The 2020 Seattle Mariners Nice List
J.P. Crawford
The Seattle Mariners finally got a little preview of what J.P. Crawford is capable of, and frankly why we traded for him. Crawford won his first Gold Glove Award and also produced offensively.
I was honestly a little shocked that he beat out Carlos Correa for the award, but he deserves it. As far as the offensive side of things, he finished with a .255 average and .336 OBP. I want a little more from him in the next couple of years, but I think it is a great jump from last season.
Crawford got on base pretty frequently and stole 6 bases as well. That is exactly what we need from him because he won’t be hitting 20+ home runs. But if he can improve on his 2020 season, he would be a perfect #1, #2, or #9 kind of hitter.
Evan White’s Defense
As I mentioned already, Evan White was bad on offense but great on defense. That is why he is on both of Santa’s lists. Not a whole lot to say but he definitely deserves his Gold Glove Award. I did a little comparing of the sabermetrics, and White’s numbers were dramatically better than his competition: Matt Olson and Yuli Gurriel.
Now we just need him to improve his offense and we are in business.
Marco Gonzales
Marco was just flat-out amazing. I love the way he pitches. It still amazes me how effective he is without a 95mph fastball. The Gonzaga product finished with a 3.10 ERA, and led the league in BB/9.
He is another player that made a big leap from 2019 to 2020, like Crawford. Marco posted a 3.99 ERA in 2019, and dropped it down by quite a lot.
Gonzales is proving to everyone that he is capable of being a front of rotation pitcher, and I do not have any complaints. He will turn 29 next February, so Mariners fans will get to see him get better and better.
Yohan Ramirez
Will Yohan be the next Edwin Diaz? Probably not, but pretty darn close. Ramirez had a spectacular rookie season posting a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 innings. He was acquired in the Rule 5 Draft last season and was the only reliever to pitch well in 2020.
The 25-year-old could be the Seattle Mariners closer moving forward. The cool thing is that Yohan still has areas to improve on, so he will only get better. Ramirez had issues with control so if he can keep his walks down, he will be even better.
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Justus Sheffield
To be honest, I sort of became weary of Justus Sheffield after watching him pitch in 2019. But, I quickly changed my mind after watching him pitch this past season.
After a rough 2019, Sheffield was able to bounce back in a big way and finished with a 3.58 ERA. One of the things that stood out to me was his BB/9. In 2019, his BB/9 was 4.5, but in 2020 he lowered it to 3.3. That is still not very good, but it shows that he is working on his control.
Sheffield may not look like he is 24-years-old, but there is a lot to look forward to from the young pitcher. I am expecting a big year from him in 2021.
Kyle Lewis
Last but not least, Kyle Lewis. Do I need to do any explaining? I think you have read plenty about his 2020 performance already. Lewis unanimously won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
Lewis was an underdog going into 2020, and most people probably did not even consider him. Luis Robert was the headline prospect for 2020, and Lewis was able to beat him.
Kyle was great offensively and made some amazing catches during 2020 as well. Mariners fans have been waiting to cheer on a young talented player for a while, and Lewis has become “the guy” in Seattle.