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The Seattle Mariners concluded the 2026 MLB Draft on Sunday with a completely college-experienced class.
The Mariners, in part due to the team's valuation of collegiate prospects compared to high school, and a continued battle against the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) era of college sports, had a signing class of 18 players of their 20 draftees, all of whom come from the college ranks.
Seattle went with a hitting-heavy approach with the majority of its picks, but used several Day 2 picks to go after pitchers to add to their factory.
And several of them could end up playing major roles on the team in the future.
The Mariners haven't shied away from using first round picks to select top pitching prospects. It used the third overall pick in 2025 to select top pitching prospect Kade Anderson and its picks from the first two rounds in 2024 to acquire now-traded Jurrangelo Cijntje and fellow top 100 prospect Ryan Sloan.
Current major league starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were also first round draft picks.
Beyond the first-round talent, Seattle has also found starting talent in later rounds.
Bryan Woo, a 2025 All-Star and member of the major league starting rotation, was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly.
Logan Evans, who made his major league debut last year and is currently recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery, made 15 starts for the Mariners last season. He was picked in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Pittsburgh.
Per Mariners vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter, there could be a couple draft picks from this latest class that could follow a similar trajectory of Woo and Evans.
Chris Diaz (14th round, Florida Gulf Coast) and Drew Whalen (ninth round, Auburn) both heard their names called by Seattle. The team were able to get both hurlers to sign over returning to college with lucrative NIL offers. Diaz had committed to Arkansas via the transfer portal and Whalen, who's currently recovering from internal brace surgery, had an NIL offer in place to return to Auburn.
"(Diaz) being in the ... post-10th round was kind of exciting for us," Hunter said. "He's a strike-thrower, he's starting down there at Florida Gulf Coast, he's athletic, he moves right, he's pitching 92-93 (mph) but touches 95, has a real slider. There's hopes he'll stay as a starter but if he doesn't, the uptick in velocity we're expecting, if he goes in shorter stints, might be able to sit in the 95-96 range."
Whalen was another player Hunter said "looked" like a starter. He'll be rehabbing from his surgery with the Mariners, giving him a chance to learn and be built back up with the organization before he comes back healthy.
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The Mariners, in part due to the team's valuation of collegiate prospects compared to high school, and a continued battle against the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) era of college sports, had a signing class of 18 players of their 20 draftees, all of whom come from the college ranks.
Seattle went with a hitting-heavy approach with the majority of its picks, but used several Day 2 picks to go after pitchers to add to their factory.
And several of them could end up playing major roles on the team in the future.
The Mariners haven't shied away from using first round picks to select top pitching prospects. It used the third overall pick in 2025 to select top pitching prospect Kade Anderson and its picks from the first two rounds in 2024 to acquire now-traded Jurrangelo Cijntje and fellow top 100 prospect Ryan Sloan.
Current major league starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were also first round draft picks.
Beyond the first-round talent, Seattle has also found starting talent in later rounds.
Bryan Woo, a 2025 All-Star and member of the major league starting rotation, was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly.
Logan Evans, who made his major league debut last year and is currently recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery, made 15 starts for the Mariners last season. He was picked in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Pittsburgh.
Per Mariners vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter, there could be a couple draft picks from this latest class that could follow a similar trajectory of Woo and Evans.
Chris Diaz (14th round, Florida Gulf Coast) and Drew Whalen (ninth round, Auburn) both heard their names called by Seattle. The team were able to get both hurlers to sign over returning to college with lucrative NIL offers. Diaz had committed to Arkansas via the transfer portal and Whalen, who's currently recovering from internal brace surgery, had an NIL offer in place to return to Auburn.
"(Diaz) being in the ... post-10th round was kind of exciting for us," Hunter said. "He's a strike-thrower, he's starting down there at Florida Gulf Coast, he's athletic, he moves right, he's pitching 92-93 (mph) but touches 95, has a real slider. There's hopes he'll stay as a starter but if he doesn't, the uptick in velocity we're expecting, if he goes in shorter stints, might be able to sit in the 95-96 range."
Whalen was another player Hunter said "looked" like a starter. He'll be rehabbing from his surgery with the Mariners, giving him a chance to learn and be built back up with the organization before he comes back healthy.
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Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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