Mariners draft Florida C Mike Zunino with No. 3 pick

With the third pick in the Major League Baseball draft, the Mariners picked Mike Zunino, a catcher from the University of Florida.

That the Mariners ended up with Zunino is hardy unexpected—the Mariners need as much help on offense as they can get and several mock drafts had them taking Zunino—but was surprising is who else Seattle could have taken. Mark Appel, a pitcher from Stanford, was expected to go in the top two, but Houston surprised by taking Carlso Correa, a shortstop from Puerto Rico, then Minnesota went with outfielder Byron Buxton, leaving the Mariners unexpectedly picking with the draft’s top pitcher still available.

Zunino, 21, leads the Gators in several offensive categories including slugging percentage (.667), RBI, home runs, doubles and total bases. Last year he was named the SEC player of the year, and season is a semifinalist fro the Golden Spikes award, which goes to college baseball’s top player.

The Mariners have other young catchers, most notably Jesus Montero, but Zunino projects as a better defensive player, and this only strengthens the chances that Montero ends spending most of his time at DH or some other position in the long-term.