Seattle Mariners Director of Amateur Scouting Tom McNamara announced today that the club selected 40 players in the 2016 Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, highlighted by their first pick, outfielder Kyle Lewis, who was the 11th overall selection in the draft.
The Mariners selected 19 pitchers, including 6 left-handers, 4 catchers, 8 infielders (1 2B, 4 SS, 3 3B), and 9 outfielders. Seattle selected 29 college players and 11 high school players.
The Mariners drafted 4 catchers, 8 infielders (1 2B, 4 SS, 3 3B), and 9 outfielders. Outfielder Kyle Lewis from the Mercer University was the Mariners first position player selected in the 1st round (11th overall). Of the 21 position players selected, 9 are right-handed hitters, 9 are left-handed hitters and 3 are switch hitters.
Seattle selected 19 pitchers in the draft; 13 right-handed pitchers and 6 left-handed pitchers. Right-handed pitcher Kenyon Yovan (32nd round/957th overall) from West View High School in Portland, OR was the first high school pitcher selected by the Mariners, while left-handed pitcher Thomas Burrow (3rd round/87th overall) from University of Alabama was the first college pitcher drafted by Seattle. In all, 16 of the 19 pitchers selected by Seattle were college pitchers.
The Mariners selected 29 college players in the draft, including 18 of the Mariners first 20 picks. At 17-year-old, Jansiel Rivera (22nd round) out of Methuen High School in Methuen, Massachusetts, was the youngest player the Mariners selected.
In all Seattle selected players with hometowns from 20 states: Alabama (1), Arizona (2), California (7), Florida (3), Georgia (3), Illinois (2), Kentucky (2), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (2), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (1), Rhode Island (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (3), Virginia (1) and Washington (2); 2 countries: United States, Canada (1).
The Mariners selected outfielder Trey Griffey out of Arizona University in the 24th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft. He is the son of former Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 24. Trey recently completed his junior season as a wide receiver for the Wildcats catching 11 passes for 284 yards and one touchdown this past season despite missing part of the campaign with injuries. Seattle's 37th round selection catcher Eli Wilson is the son of former Mariners catcher and current Mariners Minor League Defensive Coordinator Dan Wilson. Eli was a four-year varsity player at Garfield High School in Seattle, WA. In 22 games during his senior campaign, he hit .394 (28x71) with 19 runs scored, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 17 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Seattle's 39th round selection shortstop Camryn Williams out of Gaither in Tampa, Florida is the son of former outfielder Reggie Williams.
The Mariners selected 4 players with ties to the Pacific Northwest in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft: outfielder Austin Grebeck (21st round/627 overall) from University of Oregon, right-handed pitcher Kenyon Yovan (32nd round/957 overall) out of Westview High School in Portland, OR, shortstop Morgan McCullough (33rd round/987 overall) out of West Seattle High School in Seattle, WA and catcher Eli Wilson (37th round/1107 overall) from Garfield High School. Grebeck, who was grew up in Laguna Hills, CA, hit .250 (50x200) with 9 extra-base hits, 15 RBI, 42 walks and a .396 on-base percentage during his junior season with the Ducks. In 3 seasons with Oregon, he posted .380 on-base percentage and recorded 85 walks in 165 games. Grebeck is the son of former Major League infielder Craig Grebeck. Yovan, who was the Mariners 32nd-round selection out of West View High School, was a 2016 Rawlings-Perfect Game 3rd Team All-American and West - All Region 1st Team. The Mariners selected shortstop Morgan McCullough in the 33rd round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft. McCullough hit .399 (77x193) with 72 runs scored, 7 extra-base hits and 37 RBI in 69 games over 3 seasons at West Seattle High School, including hitting .411 (23x56) with 23 runs scored, 9 extra-base hits and 13 RBI in 23 games during his senior season.
Seattle selected 6 players from the Pac-12 Conference: Arizona State University third baseman David Greer (10th round/297 overall), USC right-handed pitcher Kyle Davis (14th round/417 overall), UCLA outfielder Eric Filia (20th round/597 overall), Oregon outfielder Austin Grebeck (21st round/627 overall), University of Arizona outfielder Trey Griffey (24th round/717 overall), University of Arizona right-handed pitcher Nathan Bannister (28th round/837 overall).
The Mariners selected 8 players (rounds 3-10) on Friday afternoon. The Mariners also made two selections during the first day of the draft: outfielder Kyle Lewis (1st round/11th overall) and infielder Joe Rizzo (2nd round/50th overall). Lewis, 20 (21 on July 13), signed with the Mariners today and will be will be assigned to one of the Mariners short-season rookie affiliates. He was named Baseball America's College Player of the Year, is a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year and was selected as a First Team All-America by Baseball America following his recently completed junior season at Mercer University. He is a semifinalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Dick Howser Trophy. During his just completed junior season at Mercer University, he hit .395 (88x223) with 70 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 20 home runs, 72 RBI, 66 walks, 48 strikeouts, a .535 on-base percentage and a .731 slugging mark. Lewis ranked second nationally with a program-record 66 walks and while ranking top-15 nationally in batting average (.395) and top-six nationally in on-base percentage (.535) and runs (70). He compiled a 48-game on-base streak and 27 multi-hit performances this season.