Seattle

The 2018 MLB free-agent class certainly does not boast the same strength as the 2019 group, where players like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are slated to hit the market. Yet, plenty of solid contributors are still available this winter.

Rumors are starting to circulate about where some of the bigger names could be heading. Notable outfielders known for tremendous speed have been in the news as of late, and they could be the first dominos to fall in free agency.

Let us take a look at the latest buzz on surrounding such free agents and what teams have been connected to them.

        

Billy Hamilton on the Move?

Despite generally being one of the elite franchises of the past decade thanks to three World Series titles, the San Francisco Giants endured a dreadful 64-98 campaign last season. Unsurprisingly, they are looking for a lot of help this offseason.

One name to recently surface is Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton, who is drawing interest from the Giants, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi on Monday. Hamilton is one of several targets for San Francisco, who Morosi says are making a concerted effort to improve defensively in the outfield.

Hamilton would fit that bill, as his electric speed and fantastic arm have made him one of the most exciting center fielders. In addition to making highlight-reel catches over the years like the one below, he finished third among outfielders with 13 assists and second in double-plays started with four while boasting a 99.1 fielding percentage last season, per FanGraphs. 

Offensively, Hamilton is a dangerous leadoff man should he reach base. He has posted at least 50 stolen bases in each of the last four seasons, including a career-high 59 steals in 2017. However, he has never hit above .260 in his career, and his on-base percentage has hovered around .300 during that time.

Hamilton is a pending free agent with arbitration eligibility, but the Reds still control his rights. Whether they move him depends largely on Cincinnati's value of him financially.

If the Reds are not comfortable handing Hamilton a hefty raise from the $2.65 million he made last season, which he is certainly due for, then a trade would make sense. With the second-highest payroll in baseball, the Giants can accommodate Hamilton as a free agent.

Assuming this reported interest is real, look for the Reds to save some money by sending off Hamilton to be signed elsewhere while still getting a prospect and some cash back in return.

       

Royals Already Thinking Replacements?

The core of the Kansas City Royals' recent championships runs looks destined to split this winter, as Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are all heading for free agency. 

Per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Royals are trying to bring back Hosmer and Moustakas, but they apparently have settled on letting Cain walk. This would leave a huge hole in the team's outfield, but there are reportedly replacements on the radar.

A recent World Series winner is one name to recently pop up, according to Morosi:

Cameron Maybin among options #Royals considering for center field, sources say. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 13, 2017

Cameron Maybin is talented player who has struggled with consistency at times. In addition to having great range in the outfield, Maybin is an average hitter who has hit over .260 three times in his career. He has shown flashes of being a top-end leadoff man, as he hit .315 in over 90 games in 2016, but he batted .228 last season, including .186 after being traded to the Houston Astros late in the summer.

This makes Maybin a high-reward player, but he does carry plenty of risk. He is coming off a five-year deal that paid him $5 million annually. The same annual salary for fewer years would be comfortable for the Royals, especially if they are going to try to keep up with the bidding for Hosmer and Moustakas.

However, another team could be in a better position financially to bid more for Maybin's upside, which could throw a wrench in Kansas City's plans. While Maybin is definitely no Cain, he is still a serviceable player who the Royals could regularly play near the bottom of the lineup or occasionally leading off. 

This team can still compete for a playoff position, especially by keeping its two prized infielders. Making a play for Maybin makes sense to stay in American League Central contention.

       

Reunion Unlikely for Ichiro

Along with guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, Ichiro Suzuki is one of the most iconic Seattle Mariners of all time.

With the 44-year-old Suzuki now a free agent and still looking to play, could Seattle bring him back to possibly close out his career? That seems unlikely, at least according to the latest chatter around the league.

Per MLB.com's Greg Johns, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto is looking for outfield help, but the team does not view Suzuki as a viable option. The Mariners are looking to get younger, which certainly does not help Suzuki's case.

Suzuki has not hit at least .300 since 2010, but his on-base percentage has been above .300 since that time. While Suzuki hit .291 in 2016, his average dipped back to the .255 it has hovered around since 2012. 

It is also unclear if Suzuki would be willing to go back to Seattle, as the only recent word of his intentions is that his camp reached out to the Giants, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. 

A player like Suzuki is likely to wait very long before finding a contract, as guys his age are not primary options for clubs. Rather, teams will approach him after most of the roster is filled out and in need of a reserve player. 

Suzuki can still contribute to an MLB team, and it would make more sense for him to join a contending team in need a fourth outfielder, such as the Houston Astros. Expect Suzuki to play in his 18th season, but not for Seattle.

        

Statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference. Contract information is courtesy of Spotrac.

A group has a proposed deal with the city of Seattle for a privately funded $600 million plan to renovate KeyArena.

According to King 5's Chris Daniels, Oak View Group has an agreement to begin construction at Seattle Center next year to complete by 2020 for NBA and NHL use. They will file the Memorandum of Understanding to Seattle City Council on Tuesday.

Per Daniels, OVG is also investing $40 million in transportation mitigation and another $20 million toward a community fund. The group would hold a 39-year lease on the land, but it must spend at least $168 million in capital improvements to enact a pair of eight-year extensions.

In June, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray accepted the bid from OVG, funded by billionaire investment banker David Bonderman and Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer.  

"We're going to get you a team," OVG CEO Tim Leiweke told reporters following the winning bid. "Mark it right here. I promise you … we're going to get you at least one team."  

With the Las Vegas Knights added as an expansion team, the NHL has 31 teams, with one fewer franchise in the Western Conference than the Eastern Conference. A revamped stadium could make Seattle a top contender for another expansion squad.  

The city lost the SuperSonics in 2008 when the NBA organization relocated to Oklahoma City a year after drafting Kevin Durant. NBA spokesperson Mike Bass told Daniels the 30-team league "is not involved in the ongoing Seattle arena process, and we have no plans to expand at this time."  

KeyArena, the SuperSonics' former home, now houses the WNBA's Seattle Storm and NCAA's Seattle Redhawks.  

When you think of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, a few adjectives probably come to mind: elusive, unflappable, earnest to a degree that occasionally prompts an unfair amount of flack from online critics. Menacing, probably not so much—something that makes his decision to design an edition of Nike’s Alpha Menace Elite cleat seem a little, well, out of character.

"Exactly," he says, smiling a little from a dressing room on the ground level of Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, where he’s preparing to shoot a TV spot for the shoe. "When I lace up my cleats, I go into a different zone. They make me feel a certain type of way: It's time to go win."

The Russell Wilson Player Edition of the Alpha Menace Elite will be Wilson’s first cleat design—he previously created a special "DangeRuss Wilson" colorway for the Free Train Force Flyknit series (it’s also available for kids and, for Wilson and his expecting wife Ciara, for babies). His version of the Alpha Menace is mostly white with gray camo and lime green accents, and features his personal Nike logo and his name (well, "DangeRuss Wilson") on the shoe's spine.

To commemorate his debut cleat, which will be available along with the standard green and black colorway online and in select stores on March 30, Wilson sat down with B/R to talk shoes, why he’s taking a new approach to social media and who he thinks are the greatest singers of all time.

 

B/R: What were your favorite shoes growing up?

Russell Wilson: I remember my first cleats were the Griffeys, the black and emerald—ironic, since I'm in Seattle now. Griffey changed the game, but he also represented pop culture and the youth—how he wore his hat backwards, how he swung the bat and walked off...he brought energy to the game, class to the game. He was kind of the first person I really watched. He was a big influence.

 

B/R: I know this isn't your first foray into apparel, but how did you approach the design process for the cleat? What were the details you had to have?

RW: I wanted something that was going to begin a legacy—something new, something fresh, something dynamic, something dangerous. I had to make sure the shoe had great comfort and a great sense of style. I had to make sure the shoe had a certain speed to it, a dynamic nature. I like fashion, so I wanted it to be classic—something that kids can always remember and always wear years down the road.

In terms of the actual feel of the cleat, when I'm out there playing, I kind of describe it like an animal: I want to feel like a tiger or a cheetah, to be able to move and run and get away. That imagery was a big part of designing the shoe. On the bottom of the cleat, it almost looks like skin, or something animal-like. I always say it kind of looks like genetics. Even the design of the spike, it's kind of like a triangle. Most cleats have a circle spike, but these are really claws in the ground. I remember describing to the Nike development team the idea of clawing the ground and being able to run away, to get to where you need to get to—ultimately, that's the end zone.

 

B/R: The concept of the TV spot is "putting people on skates." What's going through your mind when the coverage breaks down and you've gotta take off?

RW: It's chaos. In the midst of chaos, you've gotta be able to slow it down. That's one of the things that God's gifted me with, it's one of the things that I've trained for, and train for now.

 

B/R: Does attaching your name to a shoe design make you nervous at all, just with the risk of internet/critical backlash?

RW: No, I don't worry about that. Ultimately, I think authenticity is always key, no matter what you do in life. It's also key to the branding side of things. The authenticity that the Nike brand and my brand have fits together perfectly.

 

B/R: What Nikes do you wear most often off the field?

RW: I wear the Air Force 1s—I do like the new Flyknit ones, I think that's kind of cool. I pretty much wear everything—running shoes, I have my training shoe that I wear all the time pretty much. I do wear Jordans, too. Everybody wears Jordans because they're so classic.

 

B/R: Who, besides you of course, has the best sneaker style in the Seahawks locker room?

RW: Good question...Paul Richardson, I like what he wears. He's got some pretty good shoes. Earl Thomas wears funky shoes a lot—I'm not sure if it's the best style, but he'll wear a lot of different things. 

 

B/R: Switching to football, how's your offseason going?

RW: It's been great—I've been training like crazy with my trainer Decker [Davis] all the time, and we've been doing this new thing called Danger Train. It’s kind of storytelling about the offseason training, there's a lot more to come with that. More than anything, from a nutrition aspect to the speed aspect to the strengthening aspect and, most importantly, to the mental aspect, we're always trying to grow exponentially. We're continuing to find new ways to do that. 

 

B/R: Who, from the team, have you kept most in touch with?

RW: There's a lot of guys. I'm super close with Jimmy Graham, super close with Doug Baldwin, super close with so many guys. We group text all the time. Justin Britt, I'm close with as well. Cliff Avril's close—I don't like naming names, because I don't want to leave someone out. They're all great guys.

 

B/R: You've also really been upping your social media presence this offseason—especially on Facebook Live.

RW: That's something that I'm continuing to learn about. When I first came into the NFL, I was just trying to be super, super ready to learn the plays and all that. Now, I've found more balance. I think that with new life coming in, and family and everything else, balance has been critical. That goes for the social media part, too—allowing the fans to come into our world a little is cool. 

Also, I think giving great content out to people is critical, and exclusive, cool content they've never seen before is the best way to go.

 

B/R: What's the one thing that makes the Seahawks different than every other NFL team?

RW: I think it's the fans.

 

B/R: No, about the team!

RW: But I think that's part of the team! How they travel, I really do. That's the one common denominator. All of the teams have great players, but the fans are a major part of it—your atmosphere is what you become. For us, the atmosphere here in Seattle is one of a kind, there's nowhere like it.

 

B/R: What's your mantra going to be for the 2017 season?

RW: Win. It's really that simple.

B/R: What do you think is the biggest misconception that people have about you?

RW: That's a good question. It's funny, when I came into the National Football League, people didn't have that high of expectations for whatever reason. I don't agree with the reasons, but they had them—maybe because they thought I was too short. As a young rookie NFL player, you go to the rookie symposium and the one thing they tell you is, "You guys know what the NFL stands for?" Everybody looks around like, "National Football League...?" The guy's like, "Nope—Not For Long." They tell you right there to get prepared for your second life. You take that in, and I've always been one to prepare early, to see ahead and anticipate and believe in great things happening, and they do. I'd already known that concept and appreciated that concept, but for me, I was always going to be here for a while. I just believed in that.

I think the part that people get confused is that when you come in at a young age, they tell you to try to look for other things to do, and be ready for everything else in your life just in case. But as soon as you have a bunch of success, they think that's the only thing you can do, that you can only be a football player. I think God has gifted me with so many other things other than just football, and that's what I want to bring to the world.

That's the part that people can misconstrue. People don't understand: I've always been busy. They think that, "Oh, he's too busy, blah blah blah...," but for me, this is how it's always been. I took 18 credits every semester of college, graduated in three years, took graduate school courses, played football and baseball my whole college career. I've never stopped, and that's where that phrase "No Time 2 Sleep" is always true. I get motivated by success, by winning, by being around great people, and that's why I'm with Nike. Obviously with the Seahawks organization, I'm blessed everyday. I believe I have the greatest job in the world.

B/R: Wrapping things up with a fun one: I know you're a big R&B fan. Who's the most underrated R&B artist, to you?

RW: I'm more of an oldies guy. I'll say this—Michael Jackson, best entertainer of all time. Luther Vandross, best male singer of all time. Whitney Houston, best female singer of all time...and when Teddy Pendergrass says turn off the lights, turn 'em off. That's what I got for you.

The city of Seattle is working to set up discussions with the NBA to update the league on its arena development process as it seeks a future expansion franchise.

Continue for updates.

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Conflicting Reports About NBA, Seattle Situation

Thursday, Jan. 19

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times provided comments from Benton Strong, a spokesperson for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, on Monday about the project's current status. He downplayed a report from the 16 Wins A Ring blog about "ducking" calls from the NBA, and he stated the city also wants to talk with the NHL.

"There is absolutely no truth to that whatsoever," Strong said. "If anything, we are trying to get together on a call with both commissioners to keep the lines of communication open."

The 16 Wins A Ring post cited sources who said the league was taking a more serious look at expansion after completing a new CBA in December. It pointed toward 2018-19 or 2019-20 as the possible expansion seasons, with Seattle, Mexico City and Louisville among the candidates for a team.

Additionally, sources told 16 Wins A Ring that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver viewed Seattle as a "lock" to rejoin the league as long as the arena issue gets sorted out. The outlet reported Silver had grown "frustrated" by Murray's lack of correspondence, however.

The Seattle Times referenced an NBA source who said there was "absolutely no truth" to the blog post and said there were no planned talks between the league and the city.

Silver previously discussed the issue during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio in November. He wasn't sure whether expansion was a smart route to consider at this stage due to an uneven balance of talent around the league, but he did refer to Seattle as a "first-class market."

Meanwhile, the current focus for the city is determining what to do for an arena.

Chris Daniels of KING 5 reported on Jan. 9 that Council Member Debora Juarez said the city is seeking proposals about the renovation of KeyArena. It wants finalized bids by April 12, with AEG and the Oak View Group among those expected to take part in the process.

The other option is starting fresh by building a new arena. Mike Coppinger of USA Today noted in October that hedge fund manager Chris Hansen developed a plan to build the facility through completely private funding, though land use remained a hurdle.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is lending his wealth and star power to the effort. He announced on The Players' Tribune in November he was partnering with the Sonics Arena Group with the hope of attracting NBA and NHL teams to the city.

That said, the bottom line remains the same: There's still no definitive timetable for an arena decision, and that leaves potential expansion in either league up in the air for now.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wants more professional sports in his team's city.

On Nov. 11, the 27-year-old announced on Twitter that he's partnering with the Sonics Arena Group to help bring NHL and NBA teams to Seattle.

Tim Booth of the Associated Press shared hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen's statement on the development:

Statement from Chris Hansen on Russell Wilson joining the #SeattleArena investment group: pic.twitter.com/izM0VnlfNp

— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) November 14, 2016

On Thursday, Wilson said the goal is to build an arena first, but his plan is to have a stake in the franchise, per Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com.

This is not the first time Wilson has advocated for the return of an NBA team in Seattle:

Baffling this amazing city doesn't have the #SuperSonics Bring them back! Seattle Loves Basketball!

Seattle deserves a @NBA team

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) May 4, 2016

Seattle, Lets stand up & fight to get our team back! The stadium would sell out every game!

Let's start a petition Seattle! @NBA#WhyNotUs

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) May 4, 2016

On Tuesday, Wilson elaborated on why he joined the group in an essay in the Players' Tribune:

To me, this is about more than nostalgia.

We live in divisive times, and sports have a way of bringing people closer together. They allow us all — children and adults — to use our imaginations and dream. I want kids in Seattle to grow up dreaming of playing basketball or hockey for their hometown team.

The Dave Softy Mahler Show on Sportsradio 950 KJR described Wilson's value to the effort to bring the NBA and NHL to the Emerald City: "Whatever the financial contribution by Wilson is, I would think his presence on the team to help lobby City Council would be very important."

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll discussed his quarterback's decision, per Brady Henderson of 710 ESPN Seattle: "He loves his community. I think he's interested in being part of something that's really special here."

According to Chris Daniels of King 5, Wilson will join an investment group that includes Hansen, Wally Walker, Erik Nordstrom and Pete Nordstrom. The group has been working toward the goal of building an arena in the city's SoDo neighborhood since 2012, with the idea of bringing additional teams to the Pacific Northwest.

Daniels noted the city council refused to approve a street vacation that would be needed to build the arena in SoDo. However, Daniels cited a source who said Wilson is prepared to actively campaign at City Hall to bolster the project.

In October, Hansen said in a letter he would forgo a request for public funding and provide $200 million privately to help build an arena, per Mike Coppinger of USA Today.

The SuperSonics played in Seattle from 1967 to 2008 before moving to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder.

They won the 1978-79 NBA title under coach Lenny Wilkens with players such as Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams. They also reached the NBA Finals in 1995-96 behind Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp but ultimately lost to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in six games.

Seattle missed out on the primes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook after the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, but Wilson appears to be ready to do whatever is necessary to make sure the city's basketball and hockey fans don't miss out on more in the future.

Seattle is known for many things, but its contribution to sports and music are near the top of the list. The city wisely combined the two for the annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon that took place on Saturday and was won by Paul Katam in two hours, 26 minutes and 15 seconds on the men's side and Anna Corrigan in two hours, 54 minutes and 56 seconds on the women's side. 

The Emerald City is a marathon hot bed, with another one set for November, but the Rock 'n' Roll version serves as the unofficial start of summer with more than 17,000 total participants lining the streets for the different events on tap. 

Here's how things shook out in the main race on the men's and women's side:

Men's Results	Time	Women's Results	Time
Paul Katam (Beaverton)	2:26:15	Anna Corrigan (Phoenix)	2:54:56
Bill Condon (Seattle)	2:40:41	Z. Sophia Liu (Redmond)	2:57:17
Jesse Stevick (Olympia)	2:42:11	Kristina Brendzel (Bainbridge)	3:05:45
Scott Lawrence (Seattle)	2:45:38	Lacey Way (Auburn)	3:14:10
Seth Bernsten (Seattle)	2:49:49	Maia Paris (Los Angeles)	3:15:40
Antonio Roque (Lynnwood)	2:50:37	Amy Shohet (San Carlos)	3:17:29
Marlon Stubbs (Bellevue)	2:52:52	Emily Hazen (Richland)	3:18:09
Jonathan Bussiere (Seattle)	2:53:24	Kerri Badeau (Seattle)	3:21:33
Kevin Dean (Portland)	2:57:32	Gesa Gaiser (Erlinsbach)	3:24:08
Nobuyori Takeda (New York)	2:58:54	Laura Shore (Puyallup)	3:25:11

Full results can be found by clicking here. 

Because marathons regularly start early in the morning, while most of the regular world is asleep or just waking up, the organizers in Seattle like to make sure everyone is wide awake by kicking things off with a grand fireworks display at the Space Needle, via Chocolate Milk:

Firework send-off at #RnRSEA! Runners - we'll meet you at the finish line. #BuildIt 🏃🏻💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/NoYcWwt0Rd

— CHOCOLATE MILK (@chocolate_milk) June 13, 2015

Scenes of Seattle posted a photo of the crowd gathering at the opening line for the half marathon before the fireworks went off:

At http://t.co/6i86IGB9qr -- Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon #stilltraining #halfmarathon #adveture #travel #… pic.twitter.com/xyem7j0RZm

— Scenes from Seattle (@ScenesfromSeatt) June 13, 2015

Once everyone got started, Katam and Corrigan left no doubt they were the runners to beat on the men's and women's side of the full marathon. 

Katam got off to a blazing start, finishing five kilometres in 15 minutes and 52 seconds with a mile-pace of five minutes and 35 seconds. He continued at that speed for the entire 26.2-mile trek, finishing more than 14 minutes ahead of runner-up Bill Condon. 

A Kenya native, Katam has one of the most fascinating backstories of anyone in the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.

Eddie Wooten of the News and Record wrote in 2014 that Katam was named an All-Southern Conference academic honoree and a first-team NCAA honoree in track while attending North Carolina-Greensboro before joining the United States Army to raise money so he could finish college and go to graduate school. 

"The Army is going to pay for me to finish my undergrad and to go to graduate school," Katam told Wooten. 

There are so many human interest stories like Katam's that often come out of a marathon event like this. He was one of the best college runners in the country and now has a major marathon win under his belt, but the 24-year-old has bigger plans for himself that deserve to be acknowledged and applauded. 

Just as Katam flew out of the gate, Corrigan went wire-to-wire in securing the best time for the women. The Phoenix native did have more competition than Katam, as Z. Sophia Liu finished less than three minutes behind the winner. 

As impressive as Katam and Corrigan were in their respective runs, neither finished faster than last year's champions, per Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times: "Drew Polley, 28, of Pullman won the men’s marathon title last year, finishing in 2 hours 24 minutes, 51 seconds," Evans wrote. "Californian Devon Yanko, 31, won the women’s marathon title with a time of 2:51:18."

Regardless of the pace, Katam and Corrigan have every reason to be thrilled with what they accomplished on Saturday. Marathons have become huge events in this country and being able to finish one, let alone cross the finish line first, is a massive accomplishment. 

Every runner who finished deserves a standing ovation. It takes a lot of work to get your body prepared for the grind of a long run, but the actual day of the event provides a moment where everything goes right or falls apart. 

Now the participants can sit back, relax and enjoy the sounds of Rock 'n' Roll music in the place that birthed bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. 

Before the 2015 season started, the Seattle Mariners were praised by many for their impressive pitching staff. With its first two picks in this year's MLB draft, the Mariners boosted their rotation by adding more depth.

With the 60th overall pick in the draft, Seattle selected Peachtree Ridge High School (GA) pitcher Nick Neidert, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Many scouts took notice of Neidert due to his intriguing fastball and plethora of accolades at the high school level. During his senior season, he received Perfect Game USA first-team All-American honors and ended up signing his collegiate letter of intent to play at South Carolina this coming fall.

Twelve picks later, the team selected another impressive pitching prospect in Oregon State right-hander Andrew Moore. Over his three-year career at OSU, Moore anchored one of the best pitching staffs in all of college baseball. Moore received first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2015 after posting a dominant 7-2 record to go along with a stifling 1.91 ERA.

While the picks may seem impressive on paper, some Mariners fans have responded negatively on social media due to the team's underwhelming offense this season. Despite having star second baseman Robinson Cano and designated hitter Nelson Cruz, the Mariners rank 29th in MLB with just 196 runs scored through 57 games this season.

Here is what the Mariners developmemt has done to fans. We draft pitchers and reaction is, "why? We need hitters."

— JT (@JayTeeSea86) June 9, 2015

Some fans have questioned the first two picks by the Mariners, but some have been impressed with the team's selections. Prep Baseball Report supervisor Nathan Rode pointed out Neidert's unique skill set.

Slight frame for RHP Nick Neidert, but good stuff. 90-93 w/ sink. Flashes secondary stuff. #Mariners #mlbdraft

— Nathan Rode (@NathanRode) June 9, 2015

Some fans were concerned about whether or not Neidert would play college baseball at USC instead of opting to play for the Mariners organization right away.

Charleston Post and Courier reporter David Caraviello was one of the first to clear the air on Neidert's signability.

https://twitter.com/dcaraviello/status/608371100590948353

What separates Neidert from most high school baseball prospects is his ability to throw a fastball that tops out at 96 mph. Perfect Game USA scouting coordinator Brian Sakowski said Neidert's fastball is impressive despite his small stature.

I loved Nick Neidert a lot as well. Maybe a bit undersized but lightning fast arm, excellent life on FB that reaches mid-90's. Adv CH

— Brian Sakowski (@Sakowski_GoDuke) June 9, 2015

Similar to Neidert, Moore was seen as a reach by some due to questions about his signability. Despite being viewed by some as unready for the professional level, Moore has decided to sign with the Mariners and forgo his senior season, per Divish.

Some fans believe that Moore was taken far too early in the draft.

Mariners with a huge reach with Andrew Moore in the 2nd, Jack Z is such a clown..

— Shane Richardson (@DwapDwapPow) June 9, 2015

Contrary to fan opinion, Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said the Mariners' selection of Moore will help the team win games for years to come.

The @Mariners made a wise draft choice last night. @AndrewG_23 knows how to win. #gobeavs

— Pat Casey (@CaseysCorner5) June 9, 2015

While pitching was not seen by many as an immediate need for the Mariners, the team clearly wants to build on its strength rather than address glaring weaknesses. It is unclear right now how each of these pitching prospects will fit into the mix in the future, but there is no doubt Neidert and Moore bring a lot to the table.

Follow Curtis on Twitter: @CalhounCurtis