The Mariners selected Taijuan Walker. Here's his profile:
Taijuan Walker Position: RHP School: Yucaipa HS State: CA Height: 6’4’’ Weight: 190
Birth Date: 8/13/92 Seiler Rating: 1C1 Commitment: None
Taijuan Walker is an athletic right-handed pitcher from Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, a town near San Bernardino National Forest. Walker played alongside 2009 supplemental first round pick Matt Davidson last year in the infield, and while he has enough strength and athleticism to be a mild draft prospect with the bat, he’s much better on the mound. A top-level basketball player, he was late in getting his season started this spring, and that greatly affected how he pitched this spring as a whole. He has the potential to be a number three starter, despite the fact that he’s one of the most projectable and athletic pitchers at the high school level nationally. However, his secondary stuff is far behind, and it doesn’t project to get good enough to make a difference. His fastball is an above-average to plus pitch with projection for more, and his good games saw him sitting 90-93, touching 95. He paired that fastball with a potential above-average curveball, and he also throws a fringe-average to average slider. Those three pitches make up his current arsenal, and he’s going to need to learn how to throw a changeup to succeed at the next level. He can’t get by purely on his athletic ability, and that’s roughly what he did this spring. However, scouts think that he’ll blossom once he’s only concentrating on baseball, which might not even happen at the collegiate level, as he hasn’t signed a scholarship, and there’s a chance he’ll continue to play both sports if he lands on a college campus this fall. However, there’s enough to like that he could get picked in the second or third round, and his signability isn’t considered a big hurdle to overcome in that range.