One Position the Mariners Have Failed to Develop in the Minors, and Why the MLB Draft Matters

The Mariners have had their share of homegrown stars. That part has never been the problem. They drafted and developed Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, and Tino Martinez. They’ve added Ichiro Suzuki, even if Ichiro arrived as a fully formed phenomenon from Japan rather than a traditional minor league development story. They now have Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh turning into one of the best homegrown position-player success stories this franchise has produced in years.

The Mariners can also point to premium pitching development and feel good about themselves. They should. Randy Johnson became the “Big Unit” here. Félix Hernández became “King Félix” here. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Bryce Miller all became legitimate front-line pieces here. Seattle knows how to identify, shape and graduate arms.

So this is not a “the Mariners have never developed anybody” kind of argument. That would simply be wrong. But when we start looking position by position, one hole gets pretty hard to ignore.

First base may have been their biggest failure. And that’s not meant to be an insult to some of their greats at first base. But once you look past the 80’s, it makes this draft conversation important.

Why First Base Remains the Mariners’ Biggest Draft Blind Spot

Outside of Alvin Davis, where is the long line of homegrown Mariners first basemen? That silence tells the story. The key here is drafted and developed. So cross off John Olerud. You can add Tino Martinez, and then remember the impact he gave the Yankees. Which brings us back to Davis.

Davis deserves every flower we can hand him. He was Mr. Mariner before the franchise had real national credibility. He made his debut in 1984, won American League Rookie of the Year and gave a bad Mariners organization something to build around. For a franchise still trying to find its identity, Davis mattered. And that should never get buried in this conversation.

At the same time, it makes the point even stronger. The Mariners had Alvin Davis, and then they basically spent the next several decades trying to find another one.

First base is supposed to be one of the easier places to find offense. And maybe that’s part of it. Instead of drafting and developing a first baseman, the Mariners have taken the road of trading for them over the last three decades.

Evan White was the closest thing in recent years the Mariners had to a modern development success story. He was an athletic defender with Gold Glove upside and just enough offensive upside. They believed in his profile so much that they signed him to a historic six-year, $24 million contract in 2019 before he had ever played a major league game.

The bat never amounted to anything. White played just 84 games across 2020 and 2021, slashing .165/.235/.308 before eventually being shipped to Atlanta in a salary-dumping move.

And then you have Tyler Locklear even more recently, who slashed .156/.224/.311 over 16 games in 2024 before being shipped in a package deal for the Mariners to reunite with Eugenio Suárez. The Mariners have too often treated first base like a place to patch, not a place to develop.

That’s why the position has been filled more by solutions from somewhere else than answers from their own system. John Olerud came from outside the organization. Richie Sexson came from outside the organization. Ty France came through a trade. Josh Naylor came through a trade. Even when the Mariners have gotten useful production there, it usually has not been because their own minor league pipeline solved the problem.

When a franchise keeps failing to grow its own answers at one position, eventually the cost shows up somewhere else. You spend money. You trade prospects. And you keep chasing short-term fixes.

That is the Mariners’ first-base story in a nutshell.

Not because White was the only prospect who ever failed. Prospects fail everywhere. That is the sport. But because Seattle has not had enough offensive development wins to absorb those misses cleanly. When the Mariners miss on a first baseman, it does not feel like one failed player. It feels like another chapter in the same old book.

Jeff Clement fits into that larger frustration too. He was drafted as a catcher, moved around the defensive spectrum and never became the impact bat Seattle needed. Again, not every failed prospect is the same story. But for the Mariners, these names start to pile up.

The Mariners do not have a single first baseman listed in their top 30 prospects in their organization. It’s not the end of the world, but it does tell us they need to evaluate those available in this upcoming draft. We’re not saying they need to switch focus from what works for them. Drafting a first-round arm or infielder has been their bread and butter. We shouldn’t expect that to change. But first base should be a priority in the higher rounds if available.

We know Josh Naylor isn’t going anywhere after signing a 5-year, $92.5 million contract. Which is why this is the perfect time to start the development tree behind him.

The Mariners cannot continue leaning on the idea that pitching development will cover everything. It has kept them competitive. But it has not solved the bigger flaws in the organization.

At some point, Seattle has to draft and develop more bats that actually become middle-of-the-order answers. That is especially true at first base, because the Mariners’ history there is too thin to ignore.

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