SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners concluded Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday having gone college-heavy.

The Mariners made four picks on Day 1 of the draft, one in  each of the first four rounds. All four were collegiate players and three were bats.

"I think the high school depth wasn't as great (this year)," Seattle vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said following Day 1 of the draft on Saturday at T-Mobile Park. "There was a handful of high school arms we were interested in and there was probably two or three high school bats. Moving money around was very difficult this year with so many teams with big singing bonus pool money. We tried in a couple areas to be aggressive but it really didn't work out. ... We didn't chase it and we wound up making some really good decisions with Jake Brown and Nathan Taylor and, obviously, with (Trevor Lucas)."

Here's a breakdown of the Mariners' draft picks from Rounds 2-4 of the draft. More on the team's first-round pick, Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese, can be found here:

Brown has arguably the biggest physical upside of Seattle's Day 1 selections. His speed was a standout at the MLB Combine to Hunter and the rest of the Mariners' scouts and he's still early into his career as a position player, having joined LSU as a two-way player.

Brown slashed .309/.404/.642 with a 1.046 OPS in 42 games with the Tigers last season. He hit seven doubles and 16 home runs with 49 RBIs.

"We had a great meeting with him at the combine," Hunter said. "Just a really fun leader. ... The way he'd talk about being in that clubhouse at LSU, it wasn't the same as the year before, how there was difficulties in culture and how he was kind of the leader that tried to keep that group together during a tough year stood out. But it was more about the player. ... You see the progression of his offensive game improving. (He had) a little injury bug since early in the season, then he goes into the combine and he's one of the fastest guys there."

Brown's selection also drew a positive reaction from the M's' first-round pick last year, left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson.

Anderson was roommates with Brown and texted Hunter following the pick co-signing the decision.

Taylor was excited to join the Mariners, per Hunter, due to the team's reputation of developing pitching. And there's reason to be optimistic about the Cincinnati product's future as a starter in the organization.

The now-former Bearcat already has solid command of his secondary pitches, which includes a 60-grade slider (per MLB.com) and a 45-grade changeup.

The focus for the organization will be more focused on developing Taylor's fastball than his off-speed offerings. His heater can touch up to 97 mph but he averages around 93-94 mph.

"He's big, he's physical, he throws a ton of strikes, he misses a ton of bats," Hunter said. "He's already got the feel, the spin (of) two breaking balls. Probably could use his fastball a little bit more. Our (player development) group felt that there was a dial-turn or two that we could get even more out of what he's doing right now." 

Taylor had a 3.60 ERA and struck out 115 batters in 90 innings pitched across 16 starts with Cincinnati this college baseball season.

Seattle concluded the draft going with their second third baseman of the day.

Lucas was described as "Ben Williamson-lite" by Hunter, albeit with the potential for a little more power behind the former's bat compared to the now-Tampa Bay Ray.

"Makes good swing decisions, makes ton of contact," Hunter said. "We do believe he's a plus-defender at third base and there is some hope that he might be able to move around the field a little bit. Talking to our P.D. group, they believe they can add a little bit more bat speed and a little bit more impact."

If Williamson does end up being an apt comparison for Lucas, then the Mariners will likely welcome it.

Williamson was one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball in 2025 in his half-season in the major leagues, before Seattle acquired Eugenio Suarez and optioned the former down to Triple-A. Williamson was traded to the Rays in a three-team deal this past offseason that netted the Mariners 2025 All-Star Brendan Donovan.

Lucas slashed .312/.429/.556 with a .985 OPS in 58 games with UNC Wilmington this season. He hit 12 doubles, a triple and 12 home runs with 56 RBIs.

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