Reviewing the 2015 Seattle Mariners Draft Picks by Jack Zduriencik

The 2015 Seattle Mariners draft class wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great

We have finally made it. 2015 was the last year for former Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik. The 2015 draft class produced some familiar names here and there, and it was not as bad as the 2011 or 2014 class.

At the same time, 2015 did not produce any stars, which is something the Mariners seemed to be good at during the Zduriencik era. With that being said, let’s hop into the first Mariners selection of 2015.

The Seattle Mariners select Nick Neidert

For the first time since the 2010 draft, the Mariners did not have a Top-15 pick in the MLB Draft. Since 2010, Seattle had two Top-5 picks and another Top-10 pick.

The Seattle Mariners had to wait until the 60th pick, in the second round for the team’s first pick. With that pick, Jack Zduriencik and the front office went with Nick Neidert, a young pitcher from Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia.

Neidert was pretty good in the Mariners farm system. He posted a 1.53 ERA in rookie ball after being drafted, and then a 2.57 ERA in Single-A. His final season in the Seattle organization was 2017, where he posted a combined 3.45 ERA while pitching in High-A and Double-A.

Neidert was a part of the trade package sent to the Miami Marlins in exchange for former Mariners fan favorite Dee Strange-Gordon. The 24-year-old starting pitcher is the Marlins’ 11th ranked prospect.

Although he didn’t end up making an impact for the Mariners, he seems to be a promising pitcher in the Marlins organization. That being said, this pick by Jack Zduriencik wasn’t too bad considering that it was the 60th overall pick.

Other notable Seattle Mariners draftees

The next pick for Zduriencik was Andrew Moore. He was the 72nd overall pick out of Oregon State University, the college baseball powerhouse. Moore should be a familiar name for Mariners fans, since he pitched in 2017 and 2019.

Moore didn’t turn out to be the greatest MLB pitcher for being a 72nd draft pick, but at least he made it to the MLB. That’s a lot better than some of our previous draft picks.

After Andrew Moore, the Seattle Mariners selected Braden Bishop out of the University of Washington. Bishop is still considered a prospect, and is the 18th ranked Mariners prospect.

Although Bishop has not produced all that much at the MLB level, he is heavily involved in the community and is a scrappy ballplayer, so you sort of have to like him.

Anthony Misiewicz was also selected in this draft (18th round). The reliever attended Michigan State prior to joining the Seattle Mariners and seems to be an important part of the bullpen this upcoming season.

Another notable player drafted by the Mariners was Art Warren (23rd round). He was a Seattle Mariners prospect for quite some time and has been bouncing around to different teams this offseason. Warren recently joined the Cincinnati Reds.

Last but not least, Ljay Newsome also came out of this draft in the 26th round. The young right-hander has done a good job being “relevant” as a prospect and is looking to pitch well in 2021.

As far as the rest of the draft picks, no luck at all. 2015 produced more relevant Mariners draftees, but none turned out to be solid big leaguers.

Missed opportunities by the Seattle Mariners

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There were some good players that came out of this draft including Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Walker Buehler, and Mike Soroka. But they were all selected well before the Mariners first pick, Nick Neidert.

Josh Staumont was selected a few picks after Neidert, which could be considered a miss. Brandon Lowe was selected 87th, which was after Andrew Moore was selected. That was the biggest miss for Seattle.

Jordan Hicks and Paul DeJong were also missed chances in the 3rd and 4th rounds.

The moral of the story, Jack Zduriencik failed to stack the Seattle Mariners farm system despite having multiple fantastic opportunities to do so. But with every failure, there are lessons to be learned.

Mariners fans should feel grateful for the success we have seen from Jerry Dipoto’s draft picks the last few years. We will get to witness more of Dipoto’s draftees soon enough.