Mariners 2024 MLB Draft: Rounds 5-10 [UPDATED with Scott Hunter comments]

Here are the next potential future Mariners picked on Day Two of the 2024 MLB Draft

After splashing big in the first two rounds of the Draft, the Mariners are looking to save some money here on Day Two of the Draft. If you missed any of our previous coverage, here’s links to writeups on Rounds One, Two, Three, and Four.

Note: we’ll be updating these picks live as they come in.

Fifth Round: Charlie Beilenson, Duke University

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Beilenson (Bee-len-son) has acted as the Blue Devils’ shutdown reliever the past two seasons and is considered one of the best relievers in the country. Pitching his first three seasons at Brown, Beilenson took a major jump forward when he arrived at Duke (his father’s alma mater) and is amongst the top relievers in program history.

Putting up monster strikeout numbers and rarely walking batters, Beilenson was a finalist for the Stopper of the Year in 2024, an award that he fell just short to Texas A&M star Evan Aschenbeck. The six-foot-tall Beilenson doesn’t feature huge stuff, but a fastball that can reach the mid-90s as a part of a four pitch mix provides Beilenson plenty of tools to put hitters away. The changeup shows serious fade, his slider has flashed well, and his cutter provides an excellent change of pace from his fastball. In a post-Draft Day Two Zoom call, Mariners Director of Scouting Scott Hunter called Beilenson’s changeup “double-plus.” Despite standing just six feet, Beilenson is a durable, strong-bodied reliever; he was a workhorse for Duke this season and in 2023, when he broke the school record for appearances with 39.

Ultimately, he’s likely another reliever and will start next season at 25 years old, but Beilenson provides a high floor relief profile that will save some money and should be able to head straight to Everett out of school. Bonus fact: He’s a member of the New Zealand national baseball team. A PNW kiwi!

Sixth Round: C/RHP Grant Knipp, Campbell University

Another find from Campbell College and the mid-Atlantic thanks to tireless area scout Ty Holub, Knipp (pronounced “nip”) was announced as a two way player when he was drafted, working as both a catcher and a right handed pitcher. Knipp only began pitching in the 2024 season and was up to 97 in limited innings; however, he showed enough promise that some scouts prefer him on the mound, especially as he’s begun developing a slider.

Offensively, Knipp has a much longer track record and absolutely mashed. Before his season was cut short with a hamstring injury, the Campbell catcher was leading the country in home runs, launching 18 in his first 22 games. His power is absolutely massive, possessing some of the best raw power in the class. Additionally, Knipp has a sound approach at the plate, walking just about as much as he strikes out; however, the contact ability can be somewhat of an issue at times and leads to some whiffs. He’ll start next season at 23 years old, but this pick certainly provides an exciting player to the system that has a bit of mystery surrounding his exact role in the system. Plus, he’s friend-of-the-site Jordan Shusterman approved. What’s not to like?

As for how he’ll be developed, it sounds like the Mariners are going to let Knipp continue to work as a two-way player for as long as he’s able and see how things play out. It does sound like they will pull him out from behind the dish, with first base being mentioned as a destination, which should be an easy transition for Knipp, who is “big, physical, and moves well,” per Hunter. “We want to keep the bat in his hands.” However, a DH/CL role is also not out of the realm of possibility. “Time will tell what the path will be,” said Hunter, who also said Knipp gets high marks for character and is a “great person”—so he’s still a catcher at heart.

Seventh Round: RHP Brock Moore, University of Oregon

Moore is a massive human at 6’6 230lbs and features some equally massive stuff. With a fastball that sits in the upper 90s and has touched 101, the metrics behind the pitch indicate it could be a plus pitch at the next level. Additionally, Moore uses both a changeup with good tumble and a slider that gets solid sweep in the low 80s. Moore ranked outside the Top 200 list on MLB but was listed on BA’s top draft prospects list, coming in at 308. He opened several scouting eyes at the MLB Draft Combine, where he climbed onto the leaderboards with the second-fastest fastball of the day (98.1 mph) and a top-five slider for spin rates (2678 rpm).

Moore’s main bugaboo is his control, walking over five batters per nine. This number is somewhat alleviated with his massive strikeout totals, but it’s definitely below average at the moment. With a clean and easy operation, there is reasonable hope that Moore can straighten out his command and get more of his pitches around the zone, and some analysts think there’s a shot he can start as a professional. Scott Hunter said in a post-draft Zoom call that the team isn’t opposed to that, perhaps if he can dial down the velocity a little and get into the zone a little more—which might have to be something he does regardless, as the command is an issue. Moore was championed by former Mariner and current scout Sam Tuivailala, someone who battled his own command issues on his way up the big-league ladder, who says if the Mariners can just quiet down Moore’s delivery some, the team believes they have a true back-end high-leverage bullpen piece that should move through the system quickly if the command issues settle down.

Eighth Round: RHP Will Riley, Virginia Military Institute

Riley, who started fourteen games this season for his VMI Kangaroos, features a five pitch mix and has shown flashes of excellence at various points this season. He departs VMI with a school record for career strikeouts per nine innings with 10.95 and is sixth all-time in career strikeouts with 213, despite spending his first two seasons at James River College in Missouri. He’s struggled mightily with consistency and his control can come and go despite his ability to limit walks, but he ultimately performed well enough to make second team all SoCon as a starter. Sitting in the low-to-mid 90s and touching 97, he’s got a quick arm with easy operations on the mound, suggesting there might be more velocity to come. His college numbers don’t look all that pretty, but Seattle has worked wonders with similar pitchers before. He should be another cheaper sign.

Ninth Round - RHP Aiden Butler, Polk State College

Butler, a draft eligible sophomore out of Polk State in Florida, is a tall, wiry righty that has plenty of room to add weight and velocity. He’s listed as 6’6” at most outlets but is actually more like 6’8”, per Scott Hunter, which tells you something about the projectability remaining in his body. Butler worked as the Eagles staff ace this season and worked to a 3.67 ERA, striking out 70 over 64.2 IP and walking just 11 batters. With good control and feel to spin his breaking balls, Seattle views him as good clay to develop, hopefully extracting additional velocity to allow his currently middling arsenal to play up. Butler’s fastball currently only sits around 88-92 mph, making him an excellent candidate for Gas Camp (or whatever the Mariners are calling their pitching development camp these days).

While Butler does have some interesting experience—he’s currently playing for the JUCO US National Team in Amsterdam—it’s important to note that he is more of a development play than the traditional college arm. In his post-Day Two Zoom, Hunter called Butler a “scouting pick,” championed by longtime Mariners scout Rob Mummau. The Mariners believe that Butler’s arm works well already, but he’s got room to become even bigger and stronger, and with that clean and repeatable delivery, he has a chance to be something special in a couple years. In turn, Butler is excited to work with the Mariners’ vaunted pitching development department and be developed into something special; he specifically wanted to sign with Seattle and “knew everything about the Mariners” per Hunter.

Fun fact: Butler’s mom Heather Compton pitched on UCLA’s powerhouse women’s softball teams of the early 90s, winning two national championships in four trips to the College World Series. She was also a member of the USA National Softball Team, played internationally as well as professionally, and was a pitching coach at Florida State, where Butler was committed as a transfer student before being selected by Seattle.

Tenth Round: OF Anthony Donofrio, University of North Carolina

Donofrio, a 24 year old outfielder, was one of the better senior players in all of college baseball this season. Able to play all three outfield positions well and sporting plus run times, Donofrio possesses a sound approach at the plate and some intriguing power. I thought there was a chance they took him as their money saving pick in the earlier rounds of Day Two, so to land him with their last selection of the day is definitely a win. There’s bat to ball skills, sneaky power, defensive skills, and baserunning ability. Plenty of tools to be excited about, especially as a tenth rounder. His age was what ultimately led to his later draft position, but he was one of the better players on a Tar Hell team that made its way to Omaha. He’ll start right away in affiliated ball, perhaps skipping Modesto entirely.

In his post-Day Two Zoom call, Hunter called Donofrio a “professional hitter” and said his DTZ (Dominate the Zone) skills fit in perfectly with the Mariners’ organizational values. He also mentioned the positive effect of having such a seasoned, disciplined hitter around to be a “good influence” on the Mariners’ cadre of young hitters.

That concludes Day Two of the 2024 draft! Tune in tomorrow for the final day of selections, featuring rounds 11-20.