Seattle Mariners 3 Round MLB Mock Draft 2.0

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We are less than a month away from the 2019 MLB Draft. The Mariners will be more involved in this draft than normal, having secured an extra pick at the end of the 2nd round in the Carlos Santana for Edwin Encarnacion trade.

This will also be the Mariners first draft in their “re-imagining” of their entire organization. While these names won’t help Seattle right away, they can add more depth and impact to their farm system, which makes trading prospects easier and increasing their margin of error.

Seattle have picks 20, 59,76, and 97 this year, giving them a great opportunity to add significant talent to their farm system. In our first mock draft, which you can read here, we focused on a straight draft strategy instead of trying to work their bonus pool to manipulate the draft board. We will do the same here.

With all that in mind, let’s get started with the 20th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Mock Draft.

Pick 20: Mariners select Braden Shewmake, SS Texas A&M

With the first pick of their draft, the Seattle Mariners stick to their status quo and select a relatively safe college player in round 1. In Dipoto’s first 3 drafts he selected similar players Kyle Lewis, Evan White, and Logan Gilbert.

Shewmake, a junior shortstop at Texas A&M, has a slender frame, standing at 6’4″, 190 lbs. He has a simple, compact swing that produces a lot of line drives. Ever since he got to College Station, Shewmake has produced. He doesn’t strike out and has a prototypical “control the zone” approach.

Shewmake has shown power in the past, hitting 12 home runs as a freshman. But he has hit just 5 home runs in each of the past 2 seasons. He makes a lot of contact and should hit for a high average with 10-15 home run power to boot.

Defensively, he has a chance to stick at shortstop. He has a strong, accurate arm and can make all the routine plays. His ultimate landing spot might be second base, but his bat profiles well at either spot.

He doesn’t have plus speed but has good instincts and can steal bases at a good rate. Overall, Shewmake should be a .280/.350/.400 hitter with 10-15 homers and stolen bases, as well as average or better defense up the middle.

Scouting Grades(20-80): Hit- 55 Power- 45 Speed- 50 Field- 50 Arm- 55 Overall- 50

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

Pick 76: Seattle Mariners select Cameron Cannon, 2B Arizona

OMAHA, NE – JUNE 28: Pitcher Cameron Ming #47 of the Arizona Wildcats walks off the mound after being taken out by head coach Jay Johnson #2 against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the seventh inning during game two of the College World Series Championship Series on June 28, 2016, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

With their third pick, the Mariners keep on the college performer bandwagon by selecting one of the best bats in the Pac-12, Cameron Cannon. The right-handed hitter doesn’t blow you away with his tools, but his production is off the charts.

In 2019, he has slashed .377/.466/.603 with 6 home runs and 25 doubles. Like Shewmake, Cannon makes consistent contact and has the control the zone profile the Mariners covet. He has a great looking swing and the high number of doubles suggest he could develop some serious power in the coming years.

Defensively, Cannon has all the tools to be a solid-average defender at second base. He came to the University of Arizona as a shortstop and played a lot of third base in the Cape Cod League. The versatility is a nice bonus, but his best fit on the diamond is at second base.

He’s not much of a base-stealer, but he does have average speed, or slightly above speed once he gets moving. You get a good look at his swing here (skip to the 44-second mark). While there is still some work to be done, Cannon has the ability to be a bat-first second baseman or a quality utility man for years at the big league level.

His “C the Z” approach, ability to hit line drives, emerging power potential, and average defensive abilities across the board make him a valuable add any farm system, and one the Mariners should strongly consider.

Scouting Grades: Hit-55 Power-50 Run-50 Field-50 Arm-50 Overall-50

Pick 97: Mariners select Noah Song, RHP Navy

With their fourth and final pick inside the Top 100, the Mariners take a bit of a risk by selecting Naval Academy RHP Noah Song. To be clear, Song the prospect isn’t much of a risk. He has dominated for the Midshipmen for the past two seasons, posting an ERA of 1.92 in 2018 and a 1.03 in 2019.

Song has a strong fastball that touches 96 MPH with some decent arm side run as well. The 6’4″, 200 lbs righty has a frame that can still add strength but he is solidly built and should have no problem carrying a full load at the pro baseball level.

The breaking pitches are average offerings right now but have flashed above-average and even plus at times this year. His slider has the best chance to be plus, as it has a hard, late movement to it. The curveball is solid and shows some real 11-5 movement, but is more loopy than sharp and is more of a steal a strike pitch than a put-away offering.

Song has a changeup, but he hasn’t needed to use it much in college. At Navy, Song has posted 150 strikeouts in 87 innings this year. The command is average but Song is a good athlete, so there is hope he can refine his delivery and add a half-grade to it.

With numbers and stuff like this, plus an arm that has been subject to zero surgeries, Song should be a Top 50 pick. However, his pro baseball career would be delayed thanks to a 2-year service requirement out of school, meaning he wouldn’t be a full-time baseball player until 2021.

A team like the Mariners should be more than willing to wait on a borderline first-round talent for 2-years. Song could be a strong #3 starter by 2023, and with his fastball/slider combo, could be a high-leverage reliever as well.

Song is going to be a steal in this draft wherever he goes. Adding a high character, hardworking, reliable arm like Song’s with his upside is an opportunity that Dipoto and his crew shouldn’t pass up on, especially with an extra pick to play with in this draft.

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

As we get closer to draft day, more rumors will undoubtedly begin to leak regarding the Mariners and every other team in Major League Baseball. The MLB Draft, perhaps more than any other pro draft, is an unpredictable entity that can change drastically overnight.

One thing is for sure, the Mariners have a lot of options to consider and more than one viable strategy to consider as well. Thus far, we have played things safe in our mock drafts. But Dipoto has rolled the dice as recently as 2017 when he more or less punted rounds 3-10 of that draft to select Sam Carlson in the second round.

MLB Draft Rumors: Who is being linked to the Mariners?. dark. Next

Could they do that again in 2019? Absolutely. Could they play it similarly as we drew it up above? Again, absolutely. Or perhaps they do a little bit of both? The team has numerous options and draft week will be a crazy fun time for you, me, and everybody involved.

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