Mariners Analysis: Prospects Play Part in M’s Success

Shawn O’Malley, Mayckol Guaipe and Tony Zych have all contributed to the Mariners surprising start in 2016.

The Mariners (26-17) are off to their best 44-game start since the 2003 season when they stormed through the first quarter of the year with a 29-15 record. The M’s finished that season at 93-69. That Mariner squad- and the dominating teams in the late 90’s and early 00’s- defied expectations and won games because every single player stepped up during those winning years to pick up the slack for the stars who needed a boost.

This time around, a handful of prospects have been role players keeping the Mariners steady in what will surly be a competitive, un-expecting year in the AL West. Right now, the everyday starters like Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager, along with the surprise slugging starts from Leonys Martin and Dae-Ho Lee have the Mariners core running at full speed, but two pitchers and one newly brought up batter have have tried to make their stamp and excite the Mariner faithful for the future of the club.

In this slideshow I will focus on the three prospects, Mayckol Guaipe, Shawn O’Malley and Tony Zych for their performances so far in 2016, and what we can look forward to for the rest of the year, and hopefully into late-October as well.

*Chris Taylor, who was just brought up from Triple-A Tacoma yesterday, will be at short during the 4-6 weeks that Ketel Marte will be sidelined by a thumb sprain. Taylor will be the next vital piece of the puzzle to keep the Mariners firing on all cylinders. His 1-3 start with 2 K’s and 2 E’s is not the way to keep your spot though.