Though striking out around 1/4 of his ABs he’s a Power Hitter, and the Mariners need to be Careful with him and not to screw up his career with many young promising Mariners in the past. Of course I trust Jerry with him getting great prospects aswell as receiving Justin Dunn and Kelenic in the trade to send Edwin Diaz and Cano over to New York.

With that being said I know that Kyle and Luis are pretty neck and neck for AL ROTY or even some may say that they have Luis ahead or Kyle ahead, Lewis winning AL ROTY will mean a lot for this franchise and future years to come, Lewis has a lot of potential around him and can lead us to our first Playoff Birth since 2001 IF Jerry supplies with KNOWING who to build around and who can be here for the long term and get us somewhere we haven’t been in for a long long time.

So will the Mariners be SAFE with Lewis, yes, will they build around him with the Prospects they have? Maybe. Nothing is always certain for grabbing FA’s and Prospects blooming to what we want them to be. But hopefully they stay safe with Lewis and don’t screw this golden opportunity they have.

The Good:

Kyle Lewis exploded and picked up where he left off from last season. He took future HOFer Justin Verlander DEEP in the first inning as well as taking another good pitcher for the Astros McCullers deep in the 6th the 2nd game in the series, and not to mention a BIG 2 run single in game 3. He (Lewis) is someone who’s going to be a big part in this big build of youth, as he’s already far along in where we want him to be.

The other Kyle (Kyle Seager) is putting up quite a show with his bat aswell as he leads the MLB (as of this article) in DOUBLES with 3, having one homer and batting around .310, though being the elder of the team he’s still putting up good stats with the bat especially against this Astros squad.

The Bad

Our starting pitching was a bit iffy, Marco did pretty well with location game 1 but thats really it, our starting pitchers combined allowed 19 ERs within 4 games, as Kendall Graveman did good strikeout wise but allowed 6 earned runs while pitching really fast. Hopefully we can develop it to be better by the home opener.

Fielding was eh, paying attention there were a couple plays that the M’s could’ve made like fielding simple flyouts but dropped and a few infield errors, its not that bad but I really hope we fix it up soon.

What We Can Work With

The bullpen was eh, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good at the same time, its around average but not average if you follow, one game they completely shut down the Astros only allowing 1 run but the next they’d allow 6 ER’s, It’s not bad but its not great, I do think there are some bright spots in it. We can definitely work on it some more but I won’t worry about it so much.

Overall a series who we saw we can work with, we face the Angels for 3 games and then head back home for our home opener, against Oakland.

He aswell has severely raised his wRC+ from below average to just a little above average. He has improved even with being injured in the 2019 season rather when he was healthy in 2018. He has improved almost every statistic aswell as what I said earlier about DRS and wRC+.

Do I think he can carry this to the 2020 shorten season as a 32 year old, yes, there is a massive chance he can but won’t of course be the gold glover he was known to be, I feel he can become one of the best Mariners in history if he continues like this and stays with the M’s the rest of his career (hopefully) but of course he is known for his regression which in all honesty sucks. Hopefully he can take advantage of this shortened season.

So what do you think? do you think he’ll keep up this performance for seasons to come? Or will he have a bad season?

STEAMER PREDICTIONS (fangraphs)

215 PA
9 HR’s
BB% 8.8
.243/.312/.446
27 WRC
102 wRC+

Cr: Fangraphs

Who was your favorite player growing up and why?

My favorite player growing up was Chipper Jones. I wanted to be a switch hitting infielder just like him. I also liked how he made the game look so easy.

What was it like trying to find an agent?

Jay Franklin who is my agent now saw me my sophomore year. He liked the way I played and thought I had a future. So he contacted my dad. He was the first one that believed in me at a young age so I went with him.

When did you realize you had a chance of getting drafted?

Well in high school I knew I was good enough to play college baseball but didn’t know about the draft. I got drafted out of high school, So I knew I had a chance of getting drafted out of college.

How did you feel going through the draft process and your evaluations from scouts?

I just was very thankful for the opportunity and it was a dream come true I really didn’t think to much into it. I just wanted to show them I could play SS at the highest level.

What were the best and worsts parts about playing college baseball?

I don’t think there are any bad parts. I love college baseball and it is still the best time I’ve had on a baseball field besides the few big league games I’ve played in. One bad thing would be the scholarship offers the coaches get to use. I think they should be able to give out more scholarships.

How did your Dad’s decision to leave Oral Roberts for OSU to be the pitching coach impact you decision for what college you went to?

It was difficult. Honestly, I made the decision to go because Josh Holiday told me “We want your dad here but we want you to come with him as well”. That pretty much sold me.

What was the hardest part of going from a college campus to a minor league associate?

The hardest part is making adjustments on your own and on the fly. In college you have your hitting coach with you during the week to get you ready for the weekend. In pro ball you have to get yourself ready and be able to make adjustments day to day.

What are your thoughts on advanced stats?

I dont really look into the stats I’m more old school. Keeping it simple

What has been the best minor league affiliate and why?

I don’t know if their is a best one for me. I can only say that the Mariners have been great. Every team feels like a college environment. The Mariners have been a great organization to play in.

What has been the best experience of your baseball career?

So far it has been making it to Omaha my senior year in college. Just how are team got over the hump after getting beat out in regionals the years before. Also, Making it to the big leagues. It just showed me that all that hard work pays off. I just need to keep grinding to stay up there.

How has your dad being a coach at the collegiate level affected you as a player?

My dad is the reason why I am where I am today. He sacrificed so much time of his time to help me become the player I am today. He was so liked by my teammates that it made it easier for me to be who I am. He treated me like the rest of the team. Players respected that so it never caused any problems and I am very thankful for my dad.

What was you welcome to the big leagues moment?

My welcome to the big leagues moment would probably be my second at bat against Sonny Gray I struck out on the 8th pitch of the at bat and it was a two seamer that started at me and ended on the outside corner. I have never seen a ball move that much. I scratched my head after that one.

Lets start with the 2014 roster, Highlighted by Felix, in his prime posting a 2.14 ERA, 5.6 WAR, 9.46 K/BB and going 15-6. Kyle Seager and Cano, along with very good role players in Brad Miller and Logan Morrison and others, capped off with the Outfield with Dustin Ackley, who converted to the Outfield and many others. This team was a surprise team, which showed throughout the season:

The Mariners were killed in July, but thats fine, they pulled through in August, but fell in a slump. The A’s were RIGHT at there tail and the Mariners needed help, the Rangers needed to beat the A’s in game 162, as the Mariners swept the Angels in a 3 game series. But we’ll get to that. Game 161 a moment in Mariner history was engraved forever. Logan Morrison the 1Basemen hit a double scoring Kyle Seager. Capping off a game 161 go ahead win for the Mariners pushing to game 162 where the Rangers lost in the middle of the Mariners game. Ending the Mariners run to the playoffs.

What this would’ve meant as a Mariner fan was to actually have some semblance of a team. Wasting primes like Felix, Miller and more were no more in our eyes. The Mariners were NEVER this close to any Playoff glory. Even if we lost in a Playoff series this would’ve been something special. But it never, happened again until 2018, where again the Mariners lost. This is life as a Mariner fan.

Many Mariner fans undoubtedly thought “here we go again, the team just traded their best player.” But what really laid beneath is we practically gave birth to the “Big Unit”. Randy Johnson was a guy who really couldn’t throw strikes. A hard throwing lefty came in fresh and young off a 0-4 start in Montreal. He ended the season with a 3.5 ERA as there former ace with the Expos, 2.3 ERA. This already looked like a dud trade, even when Langston departed from the Expos to the Angels. But then something happened.

But while Johnson had a unique look, his first 3 full-seasons in Seattle left many skeptical about his long-term success. From 1990-1992, Johnson led the league in walks all 3 seasons while also leading the league in hit batsmen in ’92. But after that, he led the AL in SO’s and being Top 3 in Cy Young for 3 seasons in a row.

Unfortunately, the relationship between the Mariners and their ace was fracturing and bad blood was beginning to boil from under the surface. The two sides were unable to find common ground and on July 31, 1998, Seattle trade the best pitcher in franchise history to the Astros for a trio of prospects who would become key contributors in the best 4-year stretch in franchise history.

But in the 10 season tenor, it was key to trade Langston, because in the 95 season, the season was saved, led by Griffey, Martinez, and of course Johnson. Forever being a Seattle Mariner.

-idea from sodomojo

“The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us. We have been in close coordination with Major League Baseball and our local health and government agencies to monitor and plan for any potential impacts of COVID-19. In light of the City and County San Francisco’s announcement today to prohibit public gatherings of 1,000 people for the next two weeks, we will not play our upcoming March 24th exhibition game against the Oakland A’s at Oracle Park in San Francisco. We have no other large public gatherings scheduled at Oracle Park during this time period. We are in the process of working with Major League Baseball and the A’s to finalize alternative arrangements. We will make that information available as soon as possible.”

It will be the Rangers and Twins series that will be set to go to Arizona, the other option would be a neutral sight, but will most likely Arizona will be the option, I’m guessing the Mariner nights will be canceled consisting of:

• Mariners Beard Hat Night
• Kids opening night, Marco Gonzalez T-Shirt
• Retro Jersey Night

Depending to the Corona Virus when the Mariners comeback they would face the Red Sox and the defending MLB WS Champs Washington Nationals. Hopefully if it doesn’t get canceled it’d be the real opener, but if not these would be the promotions canceled:

• Mariners Puffy Jacket Night
• Kyle Seager Bobblehead Night
• Mariners Reusable Grocery Bag Night

This most likely won’t happen but recently Seattle Public Schools have been shutdown as of today per King 5 News, Komo 4 News, Komo 7 News and Fox News Seattle. And many more schools looked to be shutdown, leading to the Mariners maybe doing the same for more home games.

The Second game the Cubs absolutely DESTROYED the pitching of the Mariners dropping 16 on the M’s, as Marco allowed 3 hits on 5 ER. Pitching didn’t get better as the BP allowed 11 more runs. The bats came alive going 12 runs and Lopes going 3 for 3 as later he shows he is a bright spot for the Mariners.

The Mariners finally got a win as Gravemen and Sheffield pitched well only allowing 1 hit combined and Sheff pitching 3 SO’s, bats really picked up as Kelenic got his first hit in ST ever knocking eventual 1B for the Mariners Evan White in.

Dunn got the start against the Reds as he did okayish with Wei-Yin also doing okayish. Siri Vogey White Lopes did well as all got RBI’s to enroute the Reds and Sonny Gray for the victory. But now we’re heading into a double game set where yes we blew both games.

Mariners split squad came into play facing the Giants and Sox losing both in the final inning of the game, Logan Gilbert made his debut allowing only 1 hit on 2 innings pitching a SO also. LJay Newsome in the Sox game who started us off pitched 2 hits over 2 innings while punching to Sox batters out, as the BP did not do well in the end of the game leading to the Mariners losing BOTH games in the split squad game.

Finally today the Mariners again got a win against the DBacks, crushing them 6-2. Shed Long led the charge hitting 2 times and getting 2 RBI’s, Flash Gordon also got in it hitting 3 times and Yusei bouncing back throwing 2 innings 1 hit 1 run and 3 SO’s. Now begs the question, Mariners place 10th in the Cactus League, so how will they do for the rest of the Spring Training?

Taijuan didn’t strike to a team until a bit ago with him being one of the last FA’s coming to a team. His FB Rate wasn’t impressive to scouts after topping off with only 85-88 MPH for a guy who could throw 95 MPH for his FB.

He could turn into a version of Wade Leblanc as a so called “soft tosser” Taijuan Walker unless he bumps up his FB rate he’ll most likely turn into a typical Wade Leblanc player but Taijuans advantage is that he can rely on his Slider and Curve more, as he had 5 pitches and lowered it down to 3 in 2019, hopefully he preforms well in Spring Traning.

Jarred Kelenic was packaged in a deal with Dunn and Bruce to head to the Mariners last offseason in exchange for Cano and Diaz. Kelenic who started 2019 in Single A with the Mariners hit 11 HR’s, struck out at a 20.6 percent rate and hit a .277 ISO, but also went for .309/.394/.586 with a .439 wOBA, with having a 181 wRC+.

In Single A+ he turned it down just a bit going .290/.353/.485, .371 wOBA and a 129 wRC+ while hitting 6 HR’s and a 25.8 strikeout percentage, with a .195 ISO and a .368 BABIP, with that he headed up to Double A Arkansas, which (I think can beat the Mariners) hitting 6 HR’s over 20 games going .253/.315/.542 with a .373 wOBA and a 133 wRC+ with a 2.89 ISO and a .246 BABIP and a 18.5 K Rate

Jarred is one of the most hyped prospect and one of the most exciting prospects as he was a top prospect when he was ranked. And this is very interesting since he’s been invited to Spring Training.