The 2026 MLB Draft is mostly remembered for the names picked in the first few rounds, but the real bargain hunting happens deep in the order, and the Mariners just landed one. Seattle popped Oregon State right-hander Wyatt Queen in the 11th round, 340th overall, and didn't nickel-and-dime him on the way out the door.
11th-rder Wyatt Queen signs w/@Mariners for $275k, of which $125k will count vs bonus pool. @BeaverBaseball RHP, relies heavily on mid-80s slider, 2.49 ERA & 78 K in 47 IP. @MLBDraft
According to Callis, Queen's deal comes in at $275,000, with $125,000 of that counting against Seattle's bonus pool as an over-slot payment for an 11th-round pick. That's the kind of number that tells you the Mariners saw a college reliever who slipped further than his stuff should've allowed.
It's not hard to see why. Queen spent two seasons in Corvallis and was a weapon out of the Oregon State bullpen, leaning on a mid-80s slider that made him one of the tougher matchups in the Pac-12's remnants. In 2026 alone he posted a 2.49 ERA with 78 strikeouts across just 47 innings, a strikeout-per-inning-plus rate for a guy who wasn't even fronting the rotation.
Over his two-year college run, Queen went 4-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 94.2 innings, working almost exclusively out of relief with a handful of spot starts. That profile screams middle-relief or setup fast-mover, the kind of arm that can move through a farm system quickly if the slider plays as well against pro hitters as it did against college ones.
For a Mariners org that's built its recent success on pitching development, an over-slot bullpen arm with a wipeout breaking ball is exactly the kind of low-cost, high-signability pick that pays off two or three years down the line. Seattle isn't paying $275K for a lottery ticket on tools, it's paying for a pitch that already works.
Queen now heads into Seattle's system as one more data point in a farm that keeps churning out relief options, and the next step is simple: get him on a mound in the complex league or short-season ball and see if the slider travels.