The infuriating detail about the 2024 Mariners was that the rotation, and pitching in general, was so damn good that the whole team refusing to hit felt like a missed opportunity. It was literally just Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore. Everybody else either didn't hit, hit then got injured, or started hitting right when it was too late for it to matter. They got Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner specifically to hit, and they couldn't even do that. It was a waste of the peak season for all five starters. And so this season already seeing less of a Bryce Miller performance, and an injury from George Kirby making the fifth spot insanely variable...doesn't do much to dispute that.
What does help is that, even if Gilbert, Castillo and Woo deliver good seasons, which is looking likely at the moment, more of these people have remembered to hit. They're not pulling Dodgers numbers yet, but they've gone 8-8 in a 16 game stretch including series' against 5 different good teams. They're not getting killed, they're holding their own, and they're...winning games. And they just swept the Rangers in three games by outhitting them.
What a difference letting Dan Wilson run the team makes, right?
Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh and Jorge Polanco have had blistering starts to the season. Getting these four in the same lineup SHOULD produce that outcome. It's just that the expected has a habit of getting away from the Ms. Mitch Garver SHOULD have been a can't miss power bat for this team, but he's been a .170 hitter. Jarred Kelenic SHOULD have been the guy for this team, except he wasn't. 2nd base has been a black hole for this team, robbing Adam Frazier, Kolten Wong and now Ryan Bliss of any mojo. Ben Williamson seems to be next to take the position, and hopefully he turns things around.
But still, getting Julio, Arozarena and Cal all smoking the ball early is definitely a good thing here. Julio already has 8 RBIs and 3 homers, Randy has 9 RBIs and 3 homers, Cal has 5 homers and 8 RBIs. All great production. And Polanco is hitting .382 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs, power evoking his Twins days. So no, they're not gonna fall over like they did last year. I think figuring out how to get Luke Raley and Rowdy Tellez will do a lot of good, but this is all a good start. The core is cooking, they can beat Texas, this is a start.
I do want to be clear, though, that this all happens because the rotation has stayed good. Logan Gilbert has a 2.38 ERA, 32 Ks and can outlast great opposing hitting. Bryan Woo may have the better record, and Luis Castillo may have the better stuff, but Gilbert is consistent, reliable and an excellent big game pitcher. And the Mariners need a guy like him to break through the dirge and command the narrative, which I'm hoping they can eventually do.
The Mariners proved they can take the down the Rangers, and they can win a series against the Astros. Maybe they've got more to prove.
Coming Tomorrow- He won a Rookie of the Year, but it's clear from his start this year that he wants an MVP.
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