Lucky Mariners just unexpectedly landed very high MLB Draft pick
Dec 10, 2024, 3:12 PM | Updated: Dec 12, 2024, 9:19 am
The Seattle Mariners have been lucky with the MLB Draft before in recent years, but this may take the cake.
The Mariners will have a strong pitch for Japanese star Roki Sasaki
MLB held its draft lottery during the annual winter meetings on Tuesday afternoon in Dallas, and Seattle entered with just over a 0.5% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. That was second-lowest out of the 16 teams eligible in the lottery, meaning the Mariners most likely would end up with a mid-round pick. And, well, the Mariners didn’t get the top selection, but they really outdid the expectations.
How does the No. 3 overall pick sound?
The (lottery) pick is in!
We will have the 3rd pick in the 2025 #MLBDraft! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/QjXYduJhN5
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) December 10, 2024
That’s right – despite finishing the 2024 MLB season with an 85-77 record, which was just 3 1/2 games back of the American League West-winning Houston Astros, Seattle will be behind only two other teams in next July’s annual draft. The top pick went to the Washington Nationals, while the Los Angeles Angels landed the No. 2 selection.
The Mariners haven’t drafted this high since 2012, when they took catcher Mike Zunino out of Florida with the No. 3 selection. This will be the 12th time in franchise history that Seattle has drafted No. 3 or higher in the first round.
Three appears to be the lucky number for the Mariners right now, as they also will have the No. 3 pick in Competitive Balance Round A in the 2025 draft. That round will follow the first round and a round of compensatory picks.
The Mariners have had recent success in the first round of the draft, as evidenced by their starting rotation. All-Stars Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were picked in the first round in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Top prospects Harry Ford, Cole Young and Colt Emerson were all taken in the first round, and the M’s had a whopping three picks in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, which coincidentally was held in Seattle during the MLB All-Star weekend festivities.
In the 2024 MLB Draft, the Mariners took switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje at No. 15 overall.
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