3 Prospects Seattle Mariners Could Target Early in 2025 MLB Draft
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Oregon State infielder Aiva Arquette could be a top target for the Seattle Mariners in this year’s MLB Draft. Credit: Aiva Arquette/Instagram [/caption]
We’re still two months away from the start of the 2025 MLB Draft, but with the college season winding down and high school players in the full swing of things, now is as good of time as any to look at some potential selections for the Mariners with their picks.
A reminder, on top of just a warning that there are a lot of things that will change, is that the MLB Draft is very different from the NFL and NBA versions. It’s one of the few events where the players have actual leverage. Because of the allocated bonus structure, the financial ramifications play a much larger role than in any other sport.
With that away, let’s look at what Seattle could be targeting with their three top 60 selections and why they make sense for the organization.
3. Aiva Arquette, INF, Oregon State
The Mariners have been borderline infatuated with prep bats over the last few years, even after not taking one in 2025, and they’ve been linked to several prep bats like Ethan Holliday, JoJo Parker, Billy Carlson and a few other options. Seth Hernandez is also a potential option, but it’s hard to see them taking a prep arm this high. If Holliday is available, I think that’ll be the pick, but we’ll assume he’s not for this exercise. Arquette has been excellent in 2025 for the Beavers with 17 homers and an OPS of 1.150 over 51 games. The 6-foot-5 infielder has plus power in his right-handed bat with a solid approach at the plate and he’s shown minimal swing-and-miss in his profile. He should be able to stick at third, but the bat would play if he had to move across the pond to first base, as well.
35. JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis High School (MS)
Parker is in play at pick three, and there are plenty of teams who have interest in him in the top dozen selections. Think of Parker as more of an “idea” of what the Mariners could do with this pick if they use the pick on a college bat like Arquette. Because Seattle has the highest allocated bonus pool of any team, they’re going to be able to target high-upside players with this pick, and Parker would qualify. He’s a shortstop with a great chance to hit for average, and there’s a chance for above-average power in his left-handed swing. He also has a twin brother, Jacob, who is committed to play at Mississippi State — as is JoJo — so there’ll need to be a big bonus to buy out that commitment. If they can’t or Parker isn’t available, they could target a player like Daniel Pierce, Slater De Brun or local product Xavier Neyens from Mount Vernon.
If the Mariners went with a prep bat at three, a college bat like Cam Cannarella or Andrew Fischer would make sense.
57. AJ Russell, RHP, Tennessee
Russell will be one of the names I’m most intrigued to follow over the next few months, because in terms of talent, few college players offer his kind of upside. When he’s at his best, he has a 70-grade fastball, 55-grade slider and he throws strikes with both of those pitches as well as a below-average change. The issue is that Russell had an internal brace procedure last June, and he’s only thrown 13 innings in 2025 over seven appearances for the Volunteers. The Mariners have taken risks with this type of arm before, and while he could be a starter, he also could be a fast-track option as a reliever.
If not Russell, I could see the Mariners targeting an arm like Zach Root from Arkansas or Riley Quick out of Alabama.
Again, this is just a basic idea of what Seattle could target, but all of these names are players that Mariner fans should keep a close eye on as potential members of the organization.
