Five players the Seattle Mariners could target with pick No. 3

It's early, but let's take a look at who Seattle could get with their top 3 pick.

Ah, baseball. Yes, baseball. Yesterday, the clanging of metal bats rung out from my television speakers all day as college ball officially began. It wasn’t your Seattle Mariners, but it certainly sufficed after a long and largely inactive winter for the trident wielders.

Maybe the biggest acquisition this offseason by Seattle was nabbing the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft in a stroke of luck through the draft lottery. A chance to grab a college player that could be in the majors making an impact within 18 months of the draft. Or, an extremely high upside high school player with tantalizing tools.

Here are five players we should be monitoring over the course of the college baseball season.

1. Jamie Arnold, LHP — Florida State

HEIGHT: 6-1

WEIGHT: 195

2024 STATS: 105.2 IP, 2.98 ERA, 1.098 WHIP, 159 K, 26 BB

First team all-american in 2024 as a sophomore. Also in 2024 — Jamie Arnold began his year without giving up a run in his first 24.1 innings pitched. He may look to top that streak this year after a six inning scoreless debut on Friday that featured one hit allowed and eight strikeouts.

Three potential plus pitches with the fastball and sweeper leading the way. The changeup needs to catch up to the other two, but it sounds like he put in a ton of work on it over the offseason. In the video above he backfoots that looping sweeper to demolish a right-handed batter and is pretty pumped about it.

Arnold might not make it to Seattle at No. 3, but if he does it should be a no-brainer.

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2. Jace LaViolette, OF — Texas A&M

HEIGHT: 6-6

WEIGHT: 230

2024 STATS: 334 PA .305/.449/.726, 29 HR, 1.175 OPS

A giant human being with a massive, powerful left-handed swing that has a chance to be in the majors by 2026. LaViolette is the consensus No. 1 prospect on most boards and a 2024 that produced a first team All-SEC nod.

With a solid approach that saw him draw 64 walks and just 81 strikeouts that combines with a quick twitch of the wrists and a powerful lower body, the Katy, Texas native will look to cement himself as the top college bat for the upcoming draft.

The two knocks on LaViolette are that he will play corner outfield in the pros, and that he needs to shore-up his contact tool. He homered twice today and looked every bit the part of consensus No. 1 prospect.

3. Tyler Bremner, RHP — UC Santa Barbara

HEIGHT: 6-2

WEIGHT: 190

2024 STATS: 88.2 IP, 2.54 ERA, 0.880 WHIP, 104 K, 21 BB

If Bremner can reel in the control, he may surpass Jamie Arnold as No. 1 college pitcher right now, and on some boards he already has. The stuff is that nasty. Upper 90s fastball, a devastating changeup and a sweeper that is on the rise. The delivery is so smooth it looks as if he is playing soft toss in your backyard, only to watch the ball fire out of his hand at 98 mph.

Born in San Diego, CA, the right-hander has the tools to be a top-3 pick. He was removed in the third inning of his first outing in 2025 due to the team being cautious as he was feeling a bit stiff. That may be something to monitor over the next couple of months.

4. Aiva Arquette, SS — Oregon State

HEIGHT: 6-4

WEIGHT: 220

2024 STATS: 229 PA, .325/.384/.574, 12 HR, .959 OPS

Aiva Arquette might have the biggest chance to be the No. 1 pick among the guys that currently sit outside the consensus top-3. If he can put together a full successful season at Oregon State and confirm that the contact and power tools are real and the strides he made in 2024 are here to stay, the Hawaiian native could shoot even further up the board.

He’s off to a good start after demolishing this baseball in the 7th inning of Oregon State’s opener.

Yeah.

The Hawaiian native may wind up at third base in the big leagues, but flashes the athleticism to sick at shortstop. His approach at the plate leaves a bit to be desired at times, he struck out 40 times in his 229 plate appearances for Washington last year, and 28 times in his 117 plate appearances on the cape.

5. Billy Carlson, SS — Corona High School

HEIGHT: 6-1

WEIGHT: 178

BAT/THROW: R-R

The only prep kid in this write-up. If Billy Carlson puts it all together and can get more lift under the ball at the plate, he could work his way into the top-3 of the 2025 draft. He should stick up the middle defensively, displaying easy footwork, plus range and a plus-plus arm.

He has time to add to his 6’1” 180lb frame, generating more raw power. But for now, contact remains his best tool at the plate.

Carlson is committed to Tennessee but I would be very surprised if he ever plays any college ball. Things would have to go very poorly in his 2025 season for that to become a reality.

Carlson gets a bonus video, because he absolutely torched this ball last week:

Enjoy Baseball.