Seattle Mariners 2021 first round pick Harry Ford breaks the mold
Legacy of disappointment
It would seem that the Mariners used all of their first-round high school pick mojo on Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod. It’s
1996 – Gil Meche, 22nd, SP
He wasn’t terrible but wasn’t amazing either. Meche eventually made an All-Star game with Kansas City. With the Mariners, he only had two fully healthy seasons out of six, and he never materialized as a dominating pitcher.
1997 – Ryan Anderson, 16th, SP
In 1999, MLB ranked Ryan Anderson as the game’s top pitching prospect. Billed as Little Unit because a 6-10, he stood as tall as Randy Johnson and threw like him, but younger Anderson was on the verge of a breakout. Then he got injured, was out of baseball for four years. Anderson hung up his heater after the 2005 season.
1999 – Ryan Christianson, 11th, C
The Mariners had a good run on catchers up to that point with David Valle (second round), Dan Wilson, and Jason Varitek. Before the 2000 season, Christianson was named to the MLB top 100 prospects list. His opportunity to get to The Show never materialized, and he topped out at Triple-A.
2001 – Michael Garciaparra, 36th, (supplemental 1st round pick), INF
Not Nomar reached Triple-A Tacoma in 2006 after struggling with the bat for much of the first five years of his professional life. Pro ball didn’t pan out as well for the younger Garciaparra as it did for his older brother.
2002 – John Mayberry Jr., 28th, OF/1B
Mayberry opted to go to Stanford instead of signing with the Seattle Mariners. Three years later, Texas selected him with the 19th pick.
2003 – Adam Jones, 37th (supplemental first-round pick), OF
Jones became one of the most successful first-round high school picks by the Mariners. Unfortunately, the five-time All-Star had his best years in other places. He played only two seasons for the Seattle Mariners (2006 and 2007) and amassed a .230 batting average with 32 hits in 73 games. Jones won four Gold Gloves and even finished in sixth in the 2012 MVP voting. That year, he played all 162 games for Baltimore, hit 32 home runs, had a .839 OPS, and scored over 100 runs.
2009 – Nick Franklin, 27th, INF
Franklin retired in 2019 with a .214 batting average after playing 301 Major League games. Ten years earlier, he was the second of Seattle’s three first-round picks (Dustin Ackley was the 2nd overall pick). In the minor leagues showed power and speed and was a slick fielder. He played one full(ish) season in the bigs with the Mariners and managed a .225 batting average and .686 OPS. It was all downhill from there.
2009 – Steven Baron, 33 (supplemental first-round pick), C
In 26 Big League at-bats, Baron has three hits and an RBI with 10 Ks. The catcher managed to split all those at-bats with three different big league teams. He’s still kicking around professional baseball. He spent 2020 at the Indians’ alternate site.
2010 – Taijuan Walker, 43 (supplemental 1st round pick), SP
Walker was barely a first-round pick, if that. Still, the two-time Seattle Mariners pitcher is putting together a decent career. While Walker endured some injury stuff, he’s having a good 2021 with the Mets.
2014 – Alex Jackson, 6th, OF
The 6-2, 210-pound outfielder might replace Ronald Acuna Jr. in the second half of Atlanta’s season. Jackson is only 25-years-old made cameos for the Braves in each of the last three seasons. However, he has never hit for average (.269 in 2021 at Triple-A in only 67 at-bats is his highest).