Complete list of Mariners' 2026 MLB Draft picks with rapid reactions and analysis

The 2026 MLB Draft ended on Sunday, so there's been enough time to let the dust settle so that we can finally, definitively answer the big question: How did the Seattle Mariners do?

The short answer is that this draft class isn't the most exciting one the Mariners have had, either ever or just in their recent history. That's a natural consequence of picking lower in the order, and you gladly take that given that it can only happen on the heels of a wildly successful season.

Even so, every one of the 20 picks the Mariners made is worth talking about. And we're going to discuss each of them in detail, assigning grades as we go.

The Mariners made 20 selections in the 2026 MLB Draft. Here's how they grade out.

Round 1, Pick 24 - Ace Reese (3B, Mississippi State)

It's far from impossible to hype this pick. Reese was generally expected to go earlier in the first round than No. 24, and the Mariners were elated when he fell to them. They see him as one of the three best hitters in the country, and his power profile has already earned a comp to the biggest terrorizer of pitchers in the minors right now.

And yet, a little brake-pumping is appropriate. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Reese is a power-over-hit guy with a likely future at first base. And his selection was basically a zig by the Mariners at a time when everyone else was zagging by prioritizing guys with plus hit tools. There's a natural fear that they know something the Mariners don't.

Grade: B

Round 2, Pick 65 - Jake Brown (OF, LSU)

To hear it from Keith Law of The Athletic, this is the best pick the Mariners made in the draft. Brown has enough athleticism to potentially play center field in the pros. He also doubled his home run total from 2025 to 2026 despite playing in 22 fewer games because of a broken hamate bone. He has believers in his hit tool, mostly owing to good swing decisions.

However, Brown's strikeout rate spiked when he faced SEC pitching throughout his college career. It's not a particularly good omen for his jump to the pros, and it ultimately alludes to the same creeping suspicion that maybe the Mariners missed an important boat with their first two picks.

Grade: B

Round 3, Pick 101 - Nathan Taylor (RHP, Cincinnati)

Taylor just plain sounds like a Mariners pitcher. He's 6-foot-5, 230 pounds who already has a reputation as a workhorse, as he pitched 249.2 innings for the Bearcats across three seasons. He can get his fastball up to 97 mph, and his slider generally grades as plus.

But is there a third pitch to be found here? That may well determine his professional path. Lefties got to him for an .845 OPS in college, and that was in a Big 12 that isn't exactly the SEC when it comes to the level of competition.

Grade: C+

Round 4, Pick 129 - Trevor Lucas (3B, UNC Wilmington)

This is where the Mariners really started playing according to their own rules. Lucas was not ranked among MLB Pipeline's draft prospects, while Baseball America only had him at No. 414 out of 500 total players. At least in theory, there were better players on the board.

Yet this is also where Seattle got with the program, as it were. Lucas hit .312 with a .429 OBP for the Seahawks this year, with more walks than strikeouts. One just feels better knowing the Mariners are going to have a guy like that in the system, and he's supposedly a strong defender, to boot.

Grade: C-

Round 5, Pick 162 - Hayden Yost (OF, Florida)

This is where we get into Day 2 of the draft, where expectations go out the window and each pick more so gets graded on vibes. So, keep that in mind from this point forward.

The hope with Yost is basically that he'll prove to be a late-bloomer. He didn't hit much in his first two seasons with Florida, but then ripped off a .958 OPS and 10 home runs in 42 games this year. The Mariners spotted a key adjustment he made with his hands, and otherwise just liked to see that kind of production against SEC competition. They may have something here.

Grade: B+

Round 6, Pick 191 - Henry Ford (3B, Tennessee)

MLB Pipeline and Baseball America both had Ford ranked at No. 148, so getting him here was a good value play by the Mariners. Law noted in his piece that Ford is an "outstanding" defender at first base, so there could be something here if there's more upside in the bat. Ford is a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder who had a .964 OPS and 20 homers in the SEC this year, but also with twice as many strikeouts as walks.

Grade: A-

Round 7, Pick 220 - Ryan Wynn (SS, Georgia)

Wynn played two seasons at Wofford before transferring to Georgia for the 2026 season, and he went on to break out by slashing .323/.377/.638 with nine homers. He had gone deep just six times with Wofford. The catch is that the hard contact came at the expense of his approach, which is evident in how he racked up 30 strikeouts against nine walks in 50 games.

Grade: B-

Round 8, Pick 250 - Mason Eckelman (C, Ohio State)

There's a little bit of a Luke Stevenson vibe to Eckelman, as he's a catcher who's exiting the college ranks with a career OBP north of .400. And this year, he had almost as many walks (32) as strikeouts (34). The difference is that Eckelman didn't hit for a ton of power, producing only 13 home runs in three seasons with Ohio State. He may have to stick at catcher to have real value, and reports of him becoming a defensive-wiz backstop are not forthcoming.

Grade: C

Round 9, Pick 280 - Drew Whalen (RHP, Auburn)

Look, another player from the SEC! But, alas, Whalen only made six appearances this year before he needed to undergo Tommy John surgery. He also showed iffy control in college, walking roughly four batters per nine innings. But he looks like a future bullpen arm, with a 93-94 mph fastball with good spin and a devastating sweeper. So, what the heck. Might as well be bullish on him being a find.

Grade: B

Round 10, Pick 310 - Eric Jeon (2B, Stanford)

This pick was so exciting that we wrote a whole thing about it. Jeon isn't so much a can't-miss prospect as a cause worth rooting for, as he's a pesky bat-to-ball type with sneaky power and what sure seems to be a chip on his shoulder. In case anyone doesn't want to read the article referenced above, he's a "close your eyes and imagine Ernie Clement" kind of pick.

Grade: A-

Round 11, Pick 340 - Wyatt Queen (RHP, Oregon State)

Queen faced 194 batters this year and struck out 78 of them while allowing only 35 hits. That was as a Beavers reliever, granted, but wasn't Bryan Woo also a reliever in college? Even if such fanciful musings don't lead to anything, Queen emerging as a future Mariners bullpen arm would be fine. He already throws 96 with a nasty slider and a curveball that took a leap in 2026.

Grade: A

Round 12, Pick 370 - Connor Marshburn (RHP, UNC Wilmington)

Another UNC Wilmington guy? And one with only a 4.29 ERA in college, and not even in the SEC? This is where you have to assume the brass sees something, and they just might. Marshburn is properly Mariners-sized at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, and he throws from a funky arm angle that hitters aren't used to seeing. He could be a sinker/slider guy out of the bullpen, if nothing else.

Grade: B-

Round 13, Pick 400 - Anthony Treto (RHP, Tarleton State)

Talk about a "The Mariners must see something" kind of pick. Tarleton State had produced only nine draft picks before Treto, with only one (Chad Fox) making the majors. That said, Treto did strike out 68 batters in 52.1 innings this season, with only 17 walks to boot. He was throwing 93 mph with a sharp breaking ball in JUCO in 2024. It's also a funky delivery that won't make it easy for hitters to track the ball, hinting at a future reliever profile.

Grade: C+

Round 14, Pick 430 - Chris Diaz (RHP, Florida Gulf Coast)

Diaz was geared to transfer to Arkansas and the SEC before this, so this actually does track with the front office's SEC fondness despite the lack of action in the conference. Diaz leaves the college ranks with a 4.56 ERA to show for his time there. He's not a big guy at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, and it's only a two-pitch mix with a low-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. Again with the disclaimer that the team might see something, it looks like a relatively unexciting bullpen profile.

Grade: C

Round 15, Pick 460 - Charlie Sutherland (OF, Minnesota)

The University of Minnesota has produced legends like Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield, but the recent history of the program is a bit less exciting. The last major leaguer of note to come out was Glen Perkins. Yet any player who slashes .325/.434/.572 with a nearly even BB/K ratio in a season has our attention. Sutherland put on a power display early this season, so there's enough here to hope for a hidden gem from a lesser corner of college baseball.

Grade: C

Round 16, Pick 490 - Chris Torres (LHP, University of South Carolina Upstate)

This is another school that had us digging deep into Baseball Reference to find, well, not much. Only Chad Sobotka has come out of the University of South Carolina Upstate and made the majors. But Torres had been about to transfer to Virginia Tech, and he may yet honor that commitment. He's a durable left-handed starter whose 5.09 ERA and 8.5 K/9 in the college ranks hint at edges he could smooth out.

Grade: D

Round 17, Pick 520 - Matthew Matthijs (RHP, North Carolina)

Matthijs had Tommy John surgery back in 2023, and it didn't get much easier for him after that He appeared in only 17 games for the Tar Heels in 2025 before he suffered a season-ending injury, and he returned in 2026 to get knocked around for a 6.39 ERA over 27 appearances. Yet he did strike out 39 batters in 31.0 innings, and there's clearly a lot of determination for the Mariners to bank on.

Grade: C

Round 18, Pick 550 - Dominic Santarelli (OF, St. Joseph Catholic Academy HS)

On paper, this is a tremendous value pick. Santarelli was ranked as the No. 129 prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline, with appeal as a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder with plus power already at the age of 18. But don't get excited. He has a commitment to LSU that could be his ticket to a higher draft pick one day, and the Mariners don't sound like they expect to sign him. This was a "Might as well try" pick, and likely nothing more. Hardly offensive at this point in the draft.

Grade: C+

Round 19, Pick 580 - Michael Petite (OF, Virginia Commonwealth)

The 2026 season was the only one Petite played for VCU, and it ended with a super-fun-looking stat line. He had a .984 OPS, with 14 home runs, 22 stolen bases and a pretty good ratio of 45 walks to 52 strikeouts. He's an athletic underdog type that you hope takes the opportunity and runs with it, which is about as good as it gets at this point in the draft.

Grade: B

Round 20, Pick 610 - Connor Shouse (3B, Texas Tech)

Shouse was perhaps the No. 1 player in this year's transfer portal, and he had agreed to head to South Carolina after slashing .353/.431/.595 for the Red Raiders this season. He's unsurprisingly another guy the Mariners don't actually expect to sign, as South Carolina offers the allure of NIL money and a shot at a higher draft pick in 2027. So in other words, the Mariners capped things off with another "Might as well" selection.

Grade: C+

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