Seattle Mariners Director of Amateur Scouting Scott Hunter announced today that the club selected 8 players on the second day of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Rounds 3 to 10 were conducted today and the draft will conclude with rounds 11-40 tomorrow, beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT. The Mariners have selected 10 players combined in the first two days of the draft.
In the first 10 rounds, the Mariners selected seven pitchers (3 LHP and 4 RHP), one catcher, one infielder and one outfielder. Eight of the 10 draft picks have been college selections and two from high school.
Draft Results
The Mariners selected right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills out of Gonzaga University with their 3rd-round pick (No. 93 overall). 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) of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays but did not sign.
Right-handed pitcher Seth Elledge was selected 123rd overall (4th round) out of Dallas Baptist University. During his recently-completed junior season with the Patriots, the 6-foot-2, 238-pound, right-hander went 2-1 with 13 saves and a 2.59 ERA (9 ER, 31.1 IP) with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks in 22 relief appearances. His 13 saves ranked T17th in the NCAA this season. Following his sophomore season with Dallas Baptist in 2016, he appeared in 13 games with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League, earning 4 saves with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER, 13.2 IP) with 19 strikeouts and 2 walks. The native of Frisco, TX, has compiled a career record of 3-2 with 27 saves and a 2.22 ERA (17 ER, 69.0 IP) with 84 strikeouts and 26 walks in 54 career relief appearances over 3 seasons at Dallas Baptist.
Catcher David Banuelos out of Long Beach State University was selected 153rd overall (5th round). The 6-foot, 205-pound catcher was named 1st-Team All-America by Baseball America and is 1 of 3 finalists for the Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the nation's top amateur catcher. In 58 games with the Dirtbags this season, he hit .289 (58x201) with 31 runs, 9 doubles, 3 triples, 7 home runs and 29 RBI. Over 3 seasons with Long Beach State, he is a career .280 (97x347) hitter with 47 runs, 15 doubles, 4 triples, 10 home runs, 60 RBI, a .369 on-base percentage and a .432 slugging mark in 120 career games. The native of Ontario, CA, played high school baseball at Damien High School (La Verne, CA), where he earned 3 All-Sierra League selections. He hit .395 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI as a senior in 2014.
Left-handed pitcher Oliver Jaskie was selected in the 6th round (183rd overall) out of the University of Michigan. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound left-hander earned 1st-Team All-Big Ten honors this season as well as 3 Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Week honors (Feb. 27, co-pitcher of the week, May 8 and May 15) and 2 national player of the week selections: Collegiate Baseball News National Player of the Week (April 3) and Perfect Game/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week (May 8). During his recently-completed junior season with the Wolverines, Jaskie went 8-3 with a 3.77 ERA (39 ER, 93.0 IP) with 1 complete game, 1 shutout and 119 strikeouts and 31 walks in 16 starts. He posted 11.52 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings-pitched (119 K, 93.0 IP) and a 3.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio (119 K, 31 BB) while limiting opponents to a .234 average against. His 119 strikeouts equaled Michigan's single-season program record (also: Jim Burton, 1970). Among NCAA leaders this season, he ranked 17th in strikeouts (119) and 22nd in K/9.0 IP (11.52). The highlight of his junior campaign came on May 5 when he tossed a complete-game shutout while striking out a career-best 14 and walking 1 in a 6-0 win vs. Ohio State. In 6 games (5 starts) with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League last summer, he went 2-0 with a 0.99 ERA (3 ER, 27.1 IP) with 27 strikeouts and 7 walks. The native of Ada, MI. played high school baseball at Grandville High School, where he went 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA in his senior season, earning all-conference and all-district honors.
The Mariners selected left-handed pitcher Max Roberts in the 7th round (213th overall) out of Wabash Valley College. The 6-foot-5, 160-pound left-hander went 10-1 with 1 save and a 1.44 ERA (15 ER, 94.0 IP) with 98 strikeouts and 28 walks in 17 games (13 starts) for Wabash Valley College this season. He posted 9.38 strikeouts-per-9.0-innings-pitched (98 K, 94.0 IP) and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio (98 K, 28 BB) while allowing only 2 home runs (0.19 HR/9.0 IP).
Outfielder Billy Cooke was selected in the 8th round (243rd overall) out of Coastal Carolina University. The right-handed hitting outfielder was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and 1st-Team All-Sun Belt with the Chanticleers this season. During his recently-completed junior season, he hit .353 (71x201) with 52 runs, 15 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 38 RBI, 38 walks, 21 stolen bases, a .479 on-base percentage and a .587 slugging mark in 56 games. Among Sun Belt leaders, he ranked 2nd in on-base percentage (.479), 3rd in batting (.353), slugging (.587) and stolen bases (21), T3rd in runs (52), T7th in doubles (15) and walks (38), T8th in home runs (10) and 10th in hits (71). Among NCAA leaders, his .479 on-base percentage ranked 15th. Over 3 seasons at Coastal Carolina, he is a career .328 (152x463) hitter with 103 runs, 32 doubles, 1 triple, 13 home runs, 74 RBI, 73 walks, 51 stolen bases, a .439 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging mark in 152 career games. The native of Maitland, FL, played high school baseball at Trinity Preparatory School (Winter Park, FL), where he was a four-year starter and led the club in stolen bases each season.
Left-handed pitcher Jorge Benitez was selected in the 9th round (273rd overall) out of Leadership Christian Academy (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico). The 6-foot-3, 160-pound left-hander hails from Levittown, Puerto Rico.
Right-handed pitcher Randy Bell was selected in the 10th round (303rd overall) out of the University of South Alabama. During his recently-completed senior season with the Jaguars, Bell went 7-3 with a 3.69 ERA (44 ER, 107.1 IP) with 96 strikeouts and 21 walks in 16 starts, including 2 complete games. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound right-hander tossed a complete-game on June 3 vs. Mississippi State in the opening game of the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional. He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3 in a 6-3 South Alabama win over the Bulldogs. He began his collegiate career at Hinds Community College (Raymond, MS), where he was named the 2015 Spalding Baseball/National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore. He posted a spotless 12-0 record with a 2.37 ERA (21 ER, 79.2 IP) with 63 strikeouts and 12 walks in 16 outings (2 starts) in 2015. Over 4 collegiate seasons with Hinds CC (2014-15) and South Alabama (2016-17), he has compiled a career record of 35-8 with a 3.38 ERA (134 ER, 357.0 IP) with 283 strikeouts and 82 walks in 73 career games (30 starts). The native of Woodville, MS, lettered four years in baseball, football and track and one year in basketball at Centreville Academy (Centreville, MS). He helped the Tigers to back-to-back baseball state championships in 2010-11 and helped the track and field squad to three consecutive state titles from 2011-13.
The 2017 Draft concludes tomorrow with rounds 11-40, beginning at 9:00 am PT. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary while @MLBDraftTracker will tweet all picks as they are made.