The 10 Best Draft Picks the Mariners have ever made in the MLB Draft

Derek Lowe: 1991: Round 8, Pick 214, -0.8 (33.1) WAR

Do you know what the MAriners really could've used during the late 90s and early 2000s while they were making their playoff pushes? The answer is a stud starting pitcher who ate up innings, didn't allow a ton of runs, was incredibly healthy, and actually threw some in the pen at the beginning of his career.

You know, who could've just thrown in the pen instead of Heathcliff Slocumb.

Maybe someone like, I don't know... Derek Lowe?

As part of that Varitek trade from earlier, the Mariners sent Lowe to the Red Sox. Check out these two sets of numbers.

1998-2001: 13 GS, 278 games, 415.1 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.254 WHIP, 150 ERA+, 85 SV
2002-2010: 300 GS, 1844 IP, 205 IP per season, 3.90 ERA, 1.303 WHIP, 112 ERA+, 137-97 W-L

Oh, and he had a 35.1 WAR over that timeframe as well. How nice would that have been to have? Just a consistent pitcher eating innings, performing admirably as a #3 starter over and over.

But nooo, the Mariners needed a bad relief pitcher. Uggh. Moving on to someone who makes me happy, and not just because we are bald-headed brethren.