Mariners Add 8 More Players In Amateur Draft

After selecting 3B D.J. Peterson and OF Austin Wilson Thursday, the Mariners selected eight more players during the second day of MLB’s first-year player draft Friday. The draft concludes Saturday with rounds 11 through 40. In the third round, the Mariners took OF Tyler O’Neill from Garibaldi Secondary School in Maple Ridge, British Columbia (85th overall).

In the first 10 rounds, the Mariners selected four pitchers, one catcher, three infielders and two outfielders. All six position players selected were right-handed hitters. Seattle selected eight college players and two high school players.

The first three position players were each rated in the top 20 among position players heading into the draft by Baseball America.

O’Neill, 5-foot-11 and  205 pounds, was named 2013 Rawlings Third Team All-America. He played for the Langley Blaze, batting .455 (85×187) with 62 runs scored,  17 doubles, eight triples, 12 home runs and 86 RBIs in 89 combined games over the last two seasons.

O’Neill also played for the Canadian Junior National Team in 2012 and was a member of Team British Columbia in the 2012 Canada Cup Tournament in London, Ontario, where he was MVP in the gold medal game. O’Neill was rated at the 69th overall prospect by Baseball America.

The remainder of Seattle’s draft selections Friday:

Fourth round: LHP Ryan Horstman, St. John’s University, earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors, going 6-6 with 2.33 ERA in 65.2 innings with the Red Storm. Horstman, who redshirted the 2012 season, made 16 appearances this year, including nine starts, and totaled 56 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to a .240 batting average.

Fifth round: SS Jack Reinheimer,East Carolina University, selected 147th overall, hit .271 (60×221) with 32 runs scored, nine doubles, two home runs, 21 RBIs and 10 stolen bases during his junior season with the Pirates. He was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 31st round of the 2010 draft, but did not sign.

Sixth round: C Corey Simpson, from Sweeny (TX.) High School, was named a 2013 Rawlings Second Team All-America and First Team All-Region after his senior season. Simpson represented Texas in the 2012 Area Code games in Long Beach, CA., and was rated by Baseball America at the 23rd-best prospect out of Texas, including the third-best catcher.

Seventh Round: LHP Tyler Olson, Gonzaga University, was named West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 9-4 with a 2.48 (23 ER, 101.2 IP) in 16 games, 14 starts as a fifth-year senior. He limited opponents to a .249 (94×378) average, while walking 31 and striking out 91. Olson, also named WCC Pitcher of the Month for April, finished the year with team bests in ERA (2.09) and record (9-3). He had a 19-inning scoreless streak spanning four starts in April. He finished in the top five of all WCC pitchers in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and complete games. The Spokane native was selected in the 20th round of the 2012 draft by the Oakland A’s, but chose to return to school.

Eighth round: SS Tyler Smith, Oregon State University, was named to the Pac-12 Conference’s first team in back-to back seasons. He hit .301 (58×193) with 45 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 24 RBIs in 49 games with the Beavers during his senior season.

Ninth round: LHP Jacob Zokan of College of Charleston went 4-3 with 2.85 ERA in 17 games during his senior season. Zokan limited opponents to a .261 average (81×310), while walking 15 and striking out 80. He led the team in ERA and strikeouts.

Tenth round: RHP Emilio Pagan out of Belmont Abbey College went 1-5 with four saves and 4.50 ERA (17 ER, 34.0 IP) in nine games, two starts for the Crusaders during his senior season. In 2012, he recorded a team-high 13 saves, while tossing 21.1 scoreless innings in 18 relief appearances as a junior. Pagan also hit .287 (41×143) with 40 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 29 RBIs in 43 games.