Seattle Mariners 3 Round MLB Mock Draft 2.0

Pick 59: Ethan Small, LHP Mississippi State

With the second pick of our mock draft, the Seattle Mariners select a left-handed pitcher who misses bats and doesn’t walk anybody. Sounds like a Mariners pick already, right? Ethan Small is anything but small, standing at a solid 6’3″, 215 lbs frame.

The 22-year-old lefty has dominated the SEC this year, posting a 7-1 record with a microscopic 1.73 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. He also has 132 strikeouts in 78 innings, while walking just 19 batters. Talk about domination.

When you see Small throw, it isn’t hard to see a little James Paxton or even Clayton Kershaw in his delivery. Stuff-wise, he is a step or two behind both, but still has 2 above-average pitches and a solid third offering.

The fastball sits between 88-92 MPH, but he uses deception and his 3/4 arm slot to miss a lot of bats. The changeup is Small’s best offering. He sells the pitch with terrific arm speed and the pitch shows fade and sink. It sits in the upper-70’s.

The curveball has good depth but he will need to throw it more to see if it is anything more than a “get me over” offering. The few times we have seen it, it shows some promise to be a third above-average offering.

Small is a good athlete who can quick pitch, slow down, or keep his delivery fluid at will, without losing any velocity or command. Small is a classic college performer with a high floor who could reach the big leagues quickly.

Scouting Grades: Fastball-55 Curveball-50 Changeup-60 Command-55 Overall-50