MLB Draft: M’s 4th and 5th Round Picks

4^th Round Pick

Ryan Horstman

Pitcher from St. Johns University

20 years old

Bats/ Throws L/L

6’2” 195 pounds

College Stats: 65.2 IP, 2.33 ERA, .240 BAA, 56 strikeouts, 30 walks

Brief Thoughts:

This pick baffles me a bit because it seems like there are plenty of better college arms, but Horstman is still a projectable lefty which is promising. His fastball sits in the 88-92 range, but consistency was a problem last year. An interesting note is that he was redshirted as a freshman, which could mean two things: 1) He has more unseen potential than others. 2) He has less innings on his arm which could decrease the likelihood of injury. My guess is that he will start pretty low in the system, so it could take this kid a little longer to develop.

5^th Round Pick

Jack Reinheimer

Shortstop from East Carolina University

20 years old

Bats/ Throws R/R

6’1” 175 pounds

College Stats: .271/.356/.339, 9 doubles, 2 homeruns, 21 rbis, 10 stolen bases. (56 games)

Brief Thoughts:

Although he is considered to be a good fielder, some think he will need to move to second base in the long term. His bat is nothing to write home about and he doesn’t bring much power, but he does have a good plate approach and discipline. Considering that Seattle took him in the fifth round, it appears that they believe he will stick at shortstop. Honestly, I see Reinheimer getting lost in the middle infield jumble in the Mariner farm system. Between Nick Franklin, Brad Miller, Carlos Triunfel, Tim Lopes, Christopher Taylor, Ketel Marte, and many others, it doesn’t seem like a player with little offensive potential will move very quickly, but I hope he proves me wrong.