Can the Seattle Mariners win 3 consecutive Rookie of the Year Awards?

Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners won the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year. The Mariners have several prospects on their way soon. Can the Mariners win back to back or even three in a row?

One of the biggest highlights of 2020 for the Seattle Mariners was Kyle Lewis winning the Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year by a landslide. Lewis had an amazing start to the 2020 season and tapered off in the second half but he did enough to beat out the competition. The 2016 first-round pick showed his all-around talent during the regular season. Lewis hit 11 home runs, stole five bases, .801 OPS, 1.4 WAR, and multiple highlight-reel defensive plays.

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Kyle Lewis is looking like the player we hoped for and proved that he is the future of the Mariners. As great as it is to celebrate Kyle Lewis’ 2020 season and his bright future, there are many other players in the Seattle Mariners farm system to look forward to. The Mariners currently have two players in the Top 20 MLB prospects list. They also have six prospects in the Top 100.

Basically what I am trying to say is the Seattle Mariners have a legitimate chance to repeat for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2021, and possibly even 2022. You would be surprised how often back to back Rookies of the Year have occurred in the past. It is more than you would expect. There have been nine times where a team has won back to back Rookie of the Year Awards, the most recent being 2016 and 2017 when Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger won.

Consecutive Rookie of the Year Awards has also happened in Seattle Mariners history. Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki won the award in 2000 and 2001. Three consecutive ROY’s by a team has been done once, by the Oakland Athletics starting in 1986 with Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Walt Weiss. And then the Los Angeles Dodgers have won four consecutive times, and also five consecutive times. The Sutcliff and Valenzuela era, and the Piazza, Mondesi, Nomo era.

Winning consecutive Rookie of the Year Awards has become harder and harder, but the Seattle Mariners have a legitimate chance. Let’s predict who could be a ROY candidate for the next couple of years.

Jarred Kelenic is my Seattle Mariners front runner for winning AL Rookie of the Year in 2021

When you are the 9th ranked MLB prospect, there are certain expectations and I will hold Jarred Kelenic to it as well. Kelenic came to the Mariners organization when the Mariners traded Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the New York Mets. At the time, it seemed like a major loss but it was necessary, and we hope the trade pays its dividends when Kelenic enters the MLB.

Kelenic was tearing it up while in Tacoma with the taxi squad, and many fans wanted to see him make his debut in 2020. I get their excitement to see Kelenic in 2020, but there is no need to rush him. We might as well give him a full season in 2021 where he can mentally prepare for it. That being said, Kelenic is supposedly on route to being in the lineup every day in 2021. Obviously, we do not know until next year, but that is my guess.

Kelenic spent 21 games in Double-A and because minor league seasons were canceled in 2020, he did miss some quality time at Double-A and potentially Triple-A. But he did participate in practices and intrasquad at Cheney Stadium, but like many other prospects around the league, Kelenic missed out on some crucial games this season. It is not unordinary for players to jump from Double-A to the big leagues, take Evan White for example, but it definitely is a tough adjustment.

The good thing is that Kelenic has been able to adjust and learn really quickly. Remember, Kelenic did not play college baseball and went straight from high school to the minor league system and immediately succeeded in pro-ball. He boasts a .290 batting average, 29 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases in 173 minor league games.

I have confidence that Kelenic will succeed in 2021 even with the stiff competition for next season. Kelenic and other Mariners rookies could be competing against Royce Lewis, Casey Mize, Forrest Whitley, and others for AL ROY. Outside of Kelenic, I think there are a couple more under the radar ROY candidates for 2021 out of Seattle.

Mariners starting pitching prospect Logan Gilbert should also be thrown into the conversation

Logan Gilbert is currently the 35th ranked overall prospect in the MLB, right behind Ian Anderson of the Atlanta Braves who just pitched like an elite pitcher in the postseason. The Seattle Mariners 6’6″ right-hander is the fourth-ranked Mariners prospect, and the first-round pick by Jerry Dipoto in 2018. Gilbert pitched in Double-A in 2019 and I think he is set to be in the big league rotation for 2021.

Out of the four past Mariners Rookie of the Year Award winners, there has only been one pitcher that has won. Kazuhiro Sasaki in 2000 won the Rookie of the Year and is the only pitcher. Gilbert could be the first Seattle Mariners starting pitcher to win AL Rookie of the Year. Based on what I have seen and his skill sets, Gilbert really has a great chance to be a star pitcher for the team and to have an outstanding rookie season.

Gilbert boasts a 2.13 minor league career ERA while striking out 165 batters in 135 innings. Logan does not walk batters often which is a plus and makes Gilbert a well-rounded starting pitcher. He has limited his walks to just 33 over his minor league career, and an opposing batters average of .198. Despite playing just one full season in the minor leagues after being drafted, he adjusted extremely well after moving up to different teams in 2019.

Generally speaking, pitchers have had a harder time winning Rookie of the Year awards in the MLB. I would say it is about 60/40 or 70/30 in favor of hitters winning the ROY award in the past. Gilbert has some stiff competition in the American League like we mentioned on the previous page with Kelenic.

The former 14th overall pick out of Stetson University has grown into his body and now throws a mid-90s fastball with an excellent slider, a good curveball, and a solid changeup. The Seattle Mariners’ “Thor” could be the long-term ace moving forward. I still think Jarred Kelenic has a better chance of being the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year among Mariners prospects, but Gilbert is not too far behind. This will be an impressive rookie duo in 2021.

The Seattle Mariners could have a third prospect in the Rookie of the Year conversation in 2021

Taylor Trammell is the fifth-ranked Mariners prospect right behind Logan Gilbert, and Trammell is also the 51st overall MLB prospect. The Seattle Mariners have rarely had this many exciting prospects at once, and it is impressive to have six Mariners players in the Top 100 MLB prospects. Jerry Dipoto acquired Trammell from the San Diego Padres when we sent over Austin Nola, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Adams.

Trammell was just one part of the young group of players that joined the Mariners at the 2020 trade deadline, and the Mariners are one lucky organization to bring in a top prospect like Trammell. The speedy lefty was recently added to the 40-man roster to protect him from being drafted in the MLB Rule 5 Draft.

The Mariners top prospect has an impressive box of tools including athleticism, hitting savvy, and even some sneaky power. After being drafted out of high school, he has a solid .270 batting average, .363 OBP, has hit 33 home runs, and stolen 110 bases. Trammell has played in 426 minor league games and reached Double-A in 2019.

Like Kelenic and Gilbert, Trammell’s highest minor league level was Double-A, but that was back in 2019. All minor leaguers missed out on a 2020 season so these three Mariners prospects probably would have played in Triple-A. That being said, they are on track to playing in 2021 at the big league level, but they might be a little behind compared to past rookies who had a full year of games under their belts.

Taylor Trammell did get to play in the Instructional League in Arizona so he did get some extra reps. The upcoming Spring Training will be a much better indication of how ready Trammell is for the MLB and if he can translate his minor league performances into the MLB, he is another competitor for the Rookie of the Year in 2021.

How crazy would it be if three Seattle Mariners rookies all received votes for Rookie of the Year in 2021? Mariners fans argued that Justus Sheffield should have received some ROY votes after his outstanding 2020 season in the rotation. I do not think it is crazy to think that Kelenic, Gilbert, and Trammell could be running for the ROY campaign in 2021.

The 2020 first-round pick, Emerson Hancock is another candidate for AL Rookie of the Year in 2022

Emerson Hancock is the 30th ranked MLB prospect, and the third-highest ranked Seattle Mariners prospect. You might be bored by now because I just keep listing all the exciting prospects the Mariners have, but it really is such an exciting time to be a Mariners fan. The University of Georgia product might not be ready for the 2022 season, but I am hoping he can rise up the ranks quickly.

Hancock would have obviously pitched in rookie ball this season, but that did not go as planned. Hancock is already behind as a brand new prospect, but if scouts are ranking him as high as he is in the prospects list, that says something about his talent. Hancock will most likely start in Single-A in 2021, and could even end up in Double-A towards the end of 2021.

And by the time you know it, if the Mariners really think he is ready to take another step forward he could join the MLB in 2022. The Seattle Mariners will be looking to have all of their high ranked prospects up with the team to make a run for the playoffs, and Hancock might be rushed up to the MLB. According to MLB.com, Hancock is estimated to arrive in the big leagues in 2022 and I do not think they are crazy.

I may be reaching a bit and may not pitch a full season until 2023, but if the Mariners need another starting pitcher when the time comes, Hancock’s name might be called on. Hancock pitched in college so he is closer to being ready to the MLB compared to some high school prospects so that is a good sign already. Emerson Hancock has a mid to high 90s fastball and a great mix of secondary pitches. Expect to see Hancock’s name over the years.

To summarize, the Mariners have a legitimate group of players to warrant back to back to back Rookie of the Year awards in Seattle. There is so much depth that the Seattle Mariners have multiple prospects as potential ROY candidates for the next couple of years. Kyle Lewis started the buzz around the prospects Jerry Dipoto has brought in over the years, and the team is just getting started. The Mariners have a chance to join the history books by being another team to have consecutive Rookie of the Year Award winners.