It can be tough to find true impact players towards the back half of the first round, but that certainly hasn’t stopped the Mariners from shooting for the moon in the past. Snagging their infield tandem of the future in Colt Emerson and Cole Young with picks in the 20’s, the M’s will yet again have an opportunity to aim big and select a prep infielder with their first pick in this upcoming July’s draft.
Today’s player of interest, SS/3B Bo Lowrance, is about as “big” of a swing as you can take. Coming
in at 6’5 and north of 205 pounds, Lowrance carries a large frame well and has a ton of room to fill out with additional strength. Using his long levers exceptionally well for someone his age, Lowrance’s swing is a beautiful lefty stroke that capitalizes on his innate leverage, working through the ball with consistency and getting to plenty of power in game action. Perhaps most exciting and atypical of a high schooler his size, Lowrance’s offensive game branches beyond the power tool and shows strong signs he’ll be an above-average contact hitter at the next level. He’s got good feel for the barrel and employs a true approach at the plate, something that can’t always be said about young, inexperienced bats.
Lowrance is all but guaranteed to end up at the hot corner as a professional. As a prime candidate to add size and strength in the professional ranks, Lowrance projects to lean into his power upside and add physicality in favor of up-the-middle defensive versatility. He’s split time between shortstop and third base up to this point and has the arm strength to stick on the left side, but it seems unlikely he’ll possess the level of lateral quickness and explosiveness required to play shortstop at the professional level. This said, Lowrance is no liability on the dirt; he has the makings of at least an average defender at third and has a shot to be above-average or better.
Lowrance possesses a rare blend of projection and polish that should grant him a shot at going far earlier than the Mariners pick in the first round. With draft positions still somewhat up in the air, tying down players to specific teams is nearly impossible, and public consensus around players can vary widely. That said, given he’s likely to move off shortstop in the near future, Lowrance certainly has a chance to make it into the mid 20’s and could be a tantalizing option for a Mariners organization that could use a strong corner infield prospect in their system.
