Seattle Mariners All-Time Fantasy Draft: Meet the Squads

2. Patnode vs 7. Alexander

Patnode

The number 2 pick was difficult for me. Edgar Martinez is my favorite player of all-time. But despite the general fan hate of Alex Rodriguez, saying that he isn’t easily one of the Top 2 players in franchise history is just a lie. In his 5 full years in Seattle, A-Rod averaged a .315/.381/.575 slash with 37 home runs and 25 steals.

He so far ahead of the next shortstop in the franchise’s history, it gave me such a significant advantage over everybody else, I felt I had to take him. As for the rest of my squad, there was definitely an unintended run of Right-Handed power for me, but with great defense up the middle of my squad.

Plus, considering I didn’t take a starting pitcher until round 7, landing a Top 5 starter in franchise history was a huge win for me. My lineup would look something like this:

1. Mitch Haniger RF (.278/.356/.483)
2. Leon Roberts LF (.276/.349/.458)
3. Alex Rodriguez SS (.315/.381/.575)
4. Russell Branyan DH (.239/.338/.508
5. Mike Cameron CF (.256/.350/.448)
6. David Segui 1B (.300/.356/.473)
7. Mike Blowers 3B (.270/.343/.448)
8. Mike Zunino C (.207/.276/.407)
9. Rich Amaral 2B (.278/.345/.354)

With Iwakuma on the mound and Fernando Rodney to close out games, my offense has more than enough firepower to beat anybody else’s squad. I also have gold glove quality defense at catcher, shortstop, centerfield, and right field, with average or better defenders everywhere else.

Overall, I inarguably have the best SS in franchise history, and arguably the second best centerfielder and catcher. I have a top 5 right fielder, starting pitcher, and closer as well. Go back and look at David Segui and Leon Roberts careers in Seattle (their slash line with the team next to their name) and understand they were great players for a time as well. That’s why I deserve to win.

Alexander

My team is glistening with 3 All-Stars, a Rookie of the Year, a Rookie of the Year top 5 candidate, a Gold Glove winner, and a Cy Young finalist 3 years during his tenure. Jamie Moyer, my starting pitcher had an 11 year, 145-win notch career with the Mariners.

Additionally, he struck out 1,239 batters, threw 20 complete games, had an ERA of 3.95, All-Star in 2003, and a WAR of 34.3. In ONLY 3 years, Kaz Sasaki had 129 saves and struck out 242 batters, went to the All-Star game in 2001 and 2002, and won Rookie of the Year in 2000.

In 4 years with the Mariners, Joey Cora knocked 119 doubles and drove in 170 runs. In 4 years with the Mariners, David Bell hit 47 homers and knocked in 197 runs. In Dan Wilson’s 12 years, he drove in 508 runs and has a WAR of 13.5.

In his 5 years, Omar Vizquel won a Gold Glove, knocked in 131 runs, and had a WAR of 10.3. In his single season with the Mariners, a very aged Rickey Henderson stole 31 bases. My team’s slash in their tenure with the Mariners is .263/.328/.382/.711. All combined to hit 248 home runs and drove in 1,394 runs. The overall team WAR is 4.8

Overall Roster:

• C. Dan Wilson
• 1B. Logan Morrison
• 2B. Joey Cora
• 3B. David Bell
• SS. Omar Vizquel
• LF. Rickey Henderson
• CF. Austin Jackson
• RF. Danny Tartabull
• DH. Jose Vidro
• SP. Jamie Moyer
• RP. Kaz Sasaki

3. Maduell vs 6. Wicke

Maduell:

My clear first pick (and third overall) was the great Edgar Martinez. Along with 309 homers and a .312 batting average through 18 seasons, he also posted 100-plus RBI’s through six of those as well as 145 in 2000 alone! Edgar was the first designated hitter to come into his own and his ALDS walk-off against the Yankees gave Mariners fans their first highlight to cheer about.

At starting pitcher is Aaron Sele who never had ace stuff like Moyer or Garcia but was a key middle-of-the-pack starter during the key 116-win season. At relief is JJ Putz and though he had one good year for the club, it was a big one with 40 saves and his lone All-Star berth.

On the other end of the battery is former backup catcher Ben Davis. He wasn’t the best catcher nor hitter but he had more power than Dan Wilson and if you can play backup during the early 2000’s glory years, you’re a worthy catcher.

We move to inside the diamond with Jose Lopez at the hot corner. Though his Mariner glory years were at second base, he played full-time third between Beltre’s departure and Seager’s call-up. Next to him is Carlos Guillen who despite an ALDS-clinching squeeze in 2000, remained under-rated due to injuries.

The Mariners didn’t use him well as he was traded right before he hit prime. At second is Bret Boone and whether or not the HGH rumors were true or not, aren’t 37 homers, 141 RBI’s, and a .331 average (2001) darn impressive from a guy under six feet and 200 pounds?

Lastly, we end with Tino Martinez at the other corner. Though he really hit prime later as a Yankee, his 31 homers, 111 RBI’s and .293 average led to his first career All-Star berth during the magical ’95 season.

In left field, we have Ruben Sierra who was a one-and-done in 2002. For someone who platooned with Mark McLemore, he posted a solid season of 13 homers, 60 RBI’s and a .270 average. In center roams Willie Bloomquist, the poor man’s Mark McLemore of utility men. Finishing out my team is the former right fielder, Al Cowens, who hit 20 homers his first year as a Mariner as well as the right fielder in team history to start Opening Day consecutive seasons.

6. Wicke

Could you imagine the one-two punch of Randy Johnson throwing 8 shutout innings, just to have Edwin Diaz trot out to the mound and clinch yet another save? With my All-Time Mariners team, it’s the sweet reality.

Johnson, who is considered the greatest pitcher in Mariners history (though King Felix would think otherwise), was my first round pick at #6 overall. Knowing that pitching is vital for any contender, and each team is allowed just one reliever — I took the most dominant closer in Mariners history with my second pick: Edwin Diaz.

Jean Segura, who mashed a 3-run home run in last season’s All-Star game after a magical “Send Segura” campaign, was my third round pick at shortstop. The “hit machine” slashed .302/.345/.421 in his 269 career games for Seattle.

My outfield consisted of fan favorites Ben Gamel and Raul Ibanez, along with Ruppert Jones (1977-79). Jones, a Mariners All-Star in 1977, would go on to slash .257/.333/.418 in his 3-year Mariner career.

With catching great Dave Valle behind the plate, the rest of the infield consisted of first baseman Tom Paciorek (.296/.343/.460), second baseman Yuniesky Betancourt (.279/.302/.393) and third baseman Dan Meyer (.265/.305/.405).

Paciorek was a Mariners All-Star in 1981 when he slashed .326/.379/.509, finishing 10th in American League MVP voting.

The team features the old and the new of Mariners stars, from Edwin Diaz and Jean Segura to Randy Johnson and Raul Ibanez. And with the Big Unit setting up a save for Sugar – how sweet it is.

4. Swanson vs 5. Gonzalez

Swanson:

Hello there, reader! I am here to tell you why my team is the best one from Sodo Mojo’s All-Time Mariners Draft!

Reason #1: Daniel Vogelbach is my DH

FIN

But for real, I am pretty happy with my team. The Mariners haven’t made it easy to with solid Shortstops, catchers or first basemen but I think that I have a solid lineup. Here is a look at how I’d draw it up.

1. Ichiro RF
2. John Olerud 1B
3. Denard Span LF
4. Franklin Gutierrez CF
5. Kyle Seager 3B
6. Tom Lampkin C
7. Daniel Vogelbach DH
8. Ketel Marte SS
9. Dee Gordon 2B

First off, the on-base skills that Ichiro and John Olerud possessed while with the Mariners mean that they are going to be on in front of the middle of the order. Span and Guti aren’t going to hit many home runs however they are going to put the ball in the gap and drive the top of the order in.

Kyle Seager and Daniel Vogelbach will provide the power for the lineup and having them his lower in the order make the lineup longer and more volatile. Rounding out the order with both Ketel and Dee means even more speed that could possibly be on base when the big boppers come to bat.

A lot of my team (all except for two guys) have been with the M’s in the past few years. I’d like to say I planned that for chemistry yadda yadda but really it was just a happy coincidence. I drafted both guys from the trade made early in 2018, Denard Span and Alex Colome.

Both guys were some of the most successful players that the Mariners have ever acquired in a trade. They came up big for the Mariners down the stretch and I think they were great additions against the best players to ever put on a Mariners uniform.

While Colome wasn’t closing out games for the Mariners, he was setting up for one of the best closers in history last season and will follow James Paxton, who is going to give you 7 solid innings.
That’s it. That’s a quick, simplified version of why my team was the best one from the Sodo Modo draft. A combo of speed, gap to gap power and a lockdown pitching staff will lead is to the title of best All Mariner team. Also, Daniel Vogelbach is my DH. Just saying.

Gonzalez

Admittedly, I didn’t go into this with much strategy. It was basically who I viewed as the best player available at the time and went from there, so I ended up running into a bit of trouble in filling positions such as third base and shortstop. However, I feel that I was able to manage a few steals in the later rounds and create a team that’s well-balanced and capable of winning ballgames in several different ways.

In their time with the Mariners, my team has accrued a combined 134.6 fWAR. Even in the cases of Desi Relaford and John Jaso, who both had just one-year stints in Seattle, they either matched or bested their career-high in fWAR. Also, I have Dae-Ho Lee on my team, which automatically makes this roster better than everyone else’s, but that’s none of my business.

1. Mark McLemore, 2B

2. Jay Buhner, RF

3. Alvin Davis, 1B

4. Bruce Bochte, LF

5. John Jaso, C

6. Randy Winn, CF

7. Dae-Ho Lee, DH

8. Brendan Ryan, SS

9. Desi Relaford, 3B

Overall Roster:

Felix Hernandez
John Jaso
Alvin Davis
Mark McLemore
Desi Relaford
Brendan Ryan
Bruch Bochte
Randy Winn
Jay Buhner
(DH) Dae-Ho Lee
RP: Jeff Nelson

Now it is up to you guys to vote. I encourage you to remember that only a players time in Seattle should count in your decision-making process. Don’t bring a players performance outside the organization enter your mind. I also strongly recommend you take a look at the draft board by clicking here.

Thank you so much for reading and remember voting begins at 5 PM on Twitter (@sodomojoFS) and on Facebook! Happy voting!