Mariners pull an Ace with No. 24 pick ... but this one's a hitter

SEATTLE -- For all their track record and success in drafting college pitchers, the Mariners landed another ace with their first-round pick in the MLB Draft on Saturday.

This one, however, plays third base and with some gaudy power.

Ace Reese, the 21-year-old junior out of Mississippi State, is Seattle’s headliner in this year’s class, taken with the No. 24 overall pick.

And yes, that is indeed his birth name.

“People ask that all the time,” Reese said. “I don't even know. My dad just knew I was gonna be a ballplayer.

“But it turned out I was the hitter, though, not the pitcher.”

Reese and the club have already agreed to terms on a $3.5 million signing bonus, a source told MLB.com, which is below slot value for that selection ($3,818,700).

That will allow the Mariners to reallocate that money to the remainder of their 20 total picks in this 20-round event, as the club has a total bonus pool of $8,218,200, the seventh-lowest in the Draft.

“What we feel is one of the best pure college power bats in this Draft,” said Scott Hunter, Mariners vice president of amateur scouting. “I mean, he's got a track record of success. He's done it on every level, and to be that successful and that impactful in the SEC right now ... we were very fortunate that he slipped to us at this part of the Draft.”

Reese was ranked the No. 18 prospect in this year’s Draft by MLB Pipeline and the highest-ranked prospect at third base. But the calling card is his big bat.

He crushed 45 homers over just 118 games across the past two years at Mississippi State, after transferring from the University of Houston. In two years with the Bulldogs, Reese slashed .341/.425/.719 (1.144 OPS), earning SEC Newcomer of the Year honors in 2025 then first-team All-SEC honors at third base in 2026.

“If you want to go play at the next level past college, I think the best thing to do is go to the SEC,” Reese said. “That's where all the best players are, and that's what I did, and I succeeded at it. So I'm ready. I'm ready to go get after it.”

With his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, Reese generates easy power from the left side, possessing the pop to hit homers to any part of the ballpark. That’s even the case against same-side pitching, as Reese has shown the ability to hit lefties as well as righties. Thanks to impressive bat speed and leverage, he profiles as a potential 25-to-30-homer hitter at the big league level.

Reese's power will be much more valuable if he can remain at third base, but that’s maybe his biggest question mark. Reese made 12 errors and had a fielding percentage of just .889 in 2025, although he improved (eight errors, .935 fielding percentage) with the glove as a junior in 2026.

With what Pipeline scouting reports suggest are below-average athleticism and limited range and quickness, Reese could wind up playing first base or even left field.

“It's always the hit [tool] first, that's what we in the room always believe,” Hunter said, “because he's got some work to do at third base. He's aware of that, too.”

Some of his defensive shortcomings might’ve been correlated to a Sept. 10 surgery to remove a loose bone fragment from his left big toe.

“I just haven't had that much experience there,” Reese said. “It's a newer position for me these last couple years, battling through some injuries. So I'm just ready to go get after it with a full healthy slate.”

Reese is the top player selected from a Mississippi State program that had seven Draft picks in 2025 and has produced a number of current Major Leaguers, including Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff, A’s designated hitter Brent Rooker and Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum.

The last first-rounder from the school was switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, whom the Mariners selected in 2024. Cijntje was then dealt to the Cardinals as part of Seattle’s big trade for Brendan Donovan leading into Spring Training.

Reese is also the Mariners’ first college position player to be taken in the first round since first baseman Evan White in 2017, Hunter’s first season in Seattle.

“Very comfortable with the human, the person, how he's going to fit,” Hunter said, “and all the good things coming out of Starkville and the people that have been around him about the leadership and the passion to be part of a winning team. It just kind of fits what we do, so that made it even easier.”