The Mariners may be staring at the 2026 MLB Draft with a familiar instinct - take a pitcher - but the latest mock drafts are nudging them in a different direction. At No. 24, Seattle has suddenly been linked to two college bats: Ace Reese and Ryder Helfrick.
That would be a notable break from the usual playbook under Jerry Dipoto. The Mariners have not used their top draft choice on a college hitter since Evan White went No. 17 in 2017, and the smart money still points toward a pitcher, probably a college arm. Even so, the board sounds far from settled.
“This year, we probably have about 14,” Mariners vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter told Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, in reference to how many players are on the team's board for the No. 24 pick. “It’s just that wide open.”
Reese and Helfrick are the newest names in the mix, courtesy of FanSided and FanGraphs. Both come from the college ranks, and both bring traits that make sense if Seattle decides to lean into offense.
Helfrick is viewed as one of the best catchers in the class, with plus grades for his arm, defense and power according to MLB Pipeline. Reese brings even more thump, to the point where his power is being considered among the best in the class.
Helfrick is a catcher through and through. Reese is a third baseman on paper, though his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame and below-average speed make first base look like the cleaner fit. So if the idea is “future replacement for Cal Raleigh or Josh Naylor,” that’s a little too neat, a little too bold, and still not completely off base.
Raleigh and Naylor are both under control through 2030, but they’ll each be 33 by then. And this season, the pair has already combined for -0.3 rWAR, which is enough to make long-term planning feel less like luxury and more like common sense.
That’s especially true when you look at the roster and the pipeline. Seattle’s pitching outlook is already loaded for the long haul.
Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo are scheduled to hit free agency after 2027, but George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock are all under club control through at least 2028. On top of that, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are being billed as the best pitching prospect duo in the game, with Mason Peters also looking like a major find.
The offensive picture is murkier. Randy Arozarena and J.P.
Crawford are set for free agency this winter, while Dominic Canzone will be in his 30s by the time his club control runs out in 2029. That leaves Seattle trying to map out who will help support Julio Rodríguez, Cole Young and Colt Emerson as they move through their prime years.
There are some obvious names to squint at already: Lazaro Montes, Michael Arroyo, Jonny Farmelo and Felnin Celesten, with Luke Stevenson as the leading candidate to eventually inherit Raleigh’s job behind the plate. Even then, Baseball America’s view of the system points to a real issue: it is not especially deep.
So if the Mariners do wind up using the 2026 draft to add more bats, it could end up looking less like a surprise and more like a necessary step.
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What stands out now is how much thinner the lineup looks than it did a year ago. Seattle has slipped to 14th in team wRC+ after finishing second last season, and that drop has shown up in nights like this one, when the middle of the order does not provide enough support and the margin for error disappears quickly. [Read more 🡒]