Mariners sign third- and fourth-rounders

June 26th, 2020

SEATTLE -- Infielders and Tyler Keenan signed contracts with the Mariners on Friday, the club announced, leaving one unsigned pick from the six players selected by Seattle in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Polcovich, a second baseman out of Oklahoma State University, was the Mariners’ third-round selection. Keenan, who played third base at the University of Mississippi, was tabbed in the fourth round. The Mariners signed first-rounder Emerson Hancock, second-rounder Zach DeLoach and fifth-rounder Taylor Dollard on Thursday.

That leaves right-hander Connor Phillips, a Competitive Balance Round B selection out of McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, as the club’s only unsigned Draft pick.

According to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline, Keenan agreed to a $500,000 signing bonus, which is just under the assigned slot figure of $543,500 for his fourth-round position. No contract terms are yet revealed for Polcovich. His assigned slot is $793,000.

MLB Pipeline earlier reported that Hancock agreed to a $5.7 million signing bonus (just shy of his assigned $5,742,900 slot), while DeLoach signed for his full slot value of $1,729,800 for the No. 43 overall pick and Dollard signed for his exact fifth-round slot value of $406,000.

The slot value for Phillips’ Comp Balance Round B position is $1.05 million. The Mariners have an assigned pool of $10,265,500 to spend on bonuses for all their selections,

Polcovich, the son of former MLB infielder Kevin Polcovich, played shortstop, third base and second base during his college career, which included two years at Northwest Florida State College. The 21-year-old hit .344 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 18 games in his junior season at Oklahoma State before the season was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mariners amateur scouting director Scott Hunter said his switch-hitting bat is what opened eyes.

“Kaden Polcovich has hit everywhere he has been, including his 2019 Cape Cod League season, which led to a hot start at Oklahoma State to begin the 2020 season," Hunter said.

Keenan is a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder who will be given a shot at third base, with the possibility of eventually moving to first. The 21-year-old hit .403 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 17 games at Ole Miss this year and .306 with 31 homers and 137 RBIs in 139 games during his three seasons with the Rebels.

“Tyler Keenan has been a productive hitter who has hit for average and power over his three-year career in the SEC,” Hunter said. “He has impressive power to all fields."