Rival MLB teams have a whole new reason to be terrified of Mariners' future

Jerry Dipoto receives plenty of criticism in Seattle, not helped by some of the comments he makes, but we would contend it's not always deserved or fair.

For example, a significant part of the reason he doesn't usually make big moves is just down to how much money is made available for him and the rest of the Mariners front office to spend.

In any event, one area where Dipoto doesn't receive criticism is when it comes to building for the future. The one constant during his time in Seattle has been his ability to find and develop quality prospects and have the farm system remain among the very best in baseball.

The prime example of this success is a starting rotation which includes four players the Mariners drafted between 2018 and 2021, and is one of the very best in baseball (at least when everyone is healthy). The most recent success story is Ben Williamson, who was called up for the first time in mid-April and has been arguably better than expected at third base.

Mariners continue to be among the top farm systems

Prior to the 2025 season, MLB pipeline had the Mariners ranked as the fifth-best farm system in the majors, which is little surprise when you have the likes of Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Cole Young and Harry Ford. According to Baseball America, they have the most top 100 prospects in baseball altogether.

Now, other organizations have even more reason to be scared about the Mariners and what they can achieve in the future with their ongoing youth movement. This is because it has been reported that the M's own the largest overall bonus pool for the 2025 MLB draft.

The details were confirmed on Thursday by Jim Callis of MLB.com, with the league releasing the slot values and bonus pools to teams the previous evening. Part of the reason the Mariners' bonus pool is so high, is because of their miraculous jump from 15th to third place in the Draft Lottery which took place in December last year.

Jerry Dipoto really doesn't need the help but will take it

This is the highest ever draft pick of the Dipoto era, and it almost doesn't seem fair given his ability to find unearthed gems. Irrespective, it could now net the organization a No. 1 talent, with the third overall draft pick also coming with a slot value of $9,504,400.

The Mariners additionally own a competitive balance selection at No. 35 which is worth $2,758,300, with their 11 picks in the top 10 rounds adding up to $17,074,400 overall. Of particular interest, Callis notes that this is the fourth-highest allotment since the pool bonus-pool era began in 2012, and it should have a lot of people around the majors extremely nervous.

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