Seattle Mariners 2023 Draft Tracker: Rounds 7-10

Draft Day Two has wrapped up and the Mariners have added, in addition to their four (!) picks on Day One, another seven picks to the organization. As a recap, here’s links to the first through sixth rounders’ writeups:

7th Round: RHP Ty Cummings, Campbell

The Mariners like Campbell Camels—see Spencer Packard, their 9th-rounder from 2021—and have used their seventh-round pick on RHP Ty Cummings, bringing another Camel into the fold.

He’s not a big strikeout guy and will be a reliever as a pro, with a two pitch mix consisting of a sinker and slider. The sinker has big downward bore and should induce a ton of ground balls. The slider has shown well and should be a nice pitch for him as well. For having a somewhat unorthodox release, he’s got good velocity and sits in the mid-90’s, topping out around 98. He’s going to live down in the zone and make his money inducing a ton of weak contact.

8th Round: RHP Ryan Hawks, Louisville

The Louisville starter showed well in his first year manning the rotation and acted as the Cardinal’s opening day starter this year. Working with a short arm delivery, Hawks sits in the low 90’s with his fastball and has both a changeup and a slider.

Hawks tallied 80 strikeouts across 76.2 innings and only walked 23; however, the stuff needs to tick up if he were to stay a starter. Perhaps the Mariners see a way to better optimize the college righty, looking to unlock something in the profile. It’s an atypical release/arm action and could provide a funky look to hitters at the next level.

9th Round: OF RJ Schreck, Vanderbilt

Schreck, a Harvard-Westlake grad, played four years at Duke before transferring to Vanderbilt as a fifth-year senior. Schreck acted as one of the better run producers for the Commodores this year as the lefty swinger tallied 14 homers and an OPS north of 1.000 against excellent competition. He’s a corner guy and a little bit older, but he’s a solid player that has a shot to start at Everett.

Tim Corbin on Schreck: “His maturity, his approach to baseball, his intelligence, his acumen for the game, his ability to come in and blend into a team not knowing many people with the exception of Sam,” Corbin said. “He’s a good baseball player. He plays the game well, and he plays the game right.”

10th Round: OF Jared Sundstrom, UC-Santa Barbara

Big slugger boy ahoy! Sundstrom is a big (6’3”) righty power hitter that would have headlined the Jack Z draft classes who made the All-Big West team this year after ending the season slugging .672. His highlights are all fun to watch but this is a favorite:

Despite being a certified Beef Boy, Sundstrom is faster than you might think, able to leg out a triple and cover a lot of ground in the outfield:

But make no mistake, the selling point here is big, no-doubt bomb shots with triple-digit exit velocities. As a polished college bat, Sundstom should be in Everett very soon, making Funko Field look small.