ANALYSIS: 2024 Draft Class Could Be Future of Seattle Mariners

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners' past and present have been scrutinized heavily throughout the past year after the team missed the playoffs by one game in 2023 and 2024. And most of the commentary around the team has been about whether they can bounce back.

But Seattle's future is looking pretty bright. All seven of the organization's top 100 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) have appeared for the team in spring training games.

Six of those seven players will play for the Mariners in their spring breakout game against the Cleveland Guardians on March 14. Several picks from the 2024 MLB Draft -- including switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, right-handed pitcher Ryan Sloan and righty Hunter Cranton -- also will be featured on the roster. That trio was drafted in the top three rounds last year and will be joined by fellow 2024 selections Brock Moore (RHP), Grant Knipp (catcher/RHP) and Josh Caron (catcher).

That draft class very well could be the future of the organization.

The unquestioned strength of the Mariners is the pitching staff. And that was the area Seattle targeted last year, using 15 of its 20 draft picks on hurlers. It was a sensible approach since all seven of the Mariners' top 100 prospects are position players.

Cranton, 24, received an invitation to major league camp as a non-roster invitee. He's the only one of Seattle's top three draft picks who has played professionally. He made nine appearances for the organization's Low-A affiliate, the Modesto Nuts.

Hunter Cranton closes it out. Nuts win Game 1. pic.twitter.com/wTgPpUJbmy
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 11, 2024

Cijntje, 21, has the unique ability of being ambidextrous, and the 19-year-old Sloan was drafted out of high school in the second round. Despite the difference in experiences, abilities and ages between the three, they've been getting to know each other and share information.

"I would say last year, when all of us got drafted, we didn't [know] each other pretty good," Cijntje said in an interview Tuesday. "But we've been here for a couple months already. We went to the (high performance) camp and then we came back to the early camp this year in January. And it's kind of like, you know them for a long time because you've been here like three-four months already. But I think it's pretty good, especially helping each other. You can just ask each other questions. And just trying to help each other. Everybody's trying to be better. And if we can do that, even though you're doing stuff (individually), at the same time we're still like a team. And if we can just help each other, I think that will be pretty good."

Cijntje, Sloan and Cranton aren't the only prospects from 2024 who have been highlighted. Knipp is a two-way player with a fastball that touches the upper-90 mph range and plays catcher. One of the team's later draft picks, Anthony Donofrio, pinch ran and stepped in at designated hitter when Mitch Garver exited a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday after getting hit by a pitch.

Moore, who was drafted out of Oregon, and Christian Little out of LSU are also strong-armed throwers and were highlighted by Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto in a preseason news conference held via Zoom.

Cijntje's statement highlights an important mentality that the top three draft picks, and presumably the rest of the class, have. One that's been mentioned by the major rotation and roster — bouncing things off each other and absorbing information where they can. Learning and getting better from each other.

There's already been an incredible amount of hype placed on the 2024 class. A good number of them likely won't see the major league roster, as is the nature of baseball. But the uniqueness of the draft class and the mentality a lot of them have could lead to one of the best groups of minor leaguers that Seattle has put together in its recent history.

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