SEATTLE — By the time baseball’s amateur draft was an hour-and-a-half old last year, the Seattle Mariners already had selected three players they considered certain big-league prospects.
With that wealth of first-round picks, the Mariners landed second baseman Dustin Ackley, shortstop Nick Franklin and catcher Steven Baron.
A much different draft begins Monday for the Mariners.
The Mariners don’t have a first-round pick, having lost the 18th overall selection to the Angels last winter when they signed free-agent infielder Chone Figgins. They gained a compensation “sandwich” pick when free-agent Adrian Beltre signed with the Boston Red Sox, but even with that the Mariners won’t make their first selection until No. 43.
The draft begins at 4 p.m. Monday with the first round and compensation picks, with rounds 2-30 on Tuesday and 31-50 on Wednesday.
Unlike last year, when the Mariners knew they had Ackley with the second pick before they made it, they’ll need to remain patient and flexible. Instead of focusing on one player with their first pick like last year, they have Plan A, B, C and beyond depending on who’s taken with the first 42 picks.
That doesn’t mean there’s any less pressure to make it right.
“You’re going to read about the first, second and third picks in the draft more than 43, but there’s still pressure to pick the right guy,” said Tom McNamara, the Mariners’ scouting director. “There are good players at 43. Look at the guys in the big leagues. If you go around our lineup, they’re not all first-round picks.”
There are two former first-rounders on the Mariners’ current roster, first baseman Casey Kotchman (2001 by the Angels) and closer David Aardsma (2003 by the Giants).
A handful of current Mariners climbed to the big-league club after being drafted by the organization well below the 43rd spot. The Mariners drafted pitcher Doug Fister in the seventh round in 2006, catcher Rob Johnson in the fourth round in 2004 and pitcher Mark Lowe in the fifth round in 2004.
This will be the third time in Mariners history that they won’t have a first-round pick. Matt Tuiasosopo was their highest pick in 2004, in the third round, and left-handed pitcher Sam Hays was their top pick in 2000, in the fourth round. Tuiasosopo is a utility player with the Mariners this year while Hays pitched just 25 games, including 18 for the Class A Everett AquaSox in 2003, his last season before injuries ended his pro career.
The draft order offers no guarantee of major league success.
If that were the case, former first-round picks Ryan Anderson (1997), Ryan Christianson (1999), Michael Garciaparra (2001), John Mayberry (2002), Jeff Clement (2005) and Phillippe Aumont (2007) might become household names in the big leagues. All those players drafted by the Mariners haven’t lived up to their first-round hopes.
It’s proof that scouting hasn’t been an exact science over the years by the Mariners. For every Ken Griffey Jr. (1987), Tino Martinez (1988) and Alex Rodriguez (1993), there have been that many and more taken in the first round who haven’t approached stardom.
McNamara said he tells his scouts to keep it simple when evaluating players and try to answer one important question.
“Is this guy a (potential) big leaguer? That’s what we want to know,” McNamara said. “I tell my guys all the time, ‘I want to know what they can do, not what they can’t do.’ There’s no such thing as the perfect player and if you start looking up negatives in a player, all of a sudden another club will jump out and grab the guy.”
Monday, there will be 42 chances for teams to grab that guy before the Mariners get to choose.
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