SEATTLE – After bolstering their farm system with some promising position players over the past two years, the Mariners went heavy on pitching in this week's 2019 MLB Draft, using 15 of their first 20 picks to add arms to the group of young talent the franchise is counting on to arrive in the near future.

The big name among the new additions is first-round selection George Kirby and Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter said the 21-year-old right-hander out of Elon University has already agreed to terms. Kirby is expected to be among 26 of the 41 players selected who have already committed to signing and will attend an introductory mini-camp in Peoria, Ariz., this weekend.

Hunter noted the Mariners’ position-prospect group has improved dramatically in the past two years with the addition of players like outfielders Jarred Kelenic, Kyle Lewis and Jake Fraley as well as first baseman Evan White, but pitching remained an area of need.

“It was really important to start building a foundation of pitching,” Hunter said. “We did get a few bats in this Draft, but with the depth of the Draft being more on the pitching side than the college bats, we decided it was an opportunity to jump the market. If we didn’t get a hitter with our first pick, we were going to make a run with our pitching and we did that.”

The Mariners targeted a couple prep position players who wound up going off the board by their first pick at No. 20 overall, so the choice of Kirby -- who is drawing comparisons to 2018 first-round selection Logan Gilbert -- was pretty simple when their turn came.

They followed with four more college pitchers -- lefty Brandon Williamson from Texas Christian and right-handers Isaiah Campbell of Arkansas, Levi Stoudt of Lehigh and Tim Elliott from Georgia -- before tabbing third baseman Austin Shenton from Florida International in the fifth round.

Hunter indicated all those players likely would begin their pro careers at Class A Everett.

The Mariners sprinkled in five high school pitchers among their first 18 selections as well, and Hunter indicated most of those youngsters were likely to sign rather than opt for college.

“It’s the strategy of not only taking all these college pitchers who should move pretty quick in our system with the lack of obstacles in front of them, but I also wanted to keep aware of building our lower levels up with some young pitchers that we can develop and take a little more time,” Hunter said. “We want those waves of talent at different age levels so we can hopefully produce a steady stream of impact players in the big leagues.”

The Draft concluded with the final 30 rounds on Wednesday and Hunter is particularly high on 11th round selection Carter Bins, a catcher out of Fresno State with a strong defensive reputation and some power at the plate.

Of Seattle’s 41 picks, they tabbed 23 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders and five outfielders, with 33 of the 41 coming from the college ranks.

Some familiar names drafted

• Eli Wilson, the son of Mariners Hall of Fame catcher Dan Wilson, was selected in the 16th round by the Pirates. The younger Wilson has been a catcher at the University of Minnesota the past three years after being drafted in the 37th round by the Mariners coming out of high school in 2016.

• Cabe Hunter, the son of the Mariners’ scouting director, was also selected in the 35th round by the Rockies as a catcher out of Lenape High in New Jersey. But Scott Hunter said his son is committed to playing at Virginia Tech next season.

• Jonah Dipoto, the son of Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto, was selected by the Royals in the 35th round as a reliever out of UC-San Diego.