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The Mariners do not have a great track record of first-round picks, especially in recent years. There’s Ken Griffey Jr, who I’ve never heard of, and a famous investor capitalist dude named Alex Rodriguez. Then there’s a lot of wreckage.
Seattle’s best first-round picks since A-Rod went on to have very fruitful careers, just with other teams. The M’s grabbed Jason Varitek with the 14th pick in 1994 and then got Adam Jones in 2003, famously flipping both of them in trades with AL East teams. They also passed up on Tim Lincecum to draft Brandon Morrow, picked Phillippe Aumont instead of Jason Heyward, Josh Fields over Lance Lynn and OH MY GOD WHY AM I STILL DOING THIS?
This list cuts off after a No. 2 overall pick from the University of North Carolina who honestly seemed very nice and I am genuinely wishing the best for. It just would have been way cooler if he was good at baseball instead of just good at reminding us how cool it would have been if he was good at baseball.