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Mariners MLB Mock Draft Roundup: Keith Law, Kiley McDaniel, Jim Callis

By Colby Patnode

SEATTLE- WA, - APRIL 9: T-Mobile Park is lit up in blue to honor essential workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on April 09, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE- WA, - APRIL 9: T-Mobile Park is lit up in blue to honor essential workers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on April 09, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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We are now less than a month away from the MLB Draft, which means it is mock draft season. Today, we look at 3 different mocks to see what the Mariners could do.

Expert mock drafts aren’t the gospel. Especially not this year. So, while we may believe the Mariners are surely going to zig, they could zag, either due to action taken by the top 5 clubs, or to get creative and try to maximize talent acquisition.

But today we are going to look at the mock drafts of 3 of the bests in the business, people whose opinion is as close to the “expert” level as one can be. Today, we see what Keith Law, Kiley McDaniels, and Jim Calis believe the Mariners will do with the 6th pick.

Keith Law, The Athletic: Mariners select Reid Detmers, LHP Louisville

What makes Law’s mock the most interesting of the trios is that he has Seattle taking Detmers over both Nick Gonzales and Max Meyer. Here is the concerning thing: Keith Law is as dialed in as anybody in the industry. If this is what is being told to him, it’s a bad proposition for Mariners fans.

I’ve never been high on Detmers as the sixth pick. He’s a fine prospect with a good chance to pitch in the middle or back of a good rotation. But he isn’t a star. Both Meyer and Gonzales represent potentially impactful players. Gonzales could be a top of the order bat with solid average defense and power and Meyer has the potential to be an Ace. Detmers is a massive reach with both Gonzales and Meyer on the table, and as a result, this would easily qualify as the worst first-round pick in the Jerry Dipoto era.

Kiley McDaniel, ESPN: Mariners select Nick Gonzales, NMS 2B

If you’re ranking on what is most likely to happen, Gonzales is the safe bet to be selected at six. Dipoto has publicly stated his desire to draft and up the middle bat with his first pick this year and unless some freakiness goes down and Austin Martin is available at six, Gonzales is the best fit to satiate that desire.

Gonzales has a high probability to hit for average and get on base. If Seattle believes he can regularly hit 20 home runs and 30 doubles, it’s a solid allocation of resources.

Jim Callis, MLB Pipeline: Nick Gonzales, 2B NMS

Another one for Gonzales on the board. What is interesting here is that Callis has Zac Veen as the player jumping into the Top five to push Gonzales to sixth. Callis does note that Detmers could be in play for the Mariners with this selection as well.

Next. Sodo Mojo MLB Draft Big Board: 21-25. dark

Information comes late in the draft process, so we will get more clarity about which teams are more interested in which players. The MLB Draft is the most unpredictable in sports, thanks to the bonus pool arrangement, so anything can happen on draft day. The Mariners will have no shortage of options from which to choose from and these mock drafts will be important to track over the next 3 weeks.

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