College baseball’s best are on display right now during the Men’s College World Series, and perhaps some future Seattle Mariners are as well.
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The Mariners beat the odds during the MLB Draft Lottery back in December, landing the No. 3 overall pick this July despite coming off a winning season. With a pick that high, Seattle will have a number of different ways it can choose to go.
That rings especially true this year in a draft with plenty of parody at the top. There is no Paul Skenes, who was the obvious pick to go No. 1 back in 2023. But there are a handful of names thought to be candidates to go in the top five of the draft.
Here are six players M’s fans should keep an eye on during the College World Series.
Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
MLB Pipeline raking: No. 3
2025 stats: 15 starts, 8-1 record, 3.54 ERA, 1.079 WHIP, 89 innings pitched, 145 strikeouts, 24 walks
The skinny: Anderson, 20, has risen to the top spot in Pipeline’s rankings among college pitchers during a season in which he leads the nation in strikeouts. The left-hander was projected to go to the Mariners in ESPN analyst Kiley McDaniel’s recent mock draft. Anderson is a strike-thrower with a fastball that touches 97 mph and plus offerings in his changeup and slider. He also throws a curveball. Anderson had Tommy John surgery in high school, so there is some history of injury. But Anderson would give the M’s farm system something that haven’t had in quite some time – a high-profile southpaw.
View Anderson’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 4
2025 stats: 14 starts, 8-2 record, 3.12 ERA, 1.064 WHIP, 78 innings pitched, 110 strikeouts, 26 walks
The skinny: Arnold had long been considered the top college arm in this year’s draft. The Florida State left-hander should still go very high in the draft, although he’s been passed up in Pipeline’s rankings by Anderson. Arnold, 21, pitches from a low arm slot with a plus fastball in the mid-90s and slider, which seems like a perfect fit for what the Mariners like.
View Arnold’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 6
2025 stats: 56 games, .346/.470/.668, 15 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, six stolen bases, 38 walks, 44 strikeouts
The skinny: Arquette is a former UW Huskies standout who transferred to Oregon State this season. The right-handed hitting infielder is considered as one of the best college hitters in the country, and he’s an intriguing prospect with a unique blend of size and athleticism. Arquette, 21, measures in at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, and he was Hawaii’s Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year as a senior in high school. There is still potential Arquette moves off shortstop, though. He played second base at UW and has enough arm strength to be a candidate for third base. One aspect that could be tantalizing to the M’s is Arquette has proven he can hit in the cold, wet spring months in the Pacific Northwest from his time at UW, Oregon State and with the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League.
View Arquette’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 8
2025 stats: 16 starts, 10-4 record, 2.65 ERA, 1.011 WHIP, 95 innings pitched, 124 strikeouts, 23 walks
The skinny: Witherspoon, 20, is widely viewed as the top right-hander in a college pitching pool stacked at the top with southpaws. The 6-foot-2 Oklahoma product already has a five-pitch mix, headlined by a plus fastball that reaches the high-90s, hard slider and cutter. A curveball and changeup are in the mix as well. The M’s have largely targeted right-handed pitching in the draft, as evident by the six homegrown arms featured in the rotation so far this season all being right-handers. There is a thought that the batter’s eye at T-Mobile Park helps righties out, which could make Witherspoon a more intriguing arm for the M’s than Arnold and Anderson.
View Witherspoon’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 9
2025 stats: 17 games (16 starts), 10-3 record, 2.91 ERA, 0.981 WHIP, 89 2/3 innings pitched, 153 strikeouts, 30 walks
The skinny: Doyle, 20, is well-traveled, as he’s on his third college team in three seasons. After a strong freshman year at Coastal Carolina, he had some struggles stepping up to the SEC at Ole Miss. The 20 year old still showed his elite ability to miss bats with the Rebels last year, and he’s put it all together with Tennessee this season, cutting his ERA nearly in half while posting the second most strikeouts in the nation. Doyle, the 2025 SEC Pitcher of the Year, features a mid 90s fastball that touches 99 mph, slider, cutter and splitter.
View Doyle’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 12
2025 stats: 58 games, .352/.459/.578, 13 doubles, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 45 walks, 42 strikeouts
The skinny: Houston, 21, may not be on the M’s radar as high as pick No. 3, but he’s worth a mention here as the second-highest rated college position player in the CWS. He’s a high-floor prospect who’s strong defensive abilities and plus speed should at least be able to get him to the majors as a utility player at some point. Of course, the hope would be for more from a first-rounder regardless of if he went as high as the third pick to Seattle. Houston was a Cape Cod League All-Star in 2024, and he’s added power this season to make his bat worthy of a look in the top 10.
View Houston’s MLB Pipeline profile here.
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