Mariners are already in damage control mode ahead of 2025 MLB Draft

In theory, there should be plenty of anticipation and excitement for the Seattle Mariners organization and their fans ahead of this year's MLB draft, which will take place on Sunday and Monday. The M's somehow managed to luck their way into the third overall pick, despite only having 0.7 percent odds of attaining this selection ahead of the draft lottery.

This will be the Mariners' highest draft pick of the Jerry Dipoto era in Seattle, as well as their highest since 2012, when they similarly had the third overall pick and selected catcher Mike Zunino. However, perhaps there is a cautionary tale in that just because you're picking high it doesn't guarantee a future Hall of Famer or even a quality Major Leaguer, with second overall pick Danny Hultzen the year earlier offering a prime example.

With this in mind, you have to wonder if the Mariners are already in damage control mode ahead of Sunday's first round, based on comments from vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter. At least that's our read on comments he made while speaking to members of the media.

Scott Hunter confesses the Mariners aren't all on the same page

Hunter admitted there's unlikely to be a full consensus that the M's have their guy, when it comes to making that third pick. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, he said: "They’re so crammed together up there right now that I think the separation is going to be very thin in regards to, like, who we actually take. ... I usually have a lead horse when I go in, but right now, I’m waiting to see what our information is from other departments, our high performance, our medical teams. There’s such a fine line."

The 49-year-old continued to explain just how tight the situation is at the top of the first round. He said: "Because there are a lot of guys bulked up at the top, that I think we have six or seven guys that were like, 'OK, how do we line these six or seven up? Is it the best deal? Is it the best players?' But like, they're so crammed together up there right now that I think the separation is going to be very thin in regards to who we actually take."

Let's t ry and have more of a 'glass half full' mentality

You can make the case that the Mariners should be a bit more enthusiastic about their highest first-round draft pick in more than a decade, combined with the reality that it's actually a bit of a gift. At the same time, though, we do understand that while the draft class overall is strong, it's a bit of a weak group of prospects at the top end, at least in a manner of speaking.

As we wrote about last month, some of the main sports media outlets are unimpressed with what's on offer at the top of the draft, including The Athletic's Keith Law, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. Mayo summed it up by saying he didn't think anyone on this year's list would have cracked the top five in 2023.

We're going to remain optimistic and embrace this situation as a whole, in considering that the third overall draft pick is a 'bonus' in some respects. However, we suspect the average Mariners fan is hoping to snag either southpaw Kade Anderson, righty Seth Hernandez or infielder Ethan Holliday with that first round selection. Otherwise, whatever the M's do end up doing could be considered a disappointment by many.