Seattle Mariners 3 Round MLB Mock Draft 2.0

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.

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.