Mariners select Catcher in 1st round

[Porter]

The M's selected Jeff Clement, Catcher from USC. All i know on the guy is hes capable of hitting 30 HRs as a C. We defintely needed one. But i dont know why they didnt take Maybin, who was taken 5th.

[General]

Can you blame them? Olivo's been a bust.

[MarinersFan87]

Clement should've been picked in the 11-15 range. Not a really good choice. He is below average defensively. Bucky Jacobsen could probably beat him in a race. Maybin. He would've been an awesome pick. We should've stepped it up and selected Hochevar. Yeah, he would command some huge cash, but he would be in the rotation next year.

[Porter]

Clement didnt become in the picture until late this week. Sunday's News Tribune (www.tribnet.com) had him 4th on their wish list. Gordon was one, Upton was 2, the SS was 3 and Clement was 4th.

[Porter]

3. Mariners: Jeff Clement, c, U. of Southern California. Clement generates light-tower power with a short, compact left-handed swing. He stays inside the ball well and gets excellent backspin. As a major-league hitter, he projects to hit .270 to .280 with 30 to 35 home runs. Clement has outstanding makeup and has worked hard to shore up his weaknesses. He has shown his biggest improvement behind the plate. His set-up, mechanics, blocking and arm quickness are all much improved. He still has only a 40-50 arm on the standard 20-80 scouting scale but threw out almost 50 percent of basestealers this year.

That was Baseball Americas take on Clement.

[missionhockey21]

Damn you Mariners. I wanted the Reds to draft Clement for months. He should work fairly fast through your system and he has some of the biggest power in the draft. I agree with MF87 that he might of got picked a bit high but there really wasn't any depth to the C position that I knew of.

[Porter]

Clement was supposedly the biggest power threat in the draft. But 3rd overall with better athletes available baffled me. I wanted Gordon or Maybin.