Seattle Mariners  Players signed indicated in Bold  Round
Overall Player Position School State Bonus 1 2 Dustin Ackley OF
North Carolina N.C. $6,000,000 Ackley played at a 1-A high
school against modest competition, and while area scouts knew
about him they couldn't pull the trigger three years ago. Their
loss was North Carolina's gain, as Ackley is in the midst of his
third consecutive .400 season. The 2007 BA Freshman of the Year,
Ackley has the best pure swing and pure bat in the '09 draft
class, and maybe the best this decade. He's also a 70 runner (on
the 20-80 scale) underway and should be a top-of-the-order,
base-stealing threat in pro ball. Ackley has a disciplined
approach and makes hitting look easy thanks to his advanced
athleticism. He's balanced at the plate and has amazing hand-eye
coordination, getting the barrel of the bat to the hitting zone
quickly and leaving it there as long as possible. After hitting
17 home runs in his first two seasons, he was tied for second in
the Atlantic Coast Confe