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!