Seattle Mariners select RHP Sam Carlson with second-round pick

The Seattle Mariners grabbed themselves a pitcher with their second-round pick (55th overall), taking talented righty Sam Carlson out of Burnsville High School (Minnesota).

In Carlson, the Mariners are getting one of the very best prep arms in the country, albeit a (likely) very expensive one. The 6’4, 195 pound righty shows everything you want in a pitcher, possessing a fastball that sits low-90s but will run up to 95-96, an above-average changeup, and a quickly developing slider. All three of his pitches have the potential to be plus pitches one day, and he typically commands his entire arsenal well. He’s a strike thrower with a projectable frame and smooth mechanics.

Should Carlson sign, he’ll immediately take over as the best pitching prospect in the system.

For more on Carlson, here’s an anecdote from his MLB.com profile:

In 52 years of Drafts, no Minnesota high school pitcher has gone in the first round and only four have gone in the second, most recently Mitch Brown to the Indians in 2012. As an athletic right-hander whose stuff continues to get better, Carlson could become the state's first prep first-round arm. Scouts already loved his build and his feel for pitching before his velocity improved significantly this spring, when he was Gatorade's state player of the year.

The excitement is real: