Seattle Mariners MLB Mock Draft 4.0

Round Two(43): Masyn Winn, RHP/SS Kingwood (TX)

Very few prospects have the upside of Masyn Winn. The Texas prep player is a legitimate prospect both on the mound and in the field, pulling double duty as Kingwood’s ace and shortstop. He carries a higher upside from the mound where he sits 92-94 MPH and touched 98 in fall ball. He backs up the fastball with two off-speed pitches including a plus curveball and an average changeup that should serve as a quality third offering.

In the field, Winn profiles as an everyday shortstop. To back up his strong arm, Winn plays solid defense with soft hands and quick feet. He’ll have no issue handling short in the pros and he comes with an enticing offensive skill set. There is swing and miss in his game, but he has above-average raw power and speed, giving him the potential to be a 5 tool shortstop.

There is some effort in his windup and at 5’11”, 180lbs some scouts are concerned that he will move to the bullpen soon. But the possibility of using Winn as a shortstop early and then using him out of the bullpen is fascinating and with the trend of two-way players starting to become more common in MLB, Winn is a fantastic pick at 43… if you can get him there.

Comp Round B (64): Mariners select Jared Shuster, LHP Wake Forest

Shuster looked like a prototypical control and command lefty in the spring of 2019. But he made some adjustments in the Cape Cod League, earning an all-star nod in the prestigious summer league. He continued to make his adjustments and came out of the gate in 2020 looking like a completely different pitcher.

His fastball jumped from 88 MPH to sitting in the 92-94 range and he even touched 97 in a few outings. The added fastball velocity helped his changeup, which was already his best pitch, play up even more, and is now solidly in the plus range of grades. He throws a fringe-average breaking ball that could make or break his starting chances, but he throws all three offerings for strikes with a newer and more easily repeatable delivery.

Shuster is a solid prospect who won’t turn a lot of heads early

but could be in the big leagues by 2022, especially if he shows the velocity and uptick in stuff wasn’t the product of a small sample size.