Mariners load up on college pitchers on Day 2 of MLB draft
SEATTLE – The Mariners began day two of the 2025 MLB draft the same way they began the first by adding a collegiate left-handed pitcher.
After taking Kade Anderson out of LSU in the first round Sunday, Seattle leaned heavily on the college pitcher ranks again Monday. Of the Mariners’ final 17 picks, they spent 10 of them on college arms, along with three college outfielders, two college catchers, a college shortstop, and a high school pitcher.
“There wasn’t a lot of separation anywhere in this draft,” Mariners Scouting Director Scott Hunter said. “I don’t want to say it thinned out, it more, got very condensed after we got through the first day. There were some wild picks here and there that we were shocked with, but at the same time, it gave us opportunities to jump on some guys.”
Dallas Baptist lefty Mason Peters was Seattle’s fourth round pick, at 122nd overall.
Peters, who wasn’t ranked in MLB’s 250 top prospects coming into the draft, will likely be a cheap pickup for the Mariners, who spent well over the assigned slot value to draft New Jersey high school shortstop Nick Becker at No. 57 overall. After beginning his college career at Temple College in Texas, Peters transferred to Dallas Baptist for his junior season.
The 21-year old Peters pitched mostly out of the bullpen this past season, and mainly throws two pitches, a mid-90s fastball that has touched 97 mph on occasion and a mid-70s curveball that scouting reports have described as “nasty.”
The Mariners picked an outfielder in the fifth in Indiana’s Korbyn Dickerson. He came into the draft rated as the 83rd best player available after putting up a .314 batting average with 19 homers and a 1.013 OPS this past season, his first after transferring from Louisville.
MLB describes him as having “some of the best bat speed and exit velocities in the 2025 college crop, producing at least plus raw power to all fields,” though there has been concern about his ability to hit hard-throwing pitchers.
After picking Dickerson, the Mariners took college pitchers with each of their next six picks, starting with Arizona State pitcher Lucas Kelly in the sixth and Yale righty Colton Shaw in round seven.
“After we took (Dickerson), it really kind of fell off position-player wise,” Hunter said. “Especially with our organization, we’ve done so well with pitching in the later rounds, we kind of lean toward getting as many arms as we possibly can if the bat isn’t the right choice at the right time.”
Kelly was a two-way player at Mclennan Community College and Texas A&M before transferring to ASU for his junior season, where he had a 4.05 ERA and 34 strikeouts with nine walks over 26 ⅔ innings in relief for the Sun Devils. He can hit 99 mph with his fastball and has a great slider.
Shaw, meanwhile, had a 3.13 ERA as a senior for Yale this season with 80 strikeouts over 12 starts, and features a slider and changeup to go along with his mid-90s fastball.
Seattle took Holy Cross right-hander Danny Macchiarola in the eighth round, Appalachian State righty Jackson Steensma in the ninth, and Isaac Lyon of Grand Canyon University in the 10th.
Macchiarola had a 3.27 ERA and 9-5 record in 16 starts this season for Holy Cross, with 92 strikeouts and 28 walks. Steensma didn’t pitch this season due to Tommy John surgery, but combined for a 4.10 ERA in 36 appearances over two college seasons, with 108 career strikeouts and 38 walks.
“Not saying he’s going to be Bryan Woo, but our (pitching development) guys have really done a lot of good things with guys in the later rounds who are coming off injury,” Hunter said. ” … Our scouts really liked what they saw prior to the injury.”
Lyon started 15 games for GCU and finished with 88 strikeouts and 23 walks over 86 innings pitched. His best start was a complete game, four-hit shutout against Seattle U on March 28.
Seattle took 6-foot-2 inch Western Carolina pitcher Dusty Revis in the 11th round. Revis had a 7-5 record with a 4.04 ERA, 78 strikeouts and 31 walks in 82 ⅓ innings of work in 2025.
The Mariners broke the pitcher streak in the 12th, when they drafted Dallas Baptist catcher Grant Jay. Jay is DBU’s all-time leader with 61 homers and a .684 career slugging percentage, and has what MLB calls “plus-plus raw power” to all fields.
Seattle stuck with hitters for their next few picks, going with Saint Mary’s outfielder Aiden Taurek in the 13th round, power-hitting Florida catcher Luke Heyman in the 14th round, and Western Carolina center fielder Brayden Corn with the 15th round selection.
The Mariners then finished the draft by adding Arizona righty Casey Hintz in the 16th round, Nova Southeastern righty Anthony Karoly in the 17th, and Griffin Stieg of Virginia Tech in round 18. The Mariners final two picks were Cameron Appenzeller, a 6-foot-6 inch lefty pitcher out of Glenwood (Ill.) High School, who will reportedly play for the University of Tennessee, and Notre Dame shortstop Estevan Moreno.