First up in our series of scouting reports on draft prospects is the player most likely to be picked by the Mariners at #2 in the upcoming draft. Dustin Ackley is a LH hitting OF for the university of North Carolina who has been relegated to a lot of 1B duty this year because of Tommy John surgery. Ackley finally returned to the OF recently and scouts have said he looked fine with his arm showing no problems. He profiles as an average defensive CF with an average arm but his future might be as a plus defensive LF if he’s indeed drafted by the Mariners.

While his defense has been a concern since the surgery, there are no questions about Ackley’s bat. He’s considered the safest prospect in the draft and for good reason, posting a fantastic line of .410/.517/.757 this year with 35 extra-base hits and a 44-25 BB/K ratio. Ackley has also hit 17 homeruns which is a big improvement from the 7 he hit last year but does not project as a major power threat at the next level. Ackley does not possess much raw power but has a very nice compact line drive swing that should result in plenty of doubles. He’s probably looking at 15-20 homerun type power.

Instead of pure power, Ackley’s bread and butter is his plate discipline evidenced by his .517 OBP and fantastic 44-25 BB/K ratio. Ackley knows how to take a walk and will continually work the count. He has quick wrists along with good bat speed and should hit for a high average. Ackley would be the perfect fit into a Mariners lineup that’s filled with players that don’t know the meaning of plate discipline. Ackley also has very good speed and can steal bases. He could be a 20/20 player in the majors.

Baseball America’s Jim Callis had praise for Ackley in his latest chat saying “Dustin Ackley. Special, special hitter and I don’t think he’ll have trouble moving to center field. He would have fit in very nicely in last year’s draft with all those gifted college hitters. We rated Brian Matusz as the No. 2 talent before last year’s draft, and I’d take Ackley over him.”

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik along with the rest of the team’s scouting brass were in attendance this weekend for UNC’s series against Boston College to see Dustin Ackley but barring an injury there’s really nothing Ackley can do at this point to hurt his draft status enough to not warrant the #2 pick in the draft. Ackley is the best hitter and the safest prospect in the 2009 draft and would be a very solid pick for the Mariners.