Here’s who Mariners could take at No. 3 overall in 2025 MLB Draft
Dec 11, 2024, 11:29 AM | Updated: Dec 12, 2024, 9:17 am
The Seattle Mariners are suddenly able to look at a different class of player when it comes to next year’s draft.
The MLB Draft Lottery was especially kind to the Mariners this year, as they entered with just over a 0.5% chance of landing the top pick and lucked out, winding up with the No. 3 overall selection for 2025. That was a giant improvement over what the odds gave Seattle.
Lucky Seattle Mariners unexpectedly land very high MLB Draft pick
So now that the initial shock has subsided from Tuesday’s bombshell, it’s time to get to brass tacks. Like, who will the Mariners be able to pick next July when the draft rolls around?
Here’s a look at the top 10 names that MLB.com identified earlier this month as the top prospects in the 2025 MLB Draft class, including a trio with Pacific Northwest ties.
Names to know for 2025 MLB Draft
• 1. Ethan Holliday, SS/3B
If that last name sounds familiar, it’s for at least one of two reasons. This Oklahoma product’s father is former MLB All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, and his brother is current Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who was the No. 1 overall pick just three drafts ago. So yes, the Hollidays have the chance to become the first siblings to both be drafted first.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Ethan Holliday has a size advantage over his older brother (Jackson Holliday is listed as 6-feet and 185 pounds) and has shown easy power at the plate, so the lefty-swinging infielder falling not just one but two spots seems unlikely. But you never know in the crazy world of baseball prospects, so the high school senior is worth keeping an eye for the next six months.
• 2. Jace LaViolette, OF
A star at Texas A&M, LaViolette is 6-6 and 230 pounds, and the big lefty has a compelling mix of power and surprising athleticism for his size. In 68 games as a sophomore in 2024, he slashed .305/.449/.726 for a 1.175 OPS with 29 home runs and 78 RBIs. Like Holliday, he has a big 65 grade on the 20-80 scale (per MLB.com) when it comes to power.
AGS STRIKE FIRST 💣#GigEm x @JaceLaViolette2 x #MCWS pic.twitter.com/eaDkHztQJP
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 23, 2024
Strikeouts will be a concern come draft time, as he was punched out 81 times this year with the Aggies – though he offset that with 64 walks.
• 3. Jamie Arnold, P
A 6-1, 188-pound lefty, Arnold had a breakout sophomore year at Florida State, posting a 2.98 ERA and 1.098 WHIP with 159 strikeouts to just 26 walks (that sounds like a Mariner) in his 19 games, 18 of which were starts. Arnold’s fastball and slider both have high grades (60), and he has a strong changeup (50 grade) as well.
• 4. Tyler Bremner, P
A junior at UC Santa Barbara, Bremner boasts especially high 65 grades on both his fastball and changeup, while also utilizing a slider with a 55 grade. The 6-foot-2 righty went 11-1 with a 2.74 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 104 strikeouts to just 21 walks in 2024 for the Gauchos.
• 5. Seth Hernandez, P
A Vanderbilt commit out of California, the 18-year-old Hernandez boasts four pitches graded 50 or above, including a 65 grade on the 6-foot-4 right-hander’s fastball that touches 98 mph and sits in the mid-90s. Hernandez doesn’t just have stuff, either, as “does a solid job finding the zone,” according to his MLB.com draft profile.
• 6. Kayson Cunningham, SS
An 18-year-old Texas commit, the 5-foot-9 Cunningham is a pure hitter with “exceptional barrel control” and a knack for putting the bat on the ball. He has a decent 45 power grade to go with 60 grades for hitting and speed, and his arm is believed to be good enough to give him a strong chance to stick at shortstop.
• 7. Aiva Arquette, 2B
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Arquette is the first of three straight prospects we’ll look at with Pacific Northwest ties. The Hawaii product initially was drafted in the 18th round in 2022 by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he instead went into the college ranks with the UW Huskies. Arquette slashed .325/.384/.574 for a .959 OPS with 12 homers in 48 games with Washington as a sophomore in 2024, though he’s since transferred to perennial power Oregon State.
Stop us if you've heard this one before…
AIVA. ARQUETTE. BOMB.
📺 Pac-12 Networks
💻 https://t.co/58H6IArYWE pic.twitter.com/VchsJrT8XQ— Washington Baseball (@UW_Baseball) March 30, 2024
Prior to beginning his college career, Arquette had a stellar showing as an 18 year old for the Wenatchee AppleSox in the West Coast League, a wood bat summer collegiate league that has 17 teams throughout the PNW and is the West Coast’s answer to the fabled Cape Cod League.
• 8. Xavier Neyens, 3B
Next up is a true local product, as Neyens hails from Mount Vernon, Wash., which is a little over an hour north of Seattle. The 6-4, 200-pound lefty swinger lives up to his size with a 65 power grade and 60 arm grade, and that looks even better with 50 grades for both hitting and fielding. Per MLB.com’s draft profile, Neyens “has long been seen by area scouts as a potentially elite hitter from the left side of the plate with an outstanding approach.”
Now 18, Neyens has been committed to Oregon State for four years. But if there’s any team that could convince him to sign in the draft, you’d have to think it’s the one just down the road from where he grew up, right? Added bonus: Neyens is close with Bellingham native Austin Shenton, a former Mariners draft pick who was recently re-acquired by Seattle.
• 9. Kruz Schoolcraft, P/1B
Well, if the goal was to pick the player with the coolest name, Schoolcraft would the leader in the clubhouse.
Hailing from Sunset, Ore., Schoolcraft is an imposing presence at 6-8 and 229 pounds. And his two-way bonafides for now are real, as he can reach 97 mph with his fastball, and grades 50 or above for hitting (50), power (55), arm (60) and fielding (55). Both the fastball and slider are graded at 60, so it seems the 17 year old’s best shot will be as a pitcher, but MLB.com says “there are attributes to consider on both sides of the ball.”
• 10. Brendan Summerhill, OF
A junior at Arizona, the lefty-hitting Summerhill is well rounded with grades of 50 or 55 in each of hitting, power, running, arm, fielding and overall. The 6-3, 205-pound Chicago native was All-Pac-12 in 2024 after leading the Wildcats with a .324 average and .391 on-base percentage. He also had eight homers and 59 RBIs in his 58 games as a sophomore.
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