Seattle Mariners' 2nd-round draft pick Becker could be a gem

The Seattle Mariners made an early selection during the MLB Draft that has parallels to a pick they made a year ago, and they hope it pays off in a similar way.

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The Mariners selected prep shortstop Nick Becker out of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey during the second round with the 57th overall pick on Sunday.

Becker, whose dad spent two years in the Cleveland Guardians’ minor league system, was the No. 51 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s draft rankings coming in. At 6 foot 4 and 190 pounds, his frame and athleticism make him an intriguing prospect to watch in the Mariners’ farm system for years to come.

“It’s a tools play 100% of the way,” Mariners vice president of amateur scouting Scott Hunter said after Becker’s selection. “We felt he was the kind of guy that, if he does go to college, could wind up in the first-round area in three years. So, when you bank on an athlete who’s physical and can really run and has power, you just hope the pure hitting kind of develops over time. And if it does, then we’ve hit a home run.”

“An old-school baseball player in all the best ways.”

– @jonmorosi on No. 40 @MLBDraft prospect Nick Becker from Don Bosco Prep High School in New Jersey pic.twitter.com/x7KHnHq7DE

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 11, 2025

The selection of Becker has some similarities to when the Mariners took prep pitcher Ryan Sloan in the second round last year.

Sloan, who stands 6-5, was another big-bodied high school prospect with projectable measurables and potential to be a first-round pick. But Sloan was available in the second round for the Mariners in part due to uncertainty as to whether or not he would forgo playing college ball at Wake Forest.

More: Seattle Mariners MLB Draft Tracker

The Mariners ended up signing Sloan for well over slot value with a $3 million bonus. The right-hander has since put together a strong 2025 season at 19 years old with High-A Modesto and become a top 100 prospect in both the MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rankings.

There were also questions as to whether or not Becker would sign with a team after being drafted. He is committed to play at Virginia where his older brother, Eric, just wrapped up his sophomore season.

“When we saw Nick slipping a little bit, we thought, OK, we’ll just keep an eye on it,” Hunter said. “Just kind of like we did with (Ryan) Sloan last year, you just kind of monitor the situation, see how things start to develop, see what kind of financial capital we could save. And then when we got to the second round, we looked (at it) like this is the time to at least make the effort to go get him. And we were fortunate to be able to work something out right there on the spot.”

Without giving an exact figure, Hunter said the Mariners plan to give Becker a bonus similar to what a first-round compensatory pick would receive, well over his $1,636,800 slot value at No. 57 overall.

“The older brother did go to college and there were some talks that they wanted to play together, but Dave Pepe, our area scout, got to know the family really well,” Hunter said. “And Nick, from day one, they said is a little different than his older brother and didn’t necessarily want to take the path to go to college, because he felt he was a little more ready for the pro lifestyle and pro game.

“So, the work we did prior to gives me no concern that he that we won’t sign him and that it will get done fairly quick.”

Becker, a right-handed hitter, was the 21st shortstop taken during the draft, but the Mariners feel his tools are comparable to those who went above him.

“The physicality and the pure speed and strength throughout his body,” Hunter said. “He’s not a polished hitter right now, but he’s 6-4, (190). He’s a 70, almost 80 (grade) runner on our scale. He’s shown power to all fields and really had a good summer last year. Probably a little bit greener than some of the guys that went higher, but the tools in comparison to those guys, it really matches up to the guys that went in the top 30 or 40 picks of this draft.”

Seattle Mariners’ 2nd-round draft pick Becker could be a gem

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