Mariners look to UVA again on day two of MLB draft

Two years ago, while they laid their eyes on every move Dustin Ackley made at the University of North Carolina, Seattle Mariners scouts also got a good look at a couple of other Tar Heels players they wound up drafting.

After Ackley with the second overall pick in 2009, the Mariners grabbed s

econd baseman Kyle Seager with the 83rd overall pick and pitcher Brian Moran with the 203rd.

Like the draft that year, it was no coincidence Tuesday on Day 2 of baseball’s amateur draft when the Mariners added to their collection from the University of Virginia.

One day after they draf

ted Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen with the second overall pick, the Mariners selected Cavaliers catcher John Hicks in the fifth round and third baseman Steven Proscia in the eighth round.

“I was at the University of Virginia a lot this year, so I got a chance to see them play a lot,” Mariners scouting director Tom McNamara said. “All of our scouts liked all three of the players.”

Hicks is a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award as college baseball’s best catcher. Going into Friday’s NCAA Super Regional game Friday against Cal-Irvine, Hicks is batting .339 with a .383 on-base percentage, .516 slugging percentage, seven home runs and 54 RBI.

Proscia is batting .341/.386/.522.

Of the 31 players the Mariners have drafted (the final 20 rounds will be held today), they’ve taken 12 right-handed pitchers, six catchers, three left-handed pitchers, two second basemen, two third basemen, two shortstops and four center fielders.

Of the right-handers, four are 6-foot-3 or taller, continuing the Mariners’ trend of grabbing tall pitchers.

“I’ve got no problem with tall pitchers who throw downhill,” McNamara said. “But there also are a lot of 5-11 and 6-footers who can really pitch.”

Here are the 29 players the Mariners drafted Tuesday:

n Second round: Brad Miller, shortstop from Clemson. He was rated the nation’s 35th best draft prospect by Baseball America, is on the ACC’s all-academic team and has played on the USA national team the past two summers. He batted .395/.498/559 and stole 21 bases in 26 attempts this season.

n Third round: Kevin Cron, a catcher from Mountain Pointe High in Tempe, Ariz. He’s a big guy (6-4, 240) who’s a big bopper, having set the Arizona career high school home run record. The Mariners plan to start him at catcher although he could wind up at first base.

n Third round (compensation pick): Carter Capps, right-handed pitcher from Mount Olive College. He’s a 6-5, 200 pounder whose fastball runs to the plate in the mid to high 90 mph range. He also converted to catcher in college, so there could be a learning curve a little like the Mariners’ first-round pick last year, Taijuan Walker, who has pitched only a few years.

n Fourth round: John Hicks, catcher from University of Virginia.

n Fifth round: Tyler Marlette, catcher from Hagerty High School in Florida. He was rated the fourth-best high school catching prospect and among the top 10 of all draft-eligible catchers.

n Sixth round: James Zamarripa, center fielder from Rancho Cucamonga High in California. He throws left, bats left and this year had averages of .341/.457/.634/1.091 with three homers and 22 RBI.

n Seventh round: Steven Proscia, third baseman from University of Virginia.

n Eighth round: Carson Smith, right-handed pitcher from Texas State. He’s a 6-5, 215 pounder who went 9-3, 1.99 with 129 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings and won the Southland Conference pitcher of the year award.

n Ninth round: Cavan Cohoes, shortstop from Patch American High School in Stuttgart, Germany, where his father is an Army colonel. Cohoes has committed to play at Ohio State.

n 10th round: Dan Paolini, second baseman from Siena College.

n 11th round: Cameron Hobson, left-handed pitcher from Dayton University. He went 7-1, 3.43 and struck out 83 in 78 2/3 innings.

n 12th round: Michael Dowd, catcher from Franklin Pierce University. He’s a fireplug at 5-9 and 205 who has a strong arm but, according to scouts, needs work with receiving and footwork.

n 13th round: Jamal Austin, center fielder from Alabama-Birmingham. He stole 26 bases in 32 attempts this year.

n 14th round: Cody Weiss, right-handed pitcher from LaSalle. He went 3-6, 6.32 this season. The Dodgers drafted him in the 26th round in 2008.

n 15th round: Michael McGee, center fielder from Florida State. He’s batting .332 with 10 homers and 56 RBI for Florida State, which plays Texas A&M on Saturday in an NCAA Super Regional. He also pitches in relief for the Seminoles, but the Mariners drafted him as an outfielder.

n 16th round: Jack Marder, catcher from University of Oregon. He threw out 10 of 17 base stealers this year and batted .209 with two homers and 19 RBI.

n 17th round: Nathan Melendres, center fielder from the University of Miami. He’s an all-ACC pick.

n 18th round: Nicholas Valenza, left-handed pitcher from Horizon (Ariz.) High.

n 19th round: Luke Guarnaccia, catcher from Palm Beach (Fla.) CC.

n 20th round: Dillon Hazlett, second baseman from Emporia (Kan.) State. He stole 43 bases in 45 attempts and batted .433/.477/.656 this year.

n 21st round: Joseph DiRocco, right-handed pitcher from Seton Hall. He went 8-2, 1.97 in 17 starts, holding opposing hitters to a .216 average.

n 22nd round: John Taylor, right-handed pitcher from University of South Carolina. The 5-10, 175 pounder went 5-1, 1.32 in 43 relief appearances, holding opponents to a .178 average.

n 23rd round: Richard White, right-handed pitcher from St. Croix, Virgin Islands. White, whose fastball has been measured in the mid 90 mph range, must complete his GED requirements before he’s allowed to sign.

n 24th round: Tanner Chleborad, a 6-6, 180-pound right-handed pitcher from Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D. He’s signed play at Washington State.

n 25th round: Gabe Saquilon, right-handed pitcher from Horizon (Calif.) Christian High. He has signed to play at Cal State-Northridge.

n 26th round: Kenny Straus, a left-handed-hitting third baseman from Georgia Perimeter College.

n 27th round: David Colvin, a 6-3, 215-pound right-handed pitcher from Pomona-Pitzer College who went 8-2, 2.96 in 13 starts this year.

n 28th round: Brett Shankin, right-handed pitcher from Wayne State (Mich.). He was 7-3, 2.79 this year and held opponents to a .215 average.

n 29th round: Keone Kela, right-handed pitcher from Chief Sealth High in Seattle. He’s an all-Metro League player who went 4-3, 1.57, struck out 85 and walked 44 in 44 2/3 innings.

n 30th round: Jordan Pries, right-handed pitcher from Stanford University. The 6-5, 190 pounder went 6-5, 3.24 this season. He’s the grandson of two-time major league All-Star Bud Daley, who pitched 10 years in the majors. Pries’ great uncle, Don “Ducky” Pries, founded the major league scouting bureau.

Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog and follow his Twitter updates at @kirbyarnold.