By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – One trait literally looms large with the Seattle Mariners’ 2002 draft class.
Size does matter.
Of the 50 players the Mariners drafted on Tuesday and Wednesday, only four stand less than 6 feet tall, and nobody among the quartet of little guys weighs less than 175 pounds.
“We like big guys for sure,” said Roger Jongewaard, the Mariners’ vice president of scouting and player development. “Chances are a good big man will out-perform a good little man. They have to be good, but yeah, we like size.”
The biggest of the Mariners’ draft picks are Matthew Hagen, a third baseman from Liberty University in Colorado picked in the 11th round, and Clayton Stewart, a right-handed pitcher from San Jacinto Junior College in Texas selected in the 31st round.
Both are 6-5, 220 and have what scouts love to see: leverage with those big bodies.
“They come in all sizes and shapes, but you like to have some size,” said Frank Mattox, the Mariners’ scouting director. “You want arm speed and bat speed.”
None of the 23 pitchers drafted by the Mariners is shorter than 6-0, and there are only two at that height. There aren’t any 6-11 Randy Johnsons, but more than half of the draftees stand between 6-3 and 6-5.
Mattox spends a big part of his time in high schools around the country and has noticed the athletes not only are bigger, they’re also more powerful.
“There are better weight-training programs and there are so many things on the market in the way of supplements,” Mattox said. “I see a dedication to being real fit. As many high schools as I go to, it’s obvious that everybody is very body conscious. That’s good as long as they’re developing their minds, too.”
The Mariners drafted 28 players Tuesday, including their lone choice from the state of Washington, left-handed-hitting third baseman Travis Buck of Richland High School.
In all, the Mariners selected 23 pitchers (seven of them left-handers), 12 outfielders, 10 infielders and five catchers. Twenty-five are out of high school, 23 are college players and two weren’t in school.
“Overall I think the draft went very well for us,” Mattox said. “There were some nice unexpected players there that we had a chance to select. The next phase is to get them signed and get them out playing.”
The Mariners won’t make any assignments until they see the players in training camp in Peoria, Ariz., in the next week. But Mattox named 11 who may be assigned to Everett. They are:
Left-handed pitcher Troy Cate of Ricks College in Idaho; second baseman Evel Bastida-Martinez, the 23-year-old who has played several years in Cuba’s professional league; left-handed pitcher Jared Thomas of Oakland University in Michigan; the 6-5 Hagen; right-handed pitcher Thomas Fulmer of The Citadel; right-handed pitcher Ryan Leaist of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; shortstop Corey Harrington of New Mexico State; center fielder Eddie Harris of Georgia College &State University; right-handed pitcher David Viane of Oakland University in Michigan; second baseman Eric Blakeley of Indiana University; third baseman Andrew Brown of Rice University; and center fielder Thomas Bohn of Ostego, Minn.
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