The year is 2006. The Mariners are coming off what would come to be one of the worst drafts in team history. The front office is one year removed from selecting Jeff Clement, a catcher out of the University of Southern California with the third pick in the draft. The pick would end up sandwiched between six eventual all-stars over the course of the first seven selections. It was by all measures, a historic miss.
But this was a new year, and the Seattle Mariners held the fifth pick in this MLB Draft.