Seattle Mariners 2020 MLB Draft Big Board: The Top 10

Mick Abel is one of the best prep arms in this draft class and his fairly local roots make him a fan favorite. The issue with selecting Abel with the 6th pick is that he simply isn’t one of the 6 best players in the country and may not be willing to take enough of a discount off his bonus number for Seattle to take him at 6.

For the Mariners to feel good about drafting Abel, they would likely need to save at least $500,000. Abel, who has a full scholarship to Oregon State, has the leverage to refuse to take a below slot deal. You cannot take that chance with the 6th pick and Seattle will have to know for sure they can swing that deal before selecting Abel.

Talent-wise, Abel would likely fall outside of the Top 5 Mariners prospects in our ranks, though he may become the pitcher with the second-highest ceiling in the organization and a safe floor as a back-end starter.

To use a scouting term, Garrett Mitchell has “loud tools”. With the potential to be a true five-tool player, Mitchell is one of the best college bats in this class and one of the truly elite runners as well.

The decision to go to college was a good one for Mitchell, who was able to improve his swing at UCLA to improve both his hit tool and power. He flashes plus power in batting practice and the hope was that 2020 would serve as a stepping stone to transfer that power into games. Unfortunately, the season was canceled before it got going, leaving the in-game grade a bit up in the air.

But Mitchell’s swing, approach, and speed make him a good candidate to hit for a high average and post above-average on-base numbers. Mitchell also improved as a base-stealer at UCLA and should have no issue stealing 30+ bases on a regular basis.

But despite his plus speed, Mitchell is only an average centerfielder. Thankfully, he has the arm to play in right, where he should be above-average and the bat to profile well there. Mitchell won’t need long to get to the big leagues, and that could be interesting to a team looking to accelerate their rebuild.

There is a chance that I am the highest on Crochet of anybody doing these types of ranks. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a tall lefty that topped out at 100 MPH during fall ball. During his first two seasons at Tennessee, Crochet bounced between the rotation and bullpen and sat 92-95 MPH with a nice changeup. But in the summer and fall, Crochet was sitting 97 MPH and hitting 100 in outings.

Finding a lefty with that type of heat and solid-average control is hard to do, even in an era where fastball velocity is becoming more and more standard. But Crochet also backs up the fastball with a great changeup that he throws with deceptive arm speed. He also has a solid, above-average breaking ball that can get swings and misses.

Crochet reminds a bit of James Paxton and with the raw stuff and upside Crochet has coming from the left-side, I can’t help but be high on him.

In my opinion, Zac Veen is the best prep player in this draft. The 6’4″, 200 LBS. Veen is a physical specimen that is still growing and is only going to get stronger. Veen swings from the left side and has a beautiful swing that makes scouts drool. He generates excellent bat speed and the power grade has continued to steadily improve over the past 2-years.

A popular comparison for Veen is Dodgers OF Cody Bellinger. But Veen has very little chance of sticking in center field and not much of a chance to be more than an average corner defender, putting a lot of pressure on his bat. It is hard to imagine Seattle going with a prep bat at 6, but if they do, Veen is the only one that makes a whole lot of sense.

Prior to the shutdown, there wasn’t a hitter on the planet hotter than Nick Gonzales. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see him inside anybody’s top 10 list. But while most have him as a consensus Top 5 pick, I wouldn’t put him in that class. Don’t get me wrong, Gonzales has an exciting bat and is a safe bet to be an every day big leaguer, but I have some questions.

I am concerned that the power surge we saw early in 2020 is a product of inferior competition and a hitter-friendly environment. I am concerned the swing isn’t conducive to more than fringe-average power at the big league level. I also have doubts that Gonzales can hang at second base and don’t see the athleticism to make an easy transition to left field.

Gonzales isn’t an “up-the-middle” defender and lacks the power and arm to profile at third base. Gonzales has a fair shot to be average defensively and with the potential, he has to hit for a high average and knock 35-40 doubles around the park, that is why I still have him as my 6th overall prospect. But I have enough questions that he wouldn’t be my #1 goal for Seattle with the 6th pick.

The beauty of this Top 5 is that all of the players are pretty interchangeable. If the Mariners walked away with any of these players, fans should be thrilled. Martin was the starting shortstop for the most consistently great baseball program in the country, the Vanderbilt Commodores. He played both third base and center field before the shut down this spring.  And just like Nick Gonzales, there is a great chance Martin will be a good bat in pro baseball.

But what separates Martin from Gonzales is Martin’s athleticism. He’ll have no issue staying up the middle of the field and has a chance to be a solid defensive shortstop. But even if he has to move off the position, he will be a great second baseman and may even be able to handle center field.

Martin can help his team in a lot of different ways and isn’t reliant on his ability to max out his hit tool to be a centerpiece of a team going forward. If selected by Seattle, he would likely fall inside our Top 4 prospects with a good chance to see the Majors by late 2022.

Remember how I didn’t think Gonzales was a top 5 player in this draft? Meet the guy who kicked him out of that position. Every year players rise quickly up draft boards, both in the game and by goons like me. But Max Meyer might be my favorite prospect in this draft.

He posses the best fastball in this class and the best breaking ball. The heater sits 93-98 and he even flirted with 100 MPH fastballs late into starts. The slider is a thing of beauty that he can manipulate to do whatever he wants with it. Even the changeup, which would be considered a solid second offering for a first-round pick, is above-average and the pitch has continued to get even better every season.

Meyer throws a lot of strikes and has arguably the two best pitches in the entire class? So what is stopping him from topping most charts? His size. At 6’0″, 190 lbs, Meyer isn’t supposed to be generating this type of velocity and spin, and scouts worry that he won’t last long. But ask the Giants if they regret taking Tim Lincecum despite his relatively short career? You know what? Don’t bother. You already know the answer.

As good as Meyer is, there is no denying the complete arsenal that Asa Lacy brings to the table, including 3 well-above-average offerings and a 4th, above-average pitch to complement. And despite this polished arsenal, Lacy is still a bit raw in his delivery and approach.

Lacy has true, #1 upside and track record at Texas A&M to back it up. Lacy could very easily be the number 1 pick on draft day and nobody should bat an eye. There isn’t much to say about Lacy, who is truly a special arm who could supplant Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez as the best prospect in the Mariners system.

Spencer Torkelson is the best overall hitter in this draft class, combining the potential to hit .300 with plus on-base skills and 35-40 home run power to make him a dream first baseman. He is solid enough defensively to stick at first for a while, but he won’t win you a Gold Glove anytime soon.

He reminds a lot of scouts of Andrew Vaughn, the 4th overall pick of the White Sox last year and could see the big leagues as soon as 2022. Make no mistake, Torkelson is the best bat in this class and it isn’t really close. Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera comps shouldn’t be thrown out lightly, but I believe Torkelson has an outside chance to get there. Expect him to go with one of the first two picks on draft day, leaving little chance he may be available for the Mariners.

Emerson Hancock entered the college season as the projected number 1 overall pick and despite a slow start for the Bulldogs, I still think he has the highest upside in the class. He offers 4 well-above-average pitches and above-average command to go with solid athletic traits and a repeatable delivery.

Hancock has true, ace potential, and could be in the big leagues by Opening Day 2022. With a ceiling as an ace and an injury-free floor as a #3, Hancock is a great blend of upside and safety and Mariners fans should be doing backflips if his name is called with the 6th overall pick. Hancock would immediately slide into the #1 prospect slot on my personal ranks and give Seattle a legitimate #1 ace to pair with young arms like Logan Gilbert and George Kirby in the not too distant future.

Well, there you have it, the Top 10 players I believe the Mariners should be targeting with the sixth overall selection. Our goal is to expand this list to include at least our Top 30 names, with the possibility of introducing a Top 50 if the draft is pushed back into July.