Mariners Linked to First-Round Arm Who Feels Almost Too On-Brand

To no one’s surprise.

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto speaks with the MLB Network at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners being linked to a first-round college arm shouldn’t shock anyone. They develop arms well, and that’s the reality of this organization.

MLB Pipeline’s latest 2026 mock draft has the Mariners taking Tennessee right-hander Tegan Kuhns at No. 24, and the fit feels almost too clean. College pitcher (who's now in the transfer portal) with a great fastball. Enough said.

For those not jumping to the end credits, what’s interesting here is that the Mariners aren’t the only team in the game for Kuhns. Jim Callis also noted the Mariners are “targeting the same college arms as the Cubs,” in addition to Arizona State left-hander Cole Carlon. That matters because the Cubs were linked one pick earlier to Arkansas left-hander Hunter Dietz, with Pipeline mentioning names like Liam Peterson, Dietz, Kuhns and Cade Townsend as part of that college pitching lane.

So, Seattle didn’t stumble into this arm. Kuhns seems to fit a very specific aisle and range on the draft board to lumped with similar suspects with developmental upside.

UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! 🤯🤯🤯

Take a bow Tegan Kuhns.

📺https://t.co/NTIVmr67Tz#GBO🍊 // #OTH pic.twitter.com/8EwhJjHyhK

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 9, 2026

Why Tegan Kuhns Fits the Mariners’ Familiar MLB Draft Strategy

Some could probably voice their displeasure with the idea of the Mariners taking yet another arm in the first round. After all, the past two seasons they’ve drafted Kade Anderson and Jurrangelo Cijntje with their first pick. Some fans are always going to want bats. And that’s their right. The Mariners rarely have enough offense. 

But the MLB Draft cannot fix tomorrow’s lineup by forcing a bat at No. 24 today. If the Mariners believe the best value on the board is a college pitcher with traits they can sharpen, they are not going to run away from that just because the big-league offense has scarred us all.

Kuhns is a right-hander with the kind of profile that makes so much sense for Seattle’s pitching operation. The fastball command is the conversation starter. The breaking-ball shape is already there. And the physical frame checks out. 

This one is a layup that they don’t have to talk themselves into. However, there was a curveball in Callis’ note was the mention of Georgia prep outfielder Trevor Condon. Pipeline wrote that if Condon lasted longer than expected, Seattle could grab him. 

So if the right bat falls, the conversation can change. A toolsy outfielder slipping to No. 24 would at least force Seattle to look beyond the comfortable pitching lane. 

Still, the Kuhns connection is easy to understand. 

The Mariners have spent years telling us what they value. They believe in pitching and player development. Kuhns being connected to Seattle is nowhere close to a stunner. It's just aggressively on-brand.