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Sodo Mojo’s Seattle Mariners Twitter Mailbag #2
As we slowly wind down the 2019 Seattle Mariners season, the intrigue of the winter and the 2020 season are beginning to ramp back up. With all the curiosity floating around, we open ourselves up to your questions.
The format for this article is pretty self-explanatory. We took to our Twitter account (@sodomojoFS) and put out the bat signal for your questions. If you ever have any Mariners questions you want to be answered on future Twitter mailbags, send us the question any time with the hashtag SodoTMB (#sodoTMB) and we will include it in our next mailbag article.
Today, we have 3 solid questions from @caseycosgrove, @bsbburner, and @Seattle_09. With that being said, let’s get started:
I stopped watching games at the all-star break. What have I missed?
— Casey Cosgrove (@caseycosgrove) August 25, 2019
Well right out of the gate, I have to make so assumptions about you so here it goes. I am assuming you are talking strictly at the MLB level. I could be wrong, but if you don’t care enough to watch the Mariners, you probably aren’t paying attention to the farm system either. I’m going to assume you know about the trades as well.
But since the All-Star break, the Mariners have played some pretty good baseball. After coming out of the break losing their first 5 games, they have a 17-17 record since then. While most of those wins have come against sub-.500 teams, they did look significantly better than other rebuilding teams like the Tigers, Royals, and Orioles, as well as the Blue Jays. They even took a series against the Rays last weekend.
Individually, Kyle Seager has been one of the best hitters in baseball for the past month, raising his current season-long triple slash to .250/.328/.496, right in line with his career norms. The catching tandem of Omar Narvaez and Tom Murphy has been the best in baseball and both catchers have a good chance to hit 20 home runs.
Marco Gonzales has been rock solid, posting a 3.32 ERA in his past 7 starts with 39 strikeouts and an opponents OPS of .678. And surprisingly, the bullpen has been decent thanks to Matt Magill, Matt Wisler, Sam Tuivailala, and Anthony Bass.
On the negative side of things, Mallex Smith and Yusei Kikuchi have really struggled, although Kikuchi did mix a complete game shut out into the recent string of meh starts. Daniel Vogelbach hasn’t looked MLB quality in months. And the rotation has had a rough few turns.
Felix… Some will never quit you
Would we extend Felix if he continues to show progress
— HAPPY MARINERS FAN (@bsbburner) August 25, 2019
No. It really is that simple. There is obvious some fraction in that relationship and it is pretty clear at this point that the King Felix of old is dead. He had a decent return to action against the Blue Jays but I honestly do not know what kind of “progress” he has shown in 3 years.
His numbers have gotten progressively worse and yet, he looks like the same pitcher he has been since 2016. He’s just not good. Does he still have the stuff to be a mid-rotation guy? Yes. And yet, for the better part of 3 seasons, he has been hurt or ineffective.
By all accounts, Felix has been pretty resistant to any changes the Mariners have approached him with and hasn’t bought into the analytical data presented to him by Seattle. So while he hasn’t been a public distraction, a general reading between the lines show a Felix who is done with the Mariners and a franchise who is done with him.
But for Felix, he needs to pitch well to even extend his career. He has been that bad, as hard as that is for so many to admit.
Look, the King will one day return to Seattle as he is inducted into the team Hall of Fame. His number will probably be retired and he may one day be elected into the national baseball hall of fame and a statue may be erected in his honor. But right now, he is a drain on Seattle and a divorce appears to be the only option for both sides.
Enjoy Felix while you can, because these last handful of starts are probably the last you’ll see of him in a Mariners uniform. Is there a small chance Felix is back in 2020? I suppose. But I’d put the odds at less than 1%.
Most Surprising, Most Disappointed
Which prospect has exceeded your expectations and which one has faltered?
— H 🏴🚩 (@NineStrikesOut) August 25, 2019
So one of the best things about the 2019 Mariners is that there are quite a few candidates for the former and only a small handful of the latter. Most of the big-name prospects in the system have had a successful 2019 in some respect. Injuries have kind of pushed back the development of Braden Bishop and Shed Long, which is disappointing but not really there fault.
Other than that, every other Top-10ish prospect has at least been solid this season. As far as exceeding expectations, I think this almost has to go to Ljay Newsome. He ended last season as fringe organization filler and is now one of the most productive pitchers in the system.
He was sent to Mariners “Gas Camp” this winter, a special program where the team tries to extract the most velocity out of pitchers as possible, and Newsome may be the poster child of their success.
He spent most of 2018 sitting 85 mph. In 2019, he sits 89-91 and can touch 93 at times. He did all of this without sacrificing his double-plus command, as evident by his 14 walks in 145 innings. All that being said, I’m still not sold on Newsome as more than a middle-reliever type. The stuff is getting better but still isn’t great. But he may start 2020 in AAA so that is a massive jump from where he was last season.
As for the prospect that has faltered the most, I am going to say Dom Thompson-Williams. He has really struggled in AA this season. Strikeouts have been major issues for him this season but the raw skills are still exciting.
Next. No reason to panic on Fraley. dark
The bat speed and power are still there and DTW is a good athlete. He is Rule 5 eligible, though it is unlikely he will be selected. He is destined to repeat AA next season and hopefully, he can show the skills I saw in 2018 that led me to believe DTW could actually skyrocket into the Top 10 by seasons end.