The draft pick signing deadline passed last night, and while there weren’t too many surprises, there was certainly a lot of action.  I’m not terribly fond of how much of that action is necessitated by Bud Selig’s somewhat senseless distaste of over-slot bonuses, but that’s another discussion for another time.

The Mariners were certainly involved in the action of the day, signing second-round draft pick Marcus Littlewood, a switch-hitting prep shortstop from Utah, to a bonus of $900,000.  Jason Churchill from Prospect Insider loves the kid, and apparently so does M’s scouting director Tom McNamara.  Most think that he’s a little big and stiff to stick at SS, and what video I’ve seen makes me tend to think the same, but I’d like to see the Mariners leave him there until he proves he can’t play the position.  Offensively, Littlewood is a guy who shows fairly decent contact skills and who should develop some power.  His right handed swing is much better than his left handed swing right now, but that’s to be expected given that he’s a natural righty and has only been switch-hitting for a couple of years now.  All in all, his tools across the board are very solid.  Nothing stands out as a plus tool, but he has no real weakness, either.  Littlewood’s upside isn’t the highest, but his chance to reach it is much higher than most prospects.  His contract will officially start in 2011, meaning he cannot play in fall leagues, but will still be eligible for fall instructionals.

The M’s third round pick did not sign last night, however.  Prep right-handed pitcher Ryne Stanek was one of the more highly touted prospects of Seattle’s draft class, as his stuff had rather more polish than most would expect from such a young pitcher, and also seemed to have a fair amount of room to improve as well.  He was the “safer” high end pick that was matched with the riskier move of grabbing Taijuan Walker in the sandwich round, who has a much higher upside but is also very raw.  That said, Stanek also had a commitment to the University of Arkansas that was classified as being fairly strong leading up to the draft, which is a major part of why he was available in the third, as pitchers like him often go somewhere late in the first round.  He was asking for first-round money in order to sign, which the Mariners obviously felt he was not worth right now, so they called his bluff and walked away.  Having Stanek would have been nice, but with all the arms Jack Zduriencik and company have been acquiring, he’s hardly necessary at this point.

• The Mariners also signed 16th round pick Jordan Shipers back on Friday.  Shipers, a left-handed prep pitcher, signed for $800,000, which needless to say was well above the “recommendation” for his slot.  That extra money no doubt comes in large part from being committed to play for Missouri State University.  He’s a slight pitcher at this stage (5’10″ and 170lbs), but is still young and should grow and fill out some over the next few years.  His fastball currently sits in the upper 80′s and is commanded well for a young pitcher, and his slider is described as “flashing as a plus pitch”.  His velocity will almost certainly increase as he matures and strengthens.
• A quick note on a 2010 draft pick who actually signed quickly: RHP Stephen Pryor has been dominant out of the bullpen.  In 25 2/3 innings between short-season Everett and low-A Clinton, Pryor has put up a ridiculous 12.97 K/9, and is walking just 2.81 batters per nine innings.  He’s gotten a little roughed up in Clinton, but those ratios are actually better at the higher level (albeit in a tiny, 6 2/3 inning sample), and his insane .500 BABIP against would indicate that his other results there have been mostly bad luck.  He’s certainly another bright piece for the future of our bullpen, which was already looking shiny with Josh Lueke and Dan Cortes around.