With three picks in round one, Mariners go with three high schoolers that have loads of upside to add to their farm system
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – As the first team since the San Diego Padres back in 2016 to hold three picks in the first round of the MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners selected two infielders and an outfielder to add to their organization. Dating back to last year's first round, Seattle has drafted four high school players in the first round, including 2022 pick Cole Young. What that means is that the Mariners are counting on their development team to make these players into contributors at the Major League level someday, something that they’ve done in the past and has resulted in them getting one of their three picks tonight. While going heavily on pitchers in previous years, it became obvious that Seattle is looking to restock the cupboards with position players after trading some of their top prospects in recent years in win-now moves.
Baseball fans of all kinds packed into Lumen Field and the MLB Play ball park to witness the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Pick #22: INF Colt Emerson
With their first selection in this year's draft, the Mariners opted for an infielder in the first round in back-to-back drafts. Last year in this round, Seattle went with Cole Young, who has already made his way into the Top 100 prospects in all Major League Baseball. With the pick of Emerson here, who many believed would go higher in the draft as he was discussed amongst teams in the teens, it appears that Seattle got somewhat of a steal. With the Young and Emerson picks, the Mariners have their potentially middle infield of the future as Emerson and Young are both listed as shortstops. Given the state of the current Mariners infield and how just about every player is a veteran player, injecting some youth into the pipeline at those positions is a good choice.
In a somewhat fun note, Emerson bats left-handed while throwing right-handed. As discussed previously in our pre-draft content, Emerson is a strong hitter, just what Seattle needs to develop in their farm system currently given how inconsistent their offense is at the Major League level. The 17-year-old hit .360 as the starting third baseman on the U.S. national team that won the 18-and-under World Cup in September. Showing as a multi-sport athlete, Emerson was an all-state wide receiver as a junior before deciding to focus on baseball as a senior, when he earned Gatorade state player of the year honors. The 6’1” prospect has a strong bat and can hit the ball from gap to bat, but still possesses the ability to pull when he needs to as an advanced hitter at the high school level.
While he’s listed as a shortstop as we mentioned, Emerson may move positions once Seattle gets him within their farm system. He performed well as a third baseman with team USA but could also fit in at second base to help form that impressive and young middle infield with Cole Young, due to his quick hands. He’s an average baserunner with good arm strength, so there isn’t any sort of concern with him as a defender, he just likely won’t end up as a shortstop once he reaches the Mariners, if all things go to plan and he pans out as Seattle’s top pick in the 2023 draft.
Former Seattle Mariner Raul Ibanez announced the second selection in the 1st round by the team (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Pick #29: OF Jonny Farmelo
With their second pick in this year’s draft, Seattle went with an outfielder in high schooler Jonny Farmelo. After the Mariners have graduated a few outfield prospects in years past and a few are scattered throughout the farm system, Farmelo may be the next big one that comes out of the organization. Along that same sort of road, the way that the Mariners earned this selection came as a result of Julio Rodríguez winning the Rookie of the Year Award after being named in at least 2-of-3 top 100 prospect lists from ESPN/ MLB.Com/ Baseball America and accruing a full year of Major League service time. So, as you can see with the Mariners getting this selection because they were able to get Julio developed and to the majors, there is benefit when your farm system and organization are able to do their jobs.
Farmelo is an interesting pick here as Seattle decides to go with more bats and not get back into pitchers as they have in recent years. With a lean frame of 6’2” and 200 pounds now, the 18-year-old outfielder has a plus hit tool and has the potential to get more power out of his bat as he continues to develop, with those two things being exactly what the Mariners need to get going through their pipeline. Farmelo has shown the ability to barrel the ball up and drive it to all fields, something that will make him a top prospect in no time if he can do it consistently. As he matures, the power should continue to progress for Farmelo, and pairing it with his quick bat speed and ability to get to the ball fast. Putting all the tools together is where the potential comes from and why his ceiling is considered so high.
On the other side of the ball, Seattle gets a strong runner that carries an above average arm in the outfield to help make him a strong defender. If we’re going off at least the selections of Emerson and Farmelo along, the Mariners have selected two players who are all-around athletes and not just heavily dominate on one side or the other. Good size is always a strong foundation to build in any player but add the above average arm to him and his incredible speed and you’ve got a future big leaguer on your hands if things go right. While he’s played as a shortstop in the past, Farmelo spent the past summer as an outfielder which appears to be a better fit for him. A question, and a critical one, for him will be if he decides to stick with his commitment to the University of Virginia.
Pick #30: INF Tai Peete
To round out their first-round selections, the Mariners picked a third high schooler and second shortstop of the night in Tai Peete. It’s an interesting pick for Seattle to go with another shortstop, not so much that he’s an infielder, but the upside on Peete is through the roof. The Mariners decided to go with multiple position players and avoid adding more pitchers to their farm system as they have in recent years. As a player that won’t turn 18-years-old until the month of August, Peete is a young player that the Mariners can potentially mold into a future star if the development goes well. With four-plus potential tools, and Seattle believing that they can make him a five-tool player, I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually does become a star.
Regarding his bat, Peete has outstanding bat speed and well-above-average power at the plate. There is plenty of room to polish his hitting, struggling to go the opposite way and sometimes going into stretches where he just aims to hit the ball as far as he can. In the past, Peete has struggled with making consistent contact against quality pitching, so that’s an area to address for the 17-year-old. But, given the fact that I just stated how young he is and that he can get much better going forward with the right development, it’s obvious that the Mariners aren’t too concerned with this and believe they have the necessary system in place to mold Peete into a strong hitter with the tools he already does have.
Peete’s a very good athlete with a good frame at 6’3” and the ability to add more muscle and really fill out. He’s such a good athlete that some consider him a potential centerfielder given his athleticism and strong arm. When mentioning his athleticism, it needs to be noted that Peete has pitched previously as well, throwing a fastball that’s reached 95MPH and an advanced feel for a changeup last summer. Now, with that comes the fact that in August Peete had to leave the mound with an apparent elbow injury at the East Coast pro showcase in August that was never clarified and he hasn’t pitched since then. His speed receives a plus grade and his arm has been viewed as plus as well, but that previous unclarified injury may be mentioned. Again, going back to that athleticism, Peete has the tools to fit in well if staying at shortstop, and the ability to move to third base or even centerfield.
Decisions to be made
Considering that all three of these first-round selections for the Mariners are high-schoolers, there isn’t a guarantee that Seattle will be able to sign them to contracts to join the organization. If you’re unfamiliar with this aspect of the MLB draft, a player draft doesn’t necessarily have to sign with the team that just selected them. The player can choose to go to college or not even sign with the team at all, something that isn’t exactly out of this world. That player can decide that they would rather continue to develop themselves so that in a different draft, they can be selected higher and earn more money than they would if they signed a deal where they were selected in the first go around.
While these three picks seem like great upside for the Mariners and could very well be the future of the team's farm system that has been somewhat flushed in recent years due to the team adding veteran talent via trades, they’d be considered a failure if Seattle is unable to sign them. Given the way that the Mariners have been able to develop young talent within their farm system in recent years and how there aren’t a ton of “top” prospects within the Seattle organization at the current moment, it will be interesting to see if there’s any issue signing these picks. It’s up to the Mariners front office and scouting department to get these deals done and make them truly part of the Seattle organization, but I’d bank on the optimistic side and say that deals get done and pen gets put to paper.
What’s next?
Following round one finishing up here at T-Mobile Park, Seattle has one pick in the second round, the 57th overall selection. From there, the Mariners have one selection in each of the following 18 remaining rounds of the draft to complete the 20 rounds that make up the event. Value can always be found in selections that aren’t in the higher round, take Bryan Woo for example who started in yesterday’s Mariners game where his offense couldn’t get enough runs across. It will be interesting to see the direction that the Mariners go with the majority of their picks in this year's draft, given how pitcher heavy they were previously. That has paid off for the most part, but what’s also obvious is that Seattle needs more hitting and they need it for the future to go along with their current young stars at the major league level.