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It’s always been strange to me how muted the interest is in the MLB draft among baseball fans. I would imagine here at LL we have a disproportionate number of folks engaged and attentive to the draft and its lead-up, but even still, it is difficult to generate great excitement. The distance from today to an MLB debut makes a difference, of course. If D.J. Peterson makes his MLB debut this year he will do it nearly two years after the firing of the man who led the organization when he was drafted. The relative disparity between college basketball or football and college baseball also dims the recognition of the players involved. And yet decisions will be made today that will likely have dramatic impacts on the success of the Mariners in the next few years, and possibly decades. So who’s it gonna be?
As Kate outlined earlier today, we’ve done our best to put together a general outline of who may be targeted today for the M’s. You can find all of that analysis (previous draft analyses, quick hitter scouting overviews of positional groups in this draft, a few deep dives on some exciting choices the M’s may have a shot at, and more) right here, as well as our overall outline of how to watch and follow along here. To add to the list of resources, this morning Marc at USS Mariner put up his annual draft discussion with Chris Crawford, which you can find here. As much as it may pain him, Jerry can’t trade this pick, so sometime this afternoon the M’s will add a new prospect to their Top-5.
Draft Time: 4 PM PT
TV: MLB Network
Online: MLB.Com
Twitter: @MLBDraftTracker
Pop Quiz: The Mariners have selected seven different catchers in the 1st round of the MLB draft in their 40 year history. The only other time the Mariners picked 17th overall, they selected a catcher who went on the record the second-highest bWAR as a Mariner of the group. Can you name: A. The player, B. Their value, and C. the year? Without cheating wildly?
Answer:
Note: Our Ethan Novak will be updating the thread as picks come in here as well, so feel free to refresh every few minutes once the clock strikes 4 PM. The weather also looks like thunderstorms and heavy rain in Minnesota tonight for the 5:10 PM PT start to the M’s game, so this may be our lone baseball experience tonight. Hold close.
Also, embedded below is the @MLBDraftTracker account, which should automatically update the picks. Enjoy!