Mariners Select INF Brock Rodden in the Fifth Round of the 2023 MLB Draft

Mariners get another conference Player of the Year, this time the AAC’s top player

With the third pick of day two, the Seattle Mariners went with INF Brock Rodden out of Wichita State University. Rodden is a grinder type of player and should save the team some money to afford their plethora of prepsters, but he’s got some interesting traits that should excite Mariner fans.

Rodden is a Control-the-Zone darling, assuredly a major part of why he’s a Seattle Mariner. With a 39/26 K/BB ratio, he shows a good understanding of the zone and avoids strikeouts at a high rate. There’s some serious pop in the profile as well, with posted exit velocities exceeding 110 mph.

Additionally, Rodden played on the Cape this year and showed decently. He didn’t overwhelm, but against better competition and using a wood bat, it was a fine showing. The Mariners seem to value performance in the wood bat leagues, and his performance there likely played into this selection.

Rodden was drafted in the 10th round by the Athletics in 2022 but smartly bet on himself and opted to return to Wichita State for his junior season, where he improved on his already-strong 2022 numbers en route to winning the AAC Player of the Year award.

Rodden is a guy that maximizes his physical abilities. Standing at 5’9, Rodden switch hits and impacts the ball well from both sides. He’s currently listed as a shortstop and played there for the Shockers, but he’s probably a utility type player that primarily plays on the dirt (side note: shoutout to the Shockers social media for being just the right amount of spicy-funny on their Twitter account while also gassing up their guys):

The tools aren’t super loud and it’s not a super sexy pick, but he’s absolutely going to be someone that has a chance to hit. For a fifth round pick that should save you some money, that’s what you’re looking for.

As whole, the first five rounds look really, really solid for Seattle. A ton of upside all over the place. The Rodden pick allows them to afford their prior prepsters. I’m not sure exactly where he ends up defensively and it’s a fringe big league profile, but he’s a grinder.