Mariners' Day 2 of Draft brings pop, pitching
Daniel Kramer
@DKramer_SEATTLE -- The Mariners’ front office continued to navigate their Draft with a productive Day 2 on Monday.
Here’s a breakdown of their picks from the second day of the 2022 MLB Draft:
4th round, No. 126 overall: Ashton Izzi, RHP, Oswego East High School (Ill.)
Notable skill: At 6-foot-3, Izzi already possesses a projectable frame and has a solid four-seam fastball that sits in the low 90s. He mixes that in with a low-80s changeup that offers fade and a low-80s slider that has decent depth and should be a solid pitch. A Wichita State commit, Izzi has the size and stuff that make him easy to project as a starter.
Fun fact: Izzi was in the high-80s with his heater at this time last year, but has already been clocked at up to 97 mph this season.
Quotable: “A few of our cross checkers were in there to see Ashton and another high-profile player on his team who went higher in the Draft. Some of the guys walked away so curious about Ashton that we kept doing work on him, got to meet him at the MLB Combine. He threw extremely well out there. We met him, got to meet the human being, and he kind of fits everything we do as an organization.” -- Scott Hunter, Mariners director of amateur scouting
5th round, No. 156 overall: Reid VanScoter, LHP, Coastal Carolina University
Notable skill: A four-pitch arm, VanScoter went 9-4 with a 3.65 ERA over 88 2/3 innings across 16 starts this season. He led the Sun Belt Conference and ranked in the top 25 nationally in wins and was sixth in the Sun Belt in ERA. Because he’s a redshirt senior, it’s possible that the Mariners can sign him for under slot value, which is $350,700.
Fun fact: He was the Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year for a Coastal program that has consistently churned out MLB talent, with at least one selection in every Draft dating back to 1997.
Quotable: “We were actually saying in the Draft room, a few guys from Coastal went before Reid. And we said, ‘They always have guys every year, and they just kind of breed a tougher kid.’” -- Hunter
6th round, No. 186 overall: Josh Hood, SS, North Carolina State University
Notable skill: He’s produced quite a few impressive exit velocities, hitting 13 homers in 57 games this past spring. MLB Pipeline scouting reports suggest that he could tap into 20-plus-homer potential. He moved to shortstop this past season due to a team need, but he projects better at third long term.
Fun fact: He began his college career at Penn and was the Ivy League rookie of the year in 2019. However, after the pandemic impacted many sports schedules, and after he was taken in the 20th round by the Red Sox last July, he opted to transfer to N.C. State.
Quotable: “He's almost a plus runner. He plays shortstop. A lot of people think he's going to move, but we had some body comps, and a player comp that comes to mind is Chad Pinder. He can play short, he can play third, he can run, he can really throw. He has big exit velocities and power.” -- Hunter
7th round, No. 216 overall: Hogan Windish, 2B, UNC Greensboro
Notable skill: The bat will dictate his future and, so far, it’s been solid. He hit .370/.485/.681 (1.166 OPS) with 16 homers in 58 games during his redshirt senior season and has been crushing it in the Cap Cod League ever since. His profile is more hit above all else, but there is some legit pop.
Fun fact: Based on his size, bat profile and where he projects long term, Windish has drawn comparisons to Mariners All-Star first baseman Ty France.
Quotable: “We were aggressive on some picks. We needed some seniors that would sign for under slot [value], and his name jumped out right away. And [area scout] Bobby [Korecky] said, ‘Really good player.’ We started looking at more from our area scouts. Some big power, hits the ball extremely hard and he can move around.” -- Hunter
8th round, No. 246 overall: Tatem Levins, C, University of Pittsburgh
Notable skill: Levins has a strong throwing arm and has shown improvement in this area each year, and everything points to him remaining behind the plate. He just turned 23, so he’s on the older end of the prospect spectrum, but that could also help him advance quicker through the system. A left-handed hitter, Levins has good loft and pull-side power in his swing when he runs into a pitch he likes.
Fun fact: He transferred to Pitt this past season for more exposure and opportunity, after three seasons at La Salle. Levins then went on to hit .321/.435/.613 (1.048 OPS) and earned a bid to play in the Cape Cod League.
Quotable: “He’s a guy that actually pops in a lot of our analytical information. He hits the ball really hard. He's one of the better receivers in this Draft class, just pure framing-wise. Unfortunately, he's a little bit older, which obviously hurts his development curve. But the end of the day, we have a left-handed catcher with some power.” -- Hunter
9th round, No. 276 overall: Tyler Gough, RHP, JSerra Catholic High School (Calif.)
Notable skill: Gough offers the best upside among prep righties in this year’s class, with a whippy delivery that sits in the 91-94 mph range and can reach up to 96, with a lot of explosion. He also throws a cutter and curveball, the latter of which tunnels well with his heater. Given all these attributes, there’s a lot to like in terms of developing into a starter.
Fun fact: Gough faced five hitters in a controlled scrimmage at last month’s MLB Draft Combine at Petco Park, and he punched out each of them -- including four looking.
Quotable: “He's a military kid, who was actually driving 45 minutes every day, I think, up to JSerra High School and the Trinity League, where he would stay with a friend, live with his friends so he could go to that high school to play in a better league. And then he would head home on weekends to stay with his family. And when we got to meet him at the combine, he was a special kid.” -- Hunter
10th round, No. 306 overall: Bill Knight, OF, Mercer University
Notable skill: Knight slashed .337/.415/.642 (1.057 OPS) with 19 doubles, 17 home runs and 64 RBIs in 58 games during his junior season in 2022, earning a nod to the American Baseball Coaches Association Southeast All-Region Team in 2022.
Fun fact: He’s been Mercer’s Iron Man the past two years, playing in each of the team’s 115 games in that stretch.
Quotable: “Another exciting player. I'll give credit to our analytics group. When we started looking at some seniors, they they pulled this one out.” -- Hunter