Mitch Haniger

Mitchell Evan Haniger (born December 23, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.

The New York Mets selected Haniger in the 31st round of the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, but he did not sign with the team, choosing instead to enroll at Cal Poly, to play for the Cal Poly Mustangs.

While at Cal Poly, Haniger played right field as a freshman and sophomore, and center field as a junior.

Haniger was named the 2010 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year following his debut season with the Mustangs, a year in which he batted an impressive .325.

Following his freshman season at Cal Poly, Haniger spent the summer of 2010 playing wood bat baseball as part of the Corvallis Knights of the West Coast League, hitting .299 over 134 at bats with the team, racking up 11 stolen bases in 38 games played.

Haniger was named a member of the first-team All-WCL Team and was rated as the WCL's No. 5 pro prospect by Baseball America following the 2010 summer schedule.

In his sophomore year, Haniger batted .275/.371/.466 in 189 at bats.

He once again spent the summer playing wood bat collegiate ball, this time in the colors of the Green Bay Bullfrogs of the Northwoods League.

The pick with which Haniger was selected was awarded to the Brewers as partial compensation for the loss of slugger Prince Fielder to the Detroit Tigers in the 2011–12 offseason.

Haniger's signing bonus with the Brewers was $1.2 million — less than the $1.359 million bonus for his draft slot recommended by MLB.

After signing with the Brewers, Haniger was dispatched to the team's affiliate in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he appeared in 14 games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League.

A collegiate All-American for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 2012, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Haniger in the supplemental section of the first round of the 2012 MLB draft.

In 2012, Haniger finished the season batting .346 (7th in the league)/.438(3rd)/.626(first) in 211 at bats with 48 runs (3rd), 18 doubles (6rd), 13 home runs (first), 64 RBIs (first), 36 walks (4th), and 7 sacrifice flies (first).

Haniger won the league's highest plaudit, being named the 2012 Big West Conference Player of the Year and was named an All-American.

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Haniger as a supplemental draft pick at the end of the first round of the 2012 MLB draft — the 38th overall selection.

He missed most of the 2012 season with a partial tear of his posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, which he injured on a play at the plate.

In 2013, Haniger began the season rated the 10th-best prospect and best outfield arm in the Brewers organization by Baseball America.

With Wisconsin, before being promoted to the Brevard County Manatees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

Combined, Haniger had a .264 batting average, a .348 on-base percentage, 11 home runs, and 68 runs batted in.

After the 2013 season, the Brewers assigned Haniger to play for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.

He was named co-player of the week, along with Kris Bryant, in the first week of the fall league season.

He batted .280/.354/.480 in 100 at bats, and was named to the AFL All-Prospect team.

He was traded to the Diamondbacks in 2014, made his MLB debut with them in 2016, and was traded to the Mariners after the season.

The Brewers invited Haniger to spring training in 2014.

Failing to make the cut for the team's 25-man roster, Haniger was assigned to the Huntsville Stars of the Class AA Southern League to begin the season.

Entering the season, he was rated the third-best prospect in the organization by Baseball America.

On July 31, 2014, the Brewers traded Haniger and Anthony Banda to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Gerardo Parra.

The Diamondbacks assigned him to the Mobile BayBears of the Southern League.

Haniger began the 2015 season with Mobile.

Though he batted .281/.351/.379 in 153 at bats for Mobile, the Diamondbacks demoted Haniger to the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League in June so that he could play more frequently.

With Visalia he hit .332(8th in the California League/.381/.619(4th) in 202 at bats. He spent the 2015 season retooling his batting stance and swing to focus on generating more power.

Haniger began the 2016 season with Mobile, with whom he batted .294/.407(5th in the league)/.462 with 8 hit by pitch (6th) in 236 at bats, and was named to the Southern League midseason All Star team.

He was promoted to the Reno Aces of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League during the season.

Haniger was an All Star in 2018.

Haniger attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, part of the West Catholic Athletic League.

Haniger was a star two-sport athlete for Archbishop Mitty.

In baseball, he batted in the .370s and was among the top prep home run hitters.

In football, he had 75 catches for 789 yards and 5 touchdowns as a wide receiver.

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oregon, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis recruited Haniger to play for their college baseball teams.