Aiva Arquette seems like the perfect prospect for the Seattle Mariners to draft with the No. 3 pick in next week's MLB Draft; he spent two years at the University of Washington in Seattle, he brings offensive pop (19 home runs in 2024) which Seattle has needed for years, and he'd potentially be close to MLB-ready when the contract of current M's shortstop, J.P. Crawford, expires in 2027.
So, why the holdup? Why isn't Arquette the obvious, slam dunk pick when the team is on the clock next week?
Well, partly because, even in baseball, you can have too much of a good thing — and Seattle might have too many good middle infielders in its farm system.
Mariners farm system is stocked with shortstops and second basemen
Typically, position doesn't matter at the top of the MLB Draft. If a team likes a player, that team usually takes that player. Simple.
But Arquette was a college player, meaning he's likely to spend less time in the minor league system — and as it stands, Seattle might not have a place for Arquette to play his natural position.
Cole Young, the Mariners No. 3 prospect, has been playing second base at the big league level for the past month-ish. Their top prospect, Colt Emerson, is expected to hit the bigs in the next few years, and he's a second baseman and shortstop, too. Felnin Celesten (Mariners No. 4) is years away from a potential call up, but he's mainly a shortstop, too. Michael Arroyo, No. 6, plays both sides of second base, too.
That's a lot of traffic in the middle of the infield for Seattle. Whether the Mariners draft Arquette could depend on how much confidence the team has in those prospects becoming difference-makers at the MLB level.
Mariners should draft the best player available
If I was in charge of the Mariners... well, a whole lot would be different. But if I were in charge of the 2025 Mariners draft room, I wouldn't let potential "fit" keep me from picking any player. It's impossible to predict how a player's career shakes out, and it's tough to predict who will even be in a team's system year in and year out.
Maybe Seattle goes all in at the deadline and ships off two of those prospects, and suddenly Arquette is the shortstop of the future. That's wishful thinking, for the record. But with all the unknowns that stand between a player and the big leagues, a supposedly loaded farm system shouldn't change how a team operates in the draft. If Arquette is the Mariners' guy, they should go get him, and figure out the fit later.