For Immediate Release

Thursday, June 9, 2016

MARINERS SELECT OUTFIELDER KYLE LEWIS 11TH OVERALL IN 2016 MLB DRAFT
Lewis was named Baseball Americas College Player of the Year.

SEATTLE, Wash. The Seattle Mariners selected outfielder Kyle Lewis out of Mercer University with their first selection
(11th overall pick) in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, Director of Amateur Scouting Tom McNamara announced tonight.

Lewis, 20 (21 on July 13), was named Baseball Americas College Player of the Year, is a two-time Southern Conference
Player of the Year and was selected as a First Team All-America by Baseball America following his recently completed
junior season. The Mercer centerfielder is a semifinalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Dick Howser Trophy. Both awards honor the nation's top player, as selected by
the respective organizations.
"We thought he was going to be picked before us, said McNamara. Were very excited that he made it to us. Hes a 6foot-4, middle-of-the-order potential bat that had a big year at Mercer University this year. Hes a good athlete who we
believe has a lot of potential.
During his just completed junior season at Mercer University, he hit .395 (88x223) with 70 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 20
home runs, 72 RBI, 66 walks, 48 strikeouts, a .535 on-base percentage and a .731 slugging mark. Lewis ranked second
nationally with a program-record 66 walks and while ranking top-15 nationally in batting average (.395) and top-six
nationally in on-base percentage (.535) and runs (70). He compiled a 48-game on-base streak and 27 multi-hit
performances this season.
The 6-foot-4 outfielder played for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League last summer and was named to the
Perfect Game Summer Collegiate Second Team All-America after hitting .300 (45x150) with 19 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 7
home runs, 24 RBI and 11 walks in 39 games. He ranked among the league leaders with 7 home runs and 24 RBI.
In three seasons at Mercer, he combined to hit .364 (196x539) with 137 runs, 33 doubles, 2 triples, 39 home runs, 145 RBI
and 94 walks in 147 games. Following his sophomore season in 2015, he received the following honors: Perfect Game
Summer Collegiate Second Team All-America, Cape Cod League All-Star, TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby
Participant, Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year Award Winner, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
Second Team All-America, Louisville Slugger All-America Second Team, Rawlings/ABCA Second Team All-Region,
SoCon Player of the Year, All-SoCon First Team.
He was a two-sport start at Shiloh High School in Snellville, GA, lettering in baseball and basketball. In baseball, he was
named a 2012 Max Preps Region 8AAAAA second team selection and a 2013 Rawlings/Perfect Game High School Senior
Preseason All-America honorable mention. He was also named a Gwinnett Dugout Club All-County team honorable
mention selection as a junior and named an All-County and All-State selection as a senior.
The Mariners will have one more selection tonight with the 50th pick of the draft. The 2016 Draft continues tomorrow with
rounds 3-10 (starts at 10:00 am PT) and rounds 11-40 on Saturday (9:00 am PT).
LEWIS MERCER STATISTICS
YEAR
2014
2015
2016
Totals

SCHOOL
Mercer
Mercer
Mercer

AVG
.281
.367
.395
.364

G
33
53
61
147

AB
89
227
223
539

R
18
49
70
137

H
25
83
88
196

TB
34
153
163
350

2B
3
19
11
33

3B
0
0
2
2

HR
2
17
20
39

RBI
17
56
72
145

SH
3
1
0
4

SF
2
3
5
10

HBP
0
5
7
12

BB
9
19
66
94

SO
17
42
48
107

SB
2
3
6
11

CS
3
5
5
13

SLG
.382
.674
.731
.649

OBP
.340
.421
.535
.461

Heres a look at the Mariners first selections in the June draft through the years:

Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990

Player (overall pick)

Dave Henderson, of (26th)
Tito Nanni, of (6th)
Al Chambers, of (1st)
Darnell Coles, ss (6th)
Mike Moore, rhp (1st)
Spike Owen, ss (6th)
Darrel Akerfelds, rhp (2nd)
Bill Swift, rhp (2nd)
Mike Campbell, rhp (7th)
Patrick Lennon, ss (8th)
Ken Griffey Jr., of (1st)
Tino Martinez, 1b (14th)
Roger Salkeld, rhp (3rd)
Marc Newfield, 1b (6th)

Year
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

Player (overall pick)

Shawn Estes, lhp (11th)
Ron Villone, lhp (14th)
Alex Rodriguez, ss (1st)
Jason Varitek, c (14th)
Jose Cruz Jr., of (3rd)
Gil Meche, rhp (22nd)
Ryan Anderson, lhp (19th)
Matt Thornton, lhp (22nd)
Ryan Christianson, c (11th)
Sam Hays, lhp (116th)
Michael Garciaparra, ss (36th)
John Mayberry, of (28th)
Adam Jones, ss (37th)
Matt Tuiasosopo, ss (93rd)

Year
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

Player (overall pick)

Jeff Clement, c (3rd)
Brandon Morrow, rhp (5th)
Phillippe Aumont, rhp (11th)
Josh Fields, rhp (20th)
Dustin Ackley, inf (2nd)
Taijuan Walker, rhp (43rd)
Danny Hultzen, lhp (2nd)
Mike Zunino, c (3rd)
D.J. Peterson, 3b (12th)
Alex Jackson, of (6th)
Nick Neidert, RHP (60th)
Kyle Lewis, OF (11th)

For more information, please contact the Seattle Mariners baseball information department at (206) 346-4000. More
information on the 2016 MLB Draft is available online at www.MLB.com/Draft. All Mariners news releases, game notes,
statistics and multimedia files are also available by visiting the Mariners Virtual Press Box at www.MarinersMedia.com.
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