Jump to content

2020 Seattle Mariners thread

Biff Tannen

By Biff Tannen
in Baseball

 Share

Recommended Posts

MC Fresh Breath

MC Fresh Breath 4075

Posted
Posted
Quote

 

Twenty games in 20 days: Observations on the Mariners’ start

spacer.png

On Thursday, the Mariners got a respite from this unprecedented Major League Baseball season. And boy, did they need it.

The Mariners are the only team to have opened the season with 20 games in 20 days — that’s right, no days off. That will tax even the most veteran teams, and it has certainly been a bumpy ride for the youngest team in the majors, off to a 7-13 start as it opens a three-game series Friday in Houston.

“We’ve made it: Twenty straight days of baseball,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said Wednesday. “When we looked at the schedule originally, we knew it was going to be a challenge out of the chute. But I’m really our proud of our guys. Our kids continue to get their work in. The attitude has been awesome … understanding we’ve got a lot of guys who are here for the first time.”

The Mariners have had some highlights over the first third of the season to go along with plenty of lowlights and growing pains along the way. Some players have taken obvious steps forward in their development; some haven’t. There have been surprises and disappointments, but the Mariners are probably where they were expected to be at this point in terms of wins and losses.

So what has Servais learned about this team?

“They all want to get better, of course,” he said. “As I said early on when this thing got started, I think we will be a club that’s a little streaky at times. I think when we get momentum going, like a lot of young teams, we feed off each other. I like this group. I like working with the younger guys. I really like the camaraderie of the group.”

Here are a few observations from the first 20 games:

Pick a Kyle … any Kyle
It’s been fun watching what the Mariners’ two Kyles have done in the early going. Seager (18 RBIs) and Lewis (14 RBIs) have combined to knock in 39 percent of the team’s runs. They’ve been that important.

Lewis, building off that stunning debut last September, is tied for third in the American League in hits (25). He’s more than doubled his walk rate from late September (now 10.7 percent, up from 4.0) and cut down on his strikeouts (down to 27.4 percent from 38.7). Plus, he’s looked good in center field. He robbed the Angels’ Jason Castro of a home run earlier this month, and his routes and arm look like they’ll play long term.

Seager has also cut down on his strikeouts (19.4 percent to 8.4). This week, we looked into his career with the Mariners, wondering if he’s been largely underappreciated. He recently hit his 200th career home run, which puts him fourth in club history behind Ken Griffey Jr. Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner. Home run No. 201 — a grand slam this week against the Rangers — wasn’t bad, either.

But don’t forget about J.P.

We’ve covered Lewis’ hot start, but maybe we’re not talking enough about what shortstop J.P. Crawford is doing at the plate and in the field.

Crawford has been a nice fit at leadoff, and peripherals back that. He has seen a spike in his walk rate (14.3 percent from 10.9 in 2019), cut down on his strikeouts (10.7 percent, down from 21 percent) and has a .405 on-base percentage. The work Crawford did last winter to add strength is showing up in his ability to drive the ball.

“J.P. wants to be in the batter’s box, he wants the ball hit to him, he wants the ball in his hands,” Servais said. “He’s been really good here early in the season.”

Servais has called Crawford the “point guard of our defense,” and it’s not hard to see why. Crawford has the most defensive runs saved (4) among all big-league shortstops He has benefited, like the other infielders, from having rookie first baseman Evan White scooping balls out of the dirt and ranging off the bag. White’s play has elevated the play of others in the infield.

Surprise, it’s … Dylan Moore?

Here’s something you didn’t expect to see: Dylan Moore turning into Ryne Sandberg. Moore has been a pleasant surprise offensively, hitting .294 with four home runs thus far. This is from a guy who hit .206 in 282 plate appearances with Seattle last season.

It won’t last (Moore was a career .259 hitter in the minors), but what he has done so far is change his career track. The 28-year-old utilityman has quickly become a staple of the starting lineup.

Moore’s versatility has been his calling card: He’s started games at first base, third base, left field and right field. And now, he’s hitting the snot out of the ball, ranking fourth in the big leagues in barrel percentage (20.6) and 11th in exit velocity (93.2 mph).

“He hammers balls,” Seager said of Moore.

Chances are Moore is headed for some regression, but he’s going to play somewhere if he finds a way to keep getting on base.

spacer.png

 

About that bullpen …
After the first 20 games, the Mariners have the second-highest bullpen ERA (6.78) of teams that have played at least 15 games. Because you’ll ask, only the Reds (7.20) have a higher bullpen ERA.

So what’s happened?

A few things. First, Brandon Brennan, expected to be one of the team’s primary relievers, appeared in only one game before landing on the injured list with a strained left oblique. Then Carl Edwards Jr., who earned a save on Aug. 5, went on the IL with a strained right forearm. And don’t forget, we have yet to see Yoshihisa Hirano. Hirano told the Japan Times he tested positive for COVID-19 in June, but he’s throwing in Arizona and could join Seattle’s satellite camp in Tacoma soon.

Only Matt Magill, who has allowed no runs and only one hit over seven innings of work, has shined consistently.

We’ve already seen the team dip into the satellite camp for arms, such as rookie Joey Gerber. It wouldn’t be surprising to see another rookie — Sam Delaplane — at some point.

“Giving young guys opportunities in those spots is really, really valuable,” Servais said. “They will learn from it, and we will benefit from it down the road.”

Justus has been served
Sorry, couldn’t resist, but pardon me if I can’t wait to see what starting pitcher Justus Sheffield does in his next start, which will come Sunday against the Astros. If it’s anything like what he did to a very good Colorado Rockies lineup Sunday, it’ll be must-see viewing.

Sheffield picked up his first victory by tossing six scoreless innings against Colorado. He had seven strikeouts (six on his dynamite slider) and didn’t issue a single walk. This is the kind of stuff the Mariners envisioned from Sheffield when they traded James Paxton to the Yankees to obtain the left-hander.

“It was an awesome performance by Sheff, really fun to watch,” Servais said. “He was in total command all six innings he was out there. The future is very bright for him.”

While Sheffield’s slider is his knockout pitch, his two-seam fastball at the bottom of the strike zone has really given hitters fits. The mix of the two-seamer and slider buried in the strike zone with an occasional changeup mixed in has shown it can be a devastating combination for Sheffield. Now the Mariners want to see more of it.

(Photo of Crawford and Moore: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)

 

https://theathletic.com/1994674/2020/08/14/twenty-games-in-20-days-observations-on-the-mariners-start/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shadow_operative2.0

shadow_operative2.0 16255

Posted
Posted
On 8/8/2020 at 9:34 PM, MC Fresh Breath said:

Mallex might not be a good baseball player.

 

On 8/8/2020 at 9:38 PM, Biff Tannen said:

He was already down a few points with that name. Mallex. Wtf. 

He gone. 

Quote

The Mariners have optioned outfielder Mallex Smith to their alternate training site and recalled righty Art Warren, per a team announcement. The club also sent catcher Tom Murphy to the 45-day injured list, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. They now have an open spot on their 40-man roster as a result.

This continues a brutal year-plus for Smith, who had a terrific season as a Ray in 2018 but hasn’t come close to replicating that production in Seattle. In his second and last season with the Rays, Smith batted .296/.367/.406 (118 wRC+) with 40 stolen bases and 3.5 fWAR in 544 plate appearances. The Mariners surely expected similar success when they dealt catcher Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay for Smith in a five-player swap before 2019. Instead, while he did add 46 steals to his resume a year ago, Smith was a replacement-level who mustered a weak line of .227/.300/.335 (74 wRC+) over 566 trips to the plate.

This season has gone far worse for the 27-year-old Smith, evidenced by his .133/.170/.178 slash and minus-4 wRC+ in 47 PA. He wasn’t able to keep his job in right field, where the Mariners have been turning to Dylan Moore lately, but Smith will remain on their taxi squad.

As for Murphy, this continues to look as if it will be a lost year (or something close to it) for a player who enjoyed an outstanding 2019 campaign in Seattle. Murphy hasn’t been able to build on it because of the fractured metatarsal in his left foot that sent him to the 10-day IL on July 23. The Murphy-less Mariners have used a combination of Austin Nola, Joe Odom and Joe Hudson at catcher. Nola has been a bright spot as the starter, which has softened the blow of losing Murphy.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...