Draft options about for Mariners at No. 2 overall pick

By most accounts, Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon will be available for the Mariners to select with the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB draft, which begins Monday.

The burning question: Will the Mariners take Rendon, widely regarded as the offensive player closest to the major leagues, or pull off a daring gamble by selecting one of two talented high-school hitters — shortstop Francisco Lindor or outfielder Bubba Starling?

Growing industry buzz over the weekend had the Mariners giving strong consideration to the prep players, particularly Lindor. The switch-hitter from Monteverde Academy in Florida was said to be very impressive in a workout Thursday at Safeco Field.

The Mariners, who have vowed to take the best player available, regardless of position or grade in school, could even go in another direction: ignore their obvious need for offensive help by selecting one of numerous electric arms available to them.

According to reports out of Pittsburgh, the Pirates have settled on one of those arms, UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole, with the No. 1 overall pick. If so — and definitive information is hard to come by in an industry that lives by secrecy at this time of year — that leaves the rest of a deep and talented field at the Mariners' disposal.

The draft is teeming with talented pitchers, such as another UCLA ace, Trevor Bauer; University of Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen; and a high-school right-hander from Oklahoma, Dylan Bundy, all regarded as potential top five picks.

Jim Callis of Baseball America said that because most of the other teams drafting high are so focused on pitching, if the Mariners or Pirates don't take Rendon, he might not go in the top five.

But Callis linked Rendon to the Mariners in his most recent first-round projections.

"We keep hearing they want a position player, and he's clearly the best position player available, at least in our estimation," Callis said. "I haven't heard any grave concerns about his shoulder injury, and that's the only thing that would really torpedo Rendon."

Rice's season ended Sunday when the Owls were eliminated from NCAA regional play with a loss to California. Rendon, who has been limited primarily to designated hitter this year because of a shoulder strain, finished with a .327 average, six homers and 37 runs batted in. He walked an NCAA-leading 80 times and had a .520 on-base percentage to go with a .523 slugging percentage.

When healthy, Rendon is regarded as an outstanding defensive third baseman and has been compared favorably to Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria.

Lindor, 17, moved to Florida from Puerto Rico at age 12. As a senior this year at Monteverde Academy, located north of Orlando, he hit .528 with six homers in 21 games.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Starling, who also throws 95 mph, is considered the best athlete in the draft. But his status is complicated by his option of attending the University of Nebraska, to which he is committed as a quarterback and center fielder. Starling is also advised by Scott Boras — as is Rendon.

The draft will begin at 4 p.m. Pacific. The first day will consist of 60 picks — the first round, plus Compensation Round A. The M's work will be done early, as they have just the No. 2 pick on Monday. The Rays, conversely, have 10 picks out of the first 60 (and 12 of the first 89), an unprecedented haul resulting from losing so many ranked free agents over the winter.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com