Grades for Mariners' Day 1 2026 MLB Draft picks after Jerry Dipoto lucked out

Even with all that's gone wrong for the Seattle Mariners in 2026, it was hard to imagine them screwing up the draft. Identifying the right players to draft has arguably been the hallmark of the Jerry Dipoto era, so high was the right place to put hopes.

The only real downside this time around is that Dipoto, Justin Hollander, Scott Hunter and company didn't have the benefit of the No. 3 pick like they did in 2025. There wasn't going to be a Kade Anderson available at No. 24. Heck, there wasn't likely to be much of anything.

What we know now is that the Mariners landed Ace Reese with that pick, and then Jake Brown at No. 65, Nathan Taylor at No. 101 and Trevor Lucas at No. 129 to close out Day 1 on Saturday.

Mariners Day 1 draft grades begin with a B for Ace Reese at No. 24

It's a lot to take in, so the best thing to do is assign grades for each pick.

Draft Grade for Mariners' 1st-Round Pick 3B Ace Reese (24th Overall): B

MLB Pipeline had Ace Reese ranked as the No. 18 player in the draft, and Baseball America did them one better by ranking the Mississippi State slugger at No. 12. On those grounds, the Mariners aced (sorry, had to do it) the test by grabbing Reese at No. 24. They're understandably quite giddy about it, and he sure looks the part of a dangerous hitter.

So why the B? Call it a matter of uncertainty.

Though Reese is a third baseman now, his future is almost certainly at first base or maybe even designated hitter. He also increased his strikeout rate each year he was with Mississippi State, capping things off with a 21.6 K% this year. The tradeoff was a .665 career slugging percentage, but that's still more swing-and-miss than you want to see from a purportedly elite college bat.

The Mariners haven't been afraid of swing-and-miss hitters in recent years, so this was them sticking to what they know. Yet the downside of this philosophy has never been more apparent than in 2026, and even more so once bat-to-ball hitters started flying off the board before the draft got them. It seems other teams are getting tired of whiffs.

The Mariners could have made a safer pick, such as Arkansas left-hander Hunter Dietz. He's a college arm with three plus secondary pitches and a fastball that plays up because of a 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame.

Draft Grade for Mariners' 2nd-Round Pick OF Jake Brown (65th Overall): B

As with Reese at No. 24, the Mariners got good value when they landed Jake Brown with the No. 65 pick in the second round. MLB Pipeline had him as the No. 59 prospect in the draft, and he's coming to the Mariners hot off a power increase in his final season with LSU.

However, we need to be consistent. Brown has a similar profile to that of Reese, in that he's a lefty-hitting slugger with real concerns about how his game will translate to the pros. He's known to have issues when batting left-on-left, and his strikeout rate spiked against SEC pitching.

Brown does have a saving grace of being more athletic than Reese, but this pick ultimately points to the same question of whether the Mariners are too committed to a model that other teams seem ready to move beyond.

Draft Grade for Mariners' 3rd-Round Pick RHP Nathan Taylor (101st Overall): C+

Nathan Taylor sure sounds like the kind of pitcher the Mariners would covet. He's a college arm, for one. He's also a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder who gets good extension and doesn't throw fully overhand. He was also known for being durable at Cincinnati, pitching 249.2 innings over three seasons.

Even so, there's a certain "trust us" element with this pick. The slider is considered Taylor's only plus pitch, and his fastball is said to lack life. The Mariners may be able to get more out of the fastball and develop a third pitch, but both are experiments. Ultimately, MLB Pipeline only had him ranked as the No. 215 prospect in the draft for a reason.

There were surer things on the board at No. 101, including another college hurler Texas A&M lefty Shane Sdao. The Mariners otherwise could have doubled down on power-first college bats by drafting Will Gasaparino out of UCLA.

Draft Grade for Mariners' 4th-Round Pick 3B Trevor Lucas (129th Overall): C-

If Nathan Taylor was a reach at No. 101, then the Mariners might as well have tried to grab the sky by tabbing Trevor Lucas at No. 129. He wasn't even ranked by MLB Pipeline, while Baseball America only had him as the No. 414 talent in the draft. There's a long list of players who would have been better value picks.

And yet, it seems appropriate to give the Mariners a bit of grace on this one.

Lucas was a .312 hitter with a .429 OBP this past season for UNC Wilmington, with 38 walks against 35 strikeouts to hint at good swing decisions and a knack for making contact. You need guys like that in the system, and one can't help but wonder if this was a case of the Mariners trying to get with the program after the earlier run on players with strong hit tools.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow