MLB Draft Insider - Top 14 in ’14: Seattle Mariners

Rank	Name	Position	Bats/Throws	Height/Weight
1	Taijuan Walker	RHP	R/R	6-4 / 210
There were plenty of positives during Walker’s 2013 campaign; a season that saw the 21 year-old hold his own during his promotion to Seattle. There were some slight negatives as well however, that have some doubting whether or not Walker is the future ace so many thought he was projected to be in 2012. Walker is among the most athletic pitchers in baseball, and a lose delivery and plus arm-strength allows him to hit 97 with the fastball and sits comfortably at 93-95. He’s developed a cutter that will sit in the low 90′s, and as he develops feel for the pitch it should be a big swing-and-miss pitch at the big league level. His curve ball — a calling card in 2012 — will still flash plus, but it doesn’t have near the depth or spin it once had and is more of a “spike” pitch, one that he cuts off too often and that he rarely locates for a strike. Throwing strikes was an issue for Walker at times as well, and his mechanics have gone somewhat backwards over the past year. Too often he will land stiff and cut his arm short, which leads to the spiked breaking-ball and fastballs that finish up in the zone. The command only projects as average, and it’s difficult to project a future ace with that grade. Still, Walker has a boatload of talent in his right arm, and a solid No. 2 starter — and better if the command/mechanics improve — is not out of the question. FASTBALL 70-70 CUTTER 60-65 CURVE 50-55 CHANGE 45-50 COMMAND 40-50 ETA: 2014

Rank	Name	Position	Bats/Throws	Height/Weight
2	Austin Wilson	OF	R/R	6-5 / 245
I’m sure many of you were expecting to see a different hitter from the 2013 draft in this position, but those of you who have followed MLB-DI for a while know that I’ve been a huge believer in Wilson’s skill-set, and I was impressed with the adjustments he made in Everett after struggling out of the gate. Wilson has big time power thanks to a very strong build along with strong wrists and above-average bat speed capable of hitting the ball out to any part of the ball park. There’s a lot of work to be done with his swing, due in large part to Stanford’s asinine ideals that basically say that pulling the ball is a Cardinal (pun intended) sin, but there’s also some draft and at times he can open up his hips too early. Still, Wilson is a smart hitter who’s willing to work counts and (obviously) go the other way, and in time he should have an above-average hit tool.In addition to above-average offensive ability, Wilson looks like he’s going to be a quality right-fielder as well. He gets good jumps off the bat (he played center for much of his time at Stanford), and despite being built like a defensive end he has enough speed to get to balls hit into the corner, and a plus arm to keep runners at bay as well. He’ll need to show considerable improvement in his non-short season debut, but Wilson is the most talented offensive player in the Mariner system, capable of hitting in the middle of the order and playing “gold glove” caliber defense. HIT 40-50+ POWER 55-70 SPEED 50-50 GLOVE 50-55 ARM 60-60 ETA: 2016

Rank	Name	Position	Bats/Throws	Height/Weight
3	D.J. Peterson	3B/1B	R/R	6-0 / 205
It has taken me some time to get aboard the Peterson bandwagon — and I still don’t think he was anywhere close to the 12th best player available in the 2013 draft — but there is a lot to like about Peterson’s bat, especially if he can somehow stick at third, though that’s a fairly unlikely proposition. Peterson’s swing is very simple, direct to the ball with the ability to put backspin on it and he uses the entire field with above-average extension. He’s an aggressive hitter but he rarely swings at pitches outside of the zone/gives away at bats. There isn’t much natural loft to his swing so it’s difficult to project plus power, but there’s a non-zero chance he can give you 20-25 homers because of his strong lower half. The Mariners had Peterson play third base this year and there’s a belief in the organization that he can play there at least in the short-term, but all signs point to him being moved across the diamond. He’s a below-average athlete who has the arm strength to play third, but not the hands or quickness. The bat might play at first, but he’s more of a second-division regular there, as compared to a first-division regular if he could play the hot corner HIT 50-60 POWER 50-55 SPEED 40-40 GLOVE 40-45 ARM 55-55 ETA: 2015

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