Mariners Analysis: Robinson Cano is Scorching his Way To Career Highs

Robbie Cano is not only the MVP of the Mariners right now, but he is also on pace to set career highs and shatter records.

Robinson Cano is tearing up the league in a way that no one would have expected, but his historic year could rewrite the Mariners record book, replacing some of the greatest names to ever play the game.

Coming into Spring Training 2016 there was much speculation as to how the $240 million dollar man would perform in his third year with the club. The second baseman who had struggled mightily through the first half of the 2015 season was in dire need of a successful season. It was later publicized that in ’15 Cano experienced an array of health issues that had been plaguing him for months, and they were the cause of his underwhelming numbers. So when February 2016 rolled around, it was anyone’s guess which Cano we would see.

To the shock of every Mariners, and dare I say, baseball fan in the country, Cano shot out of the gates faster than Usian Bolt or American Pharaoh, and is bound to shatter career records and potentially win his first MVP.

Cano’s March started quickly, creating vast excitement in the Mariner organization, that this was finally going to be his breakout year with the M’s. He boasted spring career setting or trying numbers in HRs, SLG, OPS, BB, XBH and batting .368; all this while playing in the second fewest games he’s played during a spring training stint. That chip on his shoulder from under-performing, not to mention the rumors that he was unhappy in Seattle, had to go, and this was his start to making them disappear.

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The Mariner faithful were hoping that Cano would continue his torrid start in spring ball would transfer to the regular season, and he did not disappoint. The slugger didn’t waste any time climbing to the top of the HR and RBI lists, homering in his first three games, including a multi-homer show in the later ballgame- he also had 5 RBIs in that 3rd contest.

His BA didn’t stand up to the rest of his hitting numbers early on, but once May came around, he caught spring fever. He raised his BA exponentially, raising it .058 points from .237 to .295 present day. Much of that came from his splendid 13-game hit streak that began on May 1st, but has been helped too from his extended 23 game streak of reaching base safely, this streak is still going.

Up until this past week, Cano was the sole leader in HR and RBI, holding those spots for over a month. However, a select few stars have caught up with him for the AL lead in dingers, and has only been surpassed by the remarkable retiring, David Ortiz, who has only 2 more RBI than Cano. Yet, while it would be an honor for Cano to have the best numbers in every category, what has been most important on a personal level is that he is on pace to obliterate several career high batting numbers that he has set over his previous 10 years.

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As of May 27, Cano has amounted an astonishing 14 HRs. At this pace he will finish with 49 long-balls (16 more than his previous high). His runs batted in total is equally impressive; with 42 so far on the young season, he is on pace to grab 151 by the end of the year. Not to mention that he is narrowly surpassing his highest doubles count if he keeps it up, potentially hitting 49, which would also be the 4th most in a single-season.

Even more special, if Cano keeps cruising on this projection, he will have amounted the 3rd most homers in franchise history for one year, with 49, tying “The Kid”, soon to be hall of famer, Ken Griffey Jr. That’s not the only company at the top of the leader board he’ll be next to Jr. Cano would set the all-time franchise record for most RBI in a season, passing Junior by 4, if he can sustain this pace throughout the year.

Next: Mariners Minor-League Roundup: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not

What Robinson Cano is doing in 2016 is pleasantly mind-boggling. Not only to challenge 20 year old records that have been set by one of the greatest baseball players to ever live, but to break them coming off an injury plagued season is truly special. If Cano is able to set these records, he will be on his way to joining the Mariner Hall of Fame.

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