Seattle Mariners Spring Training News And Notes

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back baseball fans! How sweet it is to see our boys in blue back out on the green. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was writing about the Boston Red Sox winning the world series and how badly I wanted the Mariners to sign Mike Napoli. Now here we are, less than a month away from opening day.

We have not seen much from the Seattle Mariners yet, but here is what we have learned so far this week:

–Robinson Cano makes baseball look easy.

–Logan Morrison looks healthy.

–Dustin Ackley’s beard looks amazing.

–Justin Smoak feels the mojo in Peoria

–Erasmo Ramirez and the pen looked good

Cano went out there yesterday and did what he does best, ripping a single off the first pitch he saw and generating a walk in his second AB before being replaced by Carlos Triunfel. For those of you with kids that have aspirations of playing baseball, Cano has a swing you can teach from. So smooth. He had a pretty nice welcome from the Seattle faithful that showed up to the game yesterday.

Logan Morrison had a solid outing yesterday in his first game as a Mariner. He went 2-2 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. That type of run support is what we were missing last year.

Dustin Ackley > Duck Dynasty crew. ‘Nuff said.

Justin Smoak needs to pretend he is in Peoria every time he steps up to the plate. He started off his spring training campaign with a bang, smacking a double and bringing in Cano for an RBI. I not going to be fooled by his stats this spring training like I was last season when he finished in Peoria as one of the best hitters in baseball.

News broke this week that Cano has been working with Justin on his swing, showing him drills that he used to do as a Yankee during batting practice. This is great news in the sense that Smoak is willing to listen and Cano is willing to teach. We are all looking for Cano to be a great leader for this team and what a way to start.

Erasmo Ramirez started off the spring nicely. He pitched 2 innings, surrendering 2 hits. The rest of the bullpen had a solid outing collectively, giving up only 1 run and 4 hits.

What to watch for today:

Nick Franklin and Stefen Romero.

Nick Franklin has been the subject of many trade rumors over the last week and I am interested to see if it will effect his play. He will get the start at shortstop today, as Brad Miller started yesterday. For those of you attending today’s game, keep an eye out for scouts from the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays who will likely be there to watch Franklin play.

As for Romero, I am not sure how much playing time he will get today but I am excited for this guy and the opportunity he has been presented with being invited to spring training. I am curious how he will play defensively.

His defense should be the only concern this team has with him right now. He is already a polished hitter and has a bat that is ready for the bigs right now. It would be awesome to see him become the dark-horse candidate to start in the outfield this season.

What to watch for next week:

–Felix Hernandez is getting his first start on Tuesday versus the Dodgers.

-Will the Mariners bring in another free agent starting pitcher?

-Where will Nick Franklin land?