Grading the Mariners last 5 first round draft picks

This weekend marks one of the most important events of the season for the Seattle Mariners, the draft. The draft is where the Mariners can get better, even if we will not see that player in T-Mobile Park for a few years. There has not been a long line of offensive superstars wanting to don a Mariners jersey, and even if there were, i doubt ownership would spend that money. But the draft? That is where Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the front office make this team a contender.

If you look at the Mariners' current roster, most of the players are "homegrown", meaning the Mariners either signed them as an international free agent or drafted them. The others? They were traded for, using prospects selected in the draft or international free agents. The international free agency signing period happens in the offseason, while the draft now kicks off All-Star weekend. The draft starts at 4:00 PM PST this Sunday, July 14, and goes through July 16th.

While the Mariners had three first round picks last year, they have just one this year. The Mariners hold the 15th overall pick in this year's first round, and the 55th overall pick that will come in the second round. In the past, the Mariners valued high school bats such as Harry Ford, Colt Emerson, Cole Young and others. They also took college arms in three consecutive years when they selected Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Emerson Hancock from 2018-2020.

Speculation as to who the Mariners will draft this year is all over the place. Earlier this month, Mariners Scouting Director Scott Hunter said that high school pitchers could be in play. The Mariners have not selected a high school pitcher in the first round since they drafted Taijuan Walker back in 2010.

But for today, we are going to take a look back at the last 5 years worth of first round picks and give them a grade. Some grades maybe obvious, some may be a surprise. Most of these picks have yet to debut with the Mariners, but it is not just production that is going to be graded. WHo else was available at the time of the pick will be taken into account, as well as current prospect rankings.