Seattle Mariners: Fantasy Baseball Smoak Signals

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners had a fantastic first week in Fantasy Baseball. They finished with four wins and only one loss (should have been a win), with many fantasy sleepers stepping up and producing big numbers early. This week has shown us great pitching by the starting rotation, but the biggest surprise was the amount of offense the Mariners unveiled on the opposing teams. Let’s take a look at the week that was, and the upcoming week for your Mariners players fantasy expectations.

We all knew there was fantasy royalty when drafting Felix Hernandez, but watching his performance this week was a great start to your pitching numbers. He won both his games and showed the opposing teams his arsenal is still unhittable, finishing the week with 19 Ks, 1.88 ERA and a crazy low 0.84 WHIP. Felix was exactly who the Mariners needed him to be, especially when starting the season on the road against division rivals LA Angels and Oakland Athletics.

Felix is the type of pitcher you keep in your SP spot every day, regardless of who he is pitching against. Owners were rewarded with his two outstanding starts this week, but will most likely see him only once during week two against the Oakland Athletics. He already beat them earlier this week, so there is no reason why his numbers shouldn’t contnue to be great at home in Seattle.

WEEKLY FANTASY PROJECTION: FELIX HERNANDEZ

7  IP, 1 W, 8 K, 1.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP

Robinson Cano showed his Fantasy Owners a small sample size of what is to come this year. We didn’t see any long balls in his first week, but his high batting average and on base percentage were highly anticipated. Cano finished the week batting .421, and getting on base over half the time with a .542 OBP.

The good news is that Cano plays every day. Fantasy owners can continue to keep Cano in their 2B roster spot knowing they have the best second basemen in the game. The Mariners offense is batting off the charts, and this week they are returning home to play the same Oakland Athletics and LA Angels they just destroyed on the road. Continue to expect RBI situations when Cano is at the plate, and run opportunities with the big hitters driving him in.

WEEKLY FANTASY PROJECTION: ROBINSON CANO

.350 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 RUNS, 0 SB

Justin Smoak turned out to be the biggest fantasy baseball surprise for the first week of the season. Smoak had an amazing first week finishing with a .286 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, and 5 RUNS. Cano begged the Mariners to pick up one more bat in free agency to protect him in the lineup, but I don’t think anyone expected that big bat to come in the hands of Smoak.

Smoak continued to punish pitchers who walked Cano to get to him. His fantasy value has taken a huge leap now being owned in 96.7% of leagues, which is a 43.8% jump in just one week of baseball. Smoak wins our week’s Surprise Sleeper pick, and we expect the same offense to continue this week when the Mariners return to Seattle.

SLEEPER PICK WEEKLY PROJECTION: JUSTIN SMOAK

.250 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 RUNS, 0 SB

It was great to see the Mariners start off so hot on the road. The players return to home this week, so expect more quality starts from the rotation in pitcher friendly Safeco Field. Don’t expect the offense to stay on fire all year, but enjoy the current hot streak for your fantasy squad while it lasts. Go Mariners!