Mariners' top picks get close look at The Show

SEATTLE -- Jonny Farmelo’s phone buzzed almost immediately after he’d just hung up with Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter after being taken with the No. 29 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft last Sunday. On the other line was his former teammate at Team USA calling to congratulate him, and talk about how stoked they were to continue playing together.

That’d be Tai Peete, who was selected by Seattle one pick after, and who didn’t just share a dugout with Farmelo on the Team USA circuit -- but also an apartment. Yes, those two were roommates leading up to the Draft, and they resided in that complex with Colt Emerson, who was drafted by the Mariners at No. 22 overall.

Who knows, maybe they can all find a three-bedroom apartment near the Peoria Sports Complex when they trek to Arizona to begin their pro careers in the coming days.

“I think it's amazing, just being able to talk to somebody,” Peete said on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park. “I know I have Colt to lay back on. I know I've Jonny talk to you, and of course, they have me to [lean] back on if they ever really have a bad day, we can talk to each other. Growing that bond, growing that kind of family that we have within a bigger family, I think it's amazing.”

Peete and Emerson were in town to take part in a full pregame workout with the big league club ahead of the Mariners’ game against the Twins. And they soaked in every part of it, beginning with drills with infield coach Perry Hill, transitioning to field work with second baseman Kolten Wong and shortstop J.P. Crawford and capped with five rounds of BP.

Farmelo was en route and will do the same on Wednesday after agreeing to terms with the club on Monday.

Their lives have changed dramatically in the past week, but the bright lights of a big league ballpark were easily the most fun in this stretch.

“I met Ichiro earlier -- like, it's insane,” said Emerson, who was born on July 20, 2005, when Ichiro Suzuki was in his fifth big league season. “I've enjoyed every second of this. I'm so thrilled to be part of it. It's, it's just been really surreal to me.”

If Emerson brought the cannon that has him projected to wind up at third base long term, Peete brought the swagger and show, crushing his final swing of the day off the right-field facade under the Hit It Here Café, while Mariners manager Scott Servais and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto watched behind the batting bubble. Peete looked cool doing it, too.

“All my gear is teal, so just be on a teal team, I might as well whip it all out,” Peete said. “I've got teal cleats, glasses. I think that's a big part -- you look good, you play good.”

This trio is an embodiment of Seattle’s aggressively bold strategy to swing for the fences by spending three of the top 30 picks on high school talent that it believes has huge upside. The Mariners went over slot value to sign Emerson ($3.8 million), Peete ($2.5 million) and Farmelo ($3.2 million).

“The discipline we've shown over the first five or six years of, I guess my tenure in this thing, put us in a position to really go for it,” Hunter said.

Beyond the social camaraderie that these three possess, the Mariners are bullish on their physical makeup, specifically in the versatility of their athletic development. Emerson played football at John Glenn High School in Ohio. Peete grew up playing golf, soccer and basketball, but his parents wouldn’t let him play football. His mother, Yuki Braxton, played Little League on the national team in Austria back in the 1990s.

“I think when you pick that high and you've got first-round picks, they should look the part when they walk off the bus so to speak, that they look like they belong,” Servais said. “And certainly, they've got a lot of development ahead of them.”

Next up is a stint in the Arizona Complex League, where the Mariners send all of their high-school picks. Though Peete and Emerson are 17 years old and Farmelo is 18, they’ll be the headliners among the next wave of hitting talent in the organization.