Seattle Mariners MLB Mock Draft 3.0

Pick 137: Mariners select Max Carlson, Burnsville High (MN)

If he falls this low, Max Carlson will likely honor his commitment to North Carolina and re-enter the draft in 2023. But the Mariners have three big advantages that other teams don’t that could tempt the talented Minnesota prepster to sign with the Mariners.

First, Seattle is quickly garnering a reputation as a pitcher development program that is one of the games best. Second, Seattle may have a little extra cash to spend, thanks to the extra draft pick acquired from the Brewers in the Omar Narvaez trade. And finally, the Seattle Mariners are quite familiar with Max’s older brother, Sam Carlson, whom the team selected in the second round of the 2017 draft and gave a $2 million signing bonus.

The lure of playing with his brother may be enough to temp Carlson, who is himself a talented young arm. Max lacks the size and upside that made Sam a first-round talent, but even at 6’1″, 175 lbs, Carlson has some serious stuff.

Carlson’s heater sits in the 92-93 range and he touched 97 MPH before his season was ended. He backs up the buzzsaw fastball with a strong curveball and changeup and both pitches flash as plus offerings. While his command is solidly average now, Carlson is a good athlete and has shown flashes of plus command.

While he doesn’t carry the upside of his older brother, he is a polished arm who may not need much time in the minors to help out of the bullpen or in the back-end of a big-league rotation.

There we have it. Mock Draft 3.0 is in the books. We selected two diminutive RHPs, two up-the-middle bats with solid hit tools and versatility, and two hard-throwing righties who may have just scratched the surface of their potential. Not a bad haul for a five-round draft.