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3 Fantasy Baseball Questions About Your Seattle Mariners

By Colby Patnode

SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 08: A general view during the National Anthem prior to the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros on Opening Day at Safeco Field on April 8, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - APRIL 08: A general view during the National Anthem prior to the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros on Opening Day at Safeco Field on April 8, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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2. Which Mariner is the Best Value in 2018

I am tempted to say Nelson Cruz. The guy is a borderline first round producer, who is largely hurt by his age, 37, and his DH(or utility) only eligibility. But I already talked in-depth about Cruz, so lets keep looking down the list.

I like the value of Jean Segura, but we will talk about him a little later. For me, when I study the ADP, there are really 2 major options. The first is Mike Zunino, who is going 159th overall in NFBC, or somewhere between the 14th or 15th round in 12 team drafts.

Zunino’s amazing turnaround has been documented by many, including us. Zunino could be a Top 5 catcher thanks to his power potential. His low batting average will hurt some in Roto, and his high k rate will hurt in points leagues. But he has legitimate 30 HR power, and will get a ton of AB’s.

The other name is Kyle Seager. Currently, Seager’s ADP is 135. He was disappointing in 2017, considering the arrow was pointing up following his monster 2016 season. In fact, heading into 2017, most “fantasy experts” had Seager firmly planted between 40th overall to 60th.

In one pretty average Kyle Seager season, he dropped from a 5th round pick to a 12th-14th round pick. That is what the industry calls a “post-hype sleeper”. In the 12th round, Seager cannot be a bad pick. He will play in 145+ games, hit 25 home runs, probably hit around .260 with RBI and Runs totals somewhere in the 80’s.

If he can repeat his 2016 numbers, Seager is an absolute league winner. It’s amazing the number of times a fantasy baseball champion has a 10th round or later player who played like a 4th rounder on their roster.

So, when combining floor, ceiling, draft position, position scarcity and more, I would give Seager the slight edge over Zunino for the best Mariners value. Zunino does have a pretty scary floor, but is still well worth the risk late in drafts. But Seager’s combo of high floor with a 4th round ceiling gives him the slight edge in this debate.

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