Mariners make 30 selections on day three of 2015 MLB Draft

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Mariners Director of Amateur Scouting Tom McNamara announced today that the club selected 40 players in the 2015 Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, highlighted by their first pick, right-handed pitcher Nick Neidert, who was a 2^nd round pick (60^th overall) in the draft.

The Mariners selected 25 pitchers, including 7 left-handers, 2 catchers, 9 infielders (3 1B, 4 SS, 2 3B), and 4 outfielders. Seattle selected 27 college players and 13 high school players.

In all Seattle selected players with hometowns from 21 states and 1 territory: Arizona (1), California (5), Connecticut (1), Florida (5), Georgia (3), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (2), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), Montana (1), New Jersey (3), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Washington (2) and Puerto Rico (1).

The Mariners drafted 2 catchers, 9 infielders (3 1B, 4 SS, 2 3B), and 4 outfielders. Outfielder Braden Bishop from the University of Washington, was the Mariners first position player selected in the 3^rd round (94^th overall). Of the 15 position players selected, 4 are left-handed hitters.

Seattle selected 25 pitchers in the draft; 18 right-handed pitchers and 7 left-handed pitchers. Right-handed pitcher Nick Neidert (2nd round) from Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia was the first high school pitcher selected by the Mariners, while right-handed pitcher Andrew Moore (comp. round B) from Oregon State University was the first college pitcher drafted by Seattle. In all, 15 of the 25 pitchers selected by Seattle were college pitchers.

The Mariners selected 27 college players in the draft, including 10 of the Mariners first 13 picks. At 17-year-old, Jio Orozco (14th round) out of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona, was the youngest player the Mariners selected.

The Mariners selected 7 players with ties to the Pacific Northwest in the 2015 First Year Player Draft: Right-handed pitcher Andrew Moore from Oregon State University (Compensation Round B), outfielder Braden Bishop out of the University of Washington (3^rd round), left-handed pitcher Joe Pistorese out of Washington State/Kalispell, Montana (17^th round), catcher P.J. Jones out of Washington State/Vancouver, Washington (19^th round), right-handed pitcher Parker McFadden out of Yelm High School (20^th round), outfielder Gus Craig out of Columbia University/Eugene, Oregon (30^th round), Oregon and Colton Sakamoto out of Westview High School in Beaverton, Oregon. Pistorese, who was born in Seattle but grew up in Kalispell, Montana, was 8-5 with a 2.41 ERA (37 ER, 104.2 IP) with 67 strikeouts in 15 starts during his senior season and combined to post a 2.82 ERA (118 ER, 376.3 IP) during his four seasons with the Cougars. He was previously drafted by the White Sox in the 44^th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Jones, a Vancouver, Washington native, played four seasons with the Cougars and posted a .394 on-base percentage during his senior season while appearing in 45 games. McFadden, the unanimous Class 4A Narrows League's pitching MVP as a senior, was 5-2 with a sub-1.00 ERA, but had his season cut short just prior to Yelm's appearance in the 4A West Central District III tournament because of a left hamstring injury in a non-baseball-related incident.. McFadden has committed to play baseball at Washington State University. Craig was the Co-Ivy League Player of the Year, batting a team-high .332 with nine long balls and 36 RBI. The right fielder was named Ancient Eight Player of the Week on two occasions and his eight outfield assists was tied for fourth in the nation.

Seattle's 37^th round selection Colton Sakamoto, the son of Mariners scout Jeff Sakamoto, has committed to play baseball at the University of Oregon. Seattle's 39^th round selection Dante Ricciardi is the son of former Blue Jays General Manager and current Mets Special Assistant to the G.M. J.P. Ricciardi. Seattle's 40^th round selection Mike Rojas Jr. out of Gulf Coast High School in Florida is the son of current Mariners bullpen coach Mike Rojas.

Seattle selected 7 players from the Pac-12 Conference: Oregon State University right-hander Andrew Moore, Washington outfielder Braden Bishop, Stanford shortstop Drew Jackson, Arizona State right-hander Darin Gillies, Washington State left-hander Joe Pistorese, Washington State catcher P.J. Jones, Stanford left-hander Logan James, .

The Mariners selected 8 players (rounds 3-10) on Tuesday afternoon. The Mariners also made two selections during the first day of the draft: Right-handers Nick Neidert and Andrew Moore. Neidert (NYE-dert) played prep baseball at Peachtree Ridge High School in Lawrenceville, GA. As a senior at Peachtree Ridge he was named 7-AAAAAA All-Region. The 6-1, 185-pound right-hander was selected as a 1^st-team All-American and Southeast All-Region 1^st-team by Perfect Game in 2015. The 18-year-old signed a national letter of intent to play college baseball at the University of South Carolina. Moore, 21, was named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a junior in 2015. The right-hander went 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA (26 ER, 122.1 IP) in 16 starts for the Beavers. In 10 starts in Pac-12 play he went 6-1 with a 1.51 ERA (13 ER, 77.2 IP) while averaging 8.00 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. In three seasons in Corvallis, Moore combined to go 27-9 with a 2.10 ERA in 51 games/48 starts. He recorded 251 strikeouts and threw 4 shutouts during his college career. As a freshman in 2013 he posted a 14-2 record and a 1.79 ERA (26 ER, 131.0 IP) in 19 games/18 starts.