Mariners 2012 First-Year Player Draft Results

**Mariners select 41 players combined in three days of 2012 MLB First-Year Draft **

Mike Zunino in the College World Series on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. / Gator photo by Tim Casey

Seattle Mariners selected 41 players in the 2012 Major League Baseball’s First-Year player draft, highlighted by their first pick, catcher Mike Zunino, who was the 3rd overall pick in the draft.

“Overall, we’re very pleased with the athleticism, talent level and character of the players we drafted,” McNamara said. “Our scouts did an excellent job traveling all over the country finding the top talent at both the high school and college levels. We look forward to getting many of these young men signed and in uniform.”

The Mariners selected 20 pitchers, including 6 left-handers, 3 catchers, 13 infielders (3 1B, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 SS), and 5 outfielders. Seattle selected 26 college players and 15 high school players.

In all Seattle selected players from 17 states: Alabama, California (7), Connecticut (2), Florida (6), Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts (3), New Jersey, New York (2), Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas (2), Virginia (2), and Washington (5); 2 countries & one U.S. territory: United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

The Mariners drafted 3 catchers, 13 infielders (3 1B, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 SS), and 5 outfielders. Seattle selected catcher Mike Zunino from the University of Florida (3rd overall) with their first pick the 2012 draft. Of the 21 position players selected, 6 are left-handed hitters and 1 is a switch-hitter. In the first 19 selections of the draft, Seattle selected 14 position players, including 9 infielders.

Seattle selected 20 pitchers in the draft, including 15 of their final 22 picks. The Mariners selected 14 right-handed pitchers and 6 left-handed pitchers. RHP Edwin Diaz (3rd round) from Caguas Military Academy in Puerto Rico was the first high school pitcher selected by the Mariners, while right-handed pitcher Grady Wood (10th round) from Western Oregon State was the first college pitcher drafted by Seattle. In all, 13 of the 20 pitchers selected by Seattle were college pitchers.

With the 30th-round selection the Mariners drafted outfielder Mike Yastrzemski out of Vanderbilt University. Yastrzemski, who is from Andover, MA, is the grandson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer, Carl Yastrzemski. He hit .286 (67×234) with 46 runs scored, 11 doubles, 6 home runs and 41 RBI in 63 games during his junior season for the Commodores. He was originally selected in the 36th round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

“Mike is a player we have seen since high school and has improved each year,” McNamara said. “Obviously he had good bloodlines and showed us this year that he deserved to be drafted. He is not Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson he is Mike Yastrzemski.”

The Mariners selected five players with ties to Washington State in the 2012 June draft: INF Taylor Ard from Washington State University, RHP Levi Dean from Tennessee Wesleyan College, RHP Aaron Brooks from Edmonds Community College, LHP Rusty Shellhorn from Texas Tech University and C Alex Ross from Bellevue Community College. Ard was the Mariners 7th-round selection out of the Washington State University. The native of Vancouver, WA, was named to the 2012 All-Pac-12 Conference Baseball team after batting .332 (73×22) with 41 runs scored, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 12 home runs and 50 RBI in junior season. Ard is the first WSU player selected by the Mariners since Aaron Trolia in the 22nd round of the 2004 June draft. He also attended Mt. Hood Community College from 2009-10. Dean, who graduated from W.F. West High School in Centralia, WA in 2008, went 5-4 with 1 save and a 4.83 ERA in 18 games with during his senior season at Tennessee Wesleyan College. He also played two seasons at Lower Columbia College and his junior season at the University of Tennessee. Brooks is 7-3 with a 2.71 ERA (23 ER, 67.1 IP) and 60 strikeouts in 12 games (11 starts) during his sophomore season at Edmonds Community College. After graduating from Mount Lake Terrace High School in 2010, he played one season at Gonzaga (2011) before transferring to Edmonds Community College this season. Shellhorn graduated from Central Valley High School (Spokane, WA) in 2008. He attended Washington State University in 2009-10, before transferring to Texas Tech and sitting out a season in 2011. Shellhorn is 5-3 with a 4.98 ERA (31 ER, 56.0 IP) in 16 games (9 starts) for the Red Raiders in 2012. In his second season with the Bulldogs, Ross hit .250 (24×96) with 14 runs scored, 4 doubles and 7 RBI in 28 games. Ross graduated from Lake Washington High School in 2009.

“There was a lot of talent from the Northwest this year, McNamara said. “All of these players can play. We saw a lot of players with ability and look forward to seeing them play for their home town team in the future.”

The Mariners selected 15 players (rounds 2-15) on Tuesday afternoon. Seattle’s only pick in the draft on Monday was catcher Mike Zunino (3rd overall). Named a first-team Louisville Slugger All-American on Thursday by Collegiate Baseball, Zunino is a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award. He was also the 2011 SEC Player of the Year and a 2012 first-team All-SEC selection.

Catcher Mike Zunino / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

“Mike is a sturdy, blue-collar, talented defensive receiver with extra-base offensive potential,” McNamara said. “He is a winning player, and will be a good fit with the Mariners. We look forward to having him in our organization and working his way towards being part of our Major League club in the future.”

A two-time first-team All-SEC recipient and two-time member of the league’s All-Defensive Team, he has registered a .993 fielding percentage, with three errors in 452 chances, and has thrown out almost a third of the runners who have attempted to steal on him (45 of 144). Zunino, 21, led the University of Florida in nearly every offensive category. After a 3-game sweep in the NCAA Gainesville Regional over the weekend, he is batting .316 (73×231) with 27 doubles, 18 home runs and 60 RBI in 62 games. He has started 58 of his team’s 63 games at catcher, and recorded an additional 4 starts as the designated hitter. He was named to the Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team, and has hit seven career post-season home runs.

“We’ve watched him for three years,” McNamara said. “He’s steady. He doesn’t jump out and wow you like some other players. But what you get at the end of the day is a steady, hard-nosed, tough kid who’s got power and can really catch.”

Here is a look at the Mariners 41 selections in the 2012 draft: