Mariners 2023 MLB Draft Tracker: Rounds 16-20

The MLB Draft has now concluded, with the Mariners making 10 more picks here on Day Three of the draft. As a reminder, if you missed any of our coverage of the earlier draft choices, they’re all under the MLB Draft story stream for you. For the first eight picks, they’re written up individually:

• The three first-rounders: SS Colt Emerson, OF Jonny Farmelo, and INF Tai Peete;
• Second-round: INF Ben Williamson;
• Third round: RHP Teddy McGraw;
• Fourth round: OF Aidan Smith;
• Fifth round: INF Brock Rodden;
• Sixth round: RHP Brady Hopkins;

Rounds 7-10 are grouped together; click here. For rounds 11-15, click here;

Round 16: 3B Caleb Cali, Arkansas

The Mariners like Razorbacks: Supplementary Round pick Isaiah Campbell, who recently made it to the majors, is their highest pick in recent years, but they’ve also taken players like catcher Charlie Welch and now the mellifluously-named infielder Caleb Cali, a JUCO transfer (previously at FSU) who swatted nine homers in his redshirt junior year at Arkansas, with an impressive 41:27 K:BB ratio in his 172 ABs. Cali had 53 hits in his 51 games played and has drawn praise as a “pure” hitter, making him a very Mariners-y prospect, but don’t sleep on the power, either, which is significant, as he posted multiple triple-digit exit velocities for the Hogs.

Round 17: C Jacob Sharp, UNLV

Someone is going to have to catch all these arms the Mariners have been drafting in the latter half of the draft, and it looks like that someone will be Jacob Sharp. Sharp earned All-Mountain West Conference honors after transferring from Fullerton College; in between, he was named the Co-MVP of the Year of the West Coast League, the West Coast’s wood bat league. He batted .335 at UNLV, striking out just 21 times while taking 16 walks, and posted a .991 fielding percentage behind the dish.

Round 18: RHP Daniel Ouderkirk, Penn State

At a massive 6’9”, Ouderkirk immediately secures a spot as center on our Day Three draft picks basketball team. (Height and athletic talent run in the Ouderkirk fam: Daniel’s sister Stephanie is a standout forward on the JMU basketball team, while also majoring in biochem and making Dean’s List, no biggie). Not that Steph’s Brother is any athletic slouch: he set a modern record at Penn State for three straight consecutive starts with 10+ strikeouts, striking out a bonkers 57 batters in 39.2 innings. Ouderkirk used a fastball-slider-changeup repertoire as a starter in college, but probably profiles best in the bigs as a tough-look arm angle bullpen piece. His fastball ranges from the low to mid-90s but has touched 97, so the Mariners might ship him off to Gas Camp to focus on maintaining consistent velocity on the fastball and simplifying his secondaries.

Round 19: 3B Charlie Pagliarini, Fairfield University

Back to the slugging collegiates. Pagliarini did one of the most impressive things you can do in his senior year and broke his own home run record, and he did it in grand fashion, with a tiebreaking grand salami. He’d finish with a school-record 24 homers in the 2023 season en route to statline of .399/.528/.851, which would make even the PCL blush, and also become the all-time leading homer hitter at Fairfield. Unsurprisingly, he was named MAAC Player of the Year and was set to transfer to Texas A&M if he opts not to accept the Mariners’ offer.

Round 20: RHP William Watson, San Joaquin Delta College

Watson has a fastball that ranges 91-95 and a slider he spins well, helping him rack up 82 strikeouts in 57.2 innings for the JUCO SJDS.