 | 453 | Tommy Romero | RHP | L-R | 6-2 | 225 | 07/08/97 | Eastern Florida State College | |
16 | 483 | Orlando Razo | LHP | L-L | 5-11 | 185 | 07/07/95 | UC Davis | |
17 | 513 | Jamal Wade | RHP | R-R | 6-0 | 205 | 02/08/96 | Maryland | |
18 | 543 | Myles Christian | CF | L-R | 6-2 | 180 | 02/26/98 | Olive Branch High School | |
19 | 573 | Kevin Santa | SS | L-R | 5-10 | 180 | 03/09/95 | University of Tampa | |
20 | 603 | Troy Dixon | C | L-R | 6-2 | 205 | 04/26/95 | St. Johns University | |
21 | 633 | Connor Hoover | SS | L-R | 5-10 | 185 | 07/18/96 | University of North Georgia | |
22 | 663 | Johnny Adams | SS | R-R | 6-0 | 198 | 09/02/94 | Boston College | |
23 | 693 | Sam Delaplane | RHP | R-R | 5-11 | 175 | 03/27/95 | Eastern Michigan University | |
24 | 723 | Louis Boyd | SS | R-R | 5-10 | 169 | 05/04/94 | University of Arizona | |
25 | 753 | Bryan Pall | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 215 | 10/28/95 | University of Michigan | |
26 | 783 | Austin Hutchison | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 205 | 04/09/95 | University of Mount Olive | |
27 | 813 | Collin Kober | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 185 | 09/08/94 | McNeese State University | |
28 | 843 | Johnny Slater | CF | L-L | 6-1 | 185 | 08/09/95 | University of Michigan | |
29 | 873 | David Gerber | RHP | R-R | 6-1 | 200 | 09/24/94 | Creighton University | |
30 | 903 | Scott Boches | RHP | R-R | 6-5 | 205 | 10/17/94 | Marist College | |
31 | 933 | Ryan Costello | 3B | L-R | 6-2 | 200 | 06/13/96 | Central Connecticut State University | |
32 | 963 | Ryan Garcia | 1B | L-L | 6-2 | 205 | 07/08/95 | Point Loma Nazarene University | |
33 | 993 | Chris Castellanos | LHP | L-L | 5-10 | 185 | 05/08/95 | Stanford University | |
34 | 1023 | David Hessslink | LHP | R-L | 6-2 | 190 | 04/12/95 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |
35 | 1053 | Hunter Lonigro | RHP | R-R | 6-3 | 190 | 10/29/98 | Connellsville Area School | Connellsville, PA |
36 | 1083 | Heston Kjerstad | CF | S-R | 6-3 | 180 | 02/12/99 | Canyon Randall High School | Amarillo, TX |
37 | 1113 | Jesse Franklin | CF | L-L | 6-2 | 207 | 12/01/98 | Seattle Prep | |
38 | 1143 | Kolby Somers | LHP | L-L | 6-1 | 195 | 06/03/99 | Century High School | |
39 | 1173 | Jack Smith | SS | R-R | 6-2 | 185 | 07/26/99 | Mercer Island High School | Mercer Island, WA |
40 | 1203 | Zach Needham | 3B | S-R | 6-2 | 205 | 06/07/97 | Edmonds Community College |