Seattle Mariners Director of Amateur Scouting Scott Hunter announced today that the club selected 40 players in the 2017 Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, highlighted by their first pick, infielder Evan White, who was the 17th overall selection in the draft.
The Mariners selected 23 pitchers, including 8 left-handers, 3 catchers, 9 infielders (2 1B, 5 SS, 2 3B), and 5 outfielders. Seattle selected 32 college players and 8 high school players.
The Mariners drafted 3 catchers, 9 infielders (2 1B, 5 SS, 2 3B), and 5 outfielders. Infielder Evan White from the University of Kentucky was the Mariners first position player selected in the 1st round (17th overall). Of the 17 position players selected, 6 are right-handed hitters, 9 are left-handed hitters and 2 are switch hitters.
Seattle selected 23 pitchers in the draft; 15 right-handed pitchers and 8 left-handed pitchers. Right-handed pitcher Sam Carlson (2nd round/55th overall) from Burnsville High School in Savage, MN was the first high school pitcher selected by the Mariners, while right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills (3rd round/93rd overall) from Gonzaga University was the first college pitcher drafted by Seattle. In all, 19 of the 23 pitchers selected by Seattle were college pitchers.
The Mariners selected 31 college players in the draft, including 15 of the Mariners first 17 picks. At 17-year-old, Jack Smith (39th round) out of Mercer Island High School in Mercer Island, WA, was the youngest player the Mariners selected.
In all Seattle selected players with hometowns from 20 states and 1 territory: California (8), Connecticut (1), Florida (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (2), Indiana (1), Louisiana (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (2), Washington (4) and Puerto Rico (3); 2 countries: United States, Canada (1).
The Mariners selected 5 players with ties to the Pacific Northwest in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft: right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills (3rd round/93rd overall) from Gonzaga University, outfielder Jesse Franklin (37th round/1113th overall) out of Seattle Prep High School in Seattle, WA, shortstop Kolby Somers (38th round/1143rd overall) out Century High School in Hillsboro, OR, shortstop Jack Smith (39th round/1173rd overall) from Mercer Island High School and third baseman Zach Needham (40th round/1203rd overall) from Edmonds Community College. As a senior in 2017, Mills went 2-2 with 12 saves and a 1.79 ERA (8 ER, 40.1 IP) with 58 strikeouts and 4 walks in 22 relief appearances. The native of Spokane, WA, earned 2nd-Team All-West Coast Conference honors this season. His 12 saves rank 2nd-most in single-season program history. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-hander posted 12.94 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings-pitched (58, 40.1 IP) and a 14.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio (58 K, 4 BB) while allowing only 1 home run in 40.1 innings pitched (0.22 HR/9.0 IP). Over 4 seasons with the Bulldogs, Mills compiled a career record of 6-4 with 21 saves and a 2.48 ERA (30 ER, 109.0 IP) with 109 strikeouts and 36 walks in 63 career appearances, all in relief. His 21 career saves are 2nd-most all-time in program history. Mills was also selected in the 17th round (510th overall) out of Gonzaga Prep in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays but did not sign. Franklin was recently named Washington's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after leading the Panthers to the district playoffs this season. Franklin, who also played basketball and football, has committed to the University of Michigan. A four-year starter at Century High, Somers was preseason All-American for multi positions, including outfield, pitcher and first base. He has committed to Oregon. Smith was a four-year starter at Mercer Island High School and helped lead his team to the 3A State playoffs in 2017. Needham, who recently completed his sophomore season at Edmonds Community College, graduated from Puyallup High School in Puyallup, WA in 2015 and recently committed to the University of Houston.
Seattle selected right-handed pitcher Bryan Pall (25th round) and outfielder Johnny Slater (28th round) teammates from the University of Michigan. Pall, from Orland Park, IL, made only 2 appearances with the Wolverines before ending his season due to injury. Slater, from Southfield, MI, wrapped up his senior campaign batting .304 (62x204) with 47 runs scored, 12 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs and 46 RBI in 56 games with Michigan.
The Mariners selected 8 players (rounds 3-10) on Tuesday afternoon. The Mariners also made two selections during the first day of the draft: outfielder Evan White (1st round/17th overall) and right-handed pitcher Sam Carlson (2nd round/55th overall). White, 21, is a USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and was named 2nd-Team All-SEC and was selected All-SEC Defensive Team at 1st base. He was named 2nd-Team Preseason All-America by both Collegiate Baseball and PerfectGame.org, as well as 3rd -Team Preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and D1 Baseball. During his recently-completed junior season at the University of Kentucky, he hit .373 (79x212) with 48 runs, 24 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 41 RBI and 25 walks with a .453 on-base percentage and a .637 slugging mark in 53 games (52 starts). The 6-for-3, 205-pound infielder spent last summer as a member of USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team where he started 15 of the team's 19 games, primarily at first base with spot starts in the outfield. In three seasons with the Wildcats, he hit .356 (233x655) with 119 runs, 51 doubles, 5 triples, 17 home runs, 109 RBI, a .414 on-base percentage and a .527 slugging mark in 159 games.
View the Mariners 2017 Draft selections