MLB Draft: Top 5 Players the Mariners Missed Drafting

The Mariners have had those terrific picks in the MLB Draft, like Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Taijuan Walker, and Mike Zunino.

But there have also been players that the Mariners have missed out on drafting some of baseballs top players. S

ome of the players have come really late in the draft but the picks I’ll be talking about is first round picks that the M’s really missed out on.

5. Clayton Kershaw

So far Kershaw has put together one of the best pitching resumes in his young career. He’s a 3x All Star, won the 2011 and 2013 Cy Young Award, and won the pitching Triple Crown in 2011.

The Mariners missed out on not just him but Tim Lincecum and Matt Scherzer in the 2006 MLB Draft.

The player they drafted ahead of these top pitchers was Brandon Morrow. Morrow was suppose to be the Mariners star closer or starter but was a bust as he had constant control problems and after he was traded to the Blue Jays he continued those control problems.

Imagine what could have been if the Mariners were to have drafted Kershaw? I mean today we would have Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Kershaw, Walker, and James Paxton for the starting rotation.

That’s one deadly 5 man rotation if Kershaw was drafted by the M’s.

4. The entire first round of the 2005 Draft

There’s not just one single player that can be named that the Mariners missed out on drafting in the 2005 Draft, all because the Mariners missed out on drafting 7 possible All Stars.

After the M’s selected Jeff Clement the players that followed him were Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Ricky Romero, Troy Tulowitzki, Andrew McCutchen, and Jay Bruce. This is just too much to bare.

So many possible All Stars and the Mariners drafted one of the biggest busts in their history.

All of the players that the Mariners missed out on have a combined 15 All Star appearances, 4 Gold Gloves, 13 Silver Sluggers, 2 MVPs, and one Rookie of the Year. UGH! This is seriously one tough pill to swallow.

3. Jose Fernandez

In 2011 the Mariners selected Danny Hultzen as the 2nd overall pick in the draft, but a lot of people don’t know that the Mariners missed out on one of the best young pitching phenoms in baseball right now.

Jose Fernandez may have had Tommy John surgery this year but in just his two years in the majors Fernandez already has an All Star appearance under his belt and he’s one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball.

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In his first season with the Miami Marlins Fernandez finished his first season with a 12-6 record with a 2.19 ERA with 187 strikeouts.

Fernandez this season was averaging 12.2 strikeouts per 9 innings and in his two season he’s averaged 10.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. Fernandez will return next season fully healthy and ready to show the majors some more thrills and chills.

2. Frank Thomas

In the 1989 MLB Draft the Mariners selected a no-name pitcher by the name of Roger Salkeld. The Mariners missed out on two big names in that draft.

One was one of the best closers in the game Trevor Hoffman but in the first round the Mariners missed out on the Big Hurt Frank Thomas.

Thomas put together one lucrative career in his 19 years in the majors and will be going into the Hall of Fame this upcoming summer.

Thomas was a 5x All Star, 2x MVP, 4x Silver Slugger, the 1997 American League batting champion, and earned a World Series ring in 2005 even though he was not on the postseason roster.

Thomas finished his career with a .301 batting average and 521 career home runs. Just imagine if the Mariners were to have selected the Big Hurt and with him and Jr on the team, who knows the team could have gone to the playoffs earlier than 95.

1. Mike Trout

In 2008 all the Mariners needed to do was lose their final game of the season and they would have gotten the 1st overall pick in the draft.

If they did that they would have probably chosen Steven Strasburg, but there was one other player the Mariners could have picked that has become one of the brightest young athletes in sports…..Mike Trout.

The Mariners did draft Dustin Ackley and don’t get me wrong Ackley has been great and he’s showing us that he’s ready to show us his real stuff but man, imagine if the M’s were to have drafted Trout?

Trout would be making plays, hitting home runs, and really helping out the Mariners to a possible playoff run.

All these players have been huge missed opportunities by the front office and all could have help out the team in a big way.

With all these players that could have been drafted but weren’t drafted by the M’s could have really help the Mariners get to the post season and could have given the Mariners a better name for themselves as well.

Hopefully this year the Mariners pick players that can be the future for the Mariners and help out the team in their own ways.