Batting eight, 1B Evan White
Evan White had a very weird rookie season in terms of evaluating his performance. He won the AL Gold Glove for first base and was incredible at all aspects of defense. However, at the plate, he was quite the opposite of incredible.
White struck out 42% of the time which was second to last in the league and he also hit just .176 which was worst in the league. White had a league-average BB% which saved his batting stats somewhat, but what was really impressive and shows White’s potential is when he connected on pitches.
White’s exit velocity ranked in the 87th percentile of MLB hitters, and his hard hit % and barrel % were both in the top 10th percentile. White played just 4 games in AAA which can explain his offensive struggles in terms of strikeouts and he will undoubtedly be working on it in spring training.
His strikeout numbers will improve when he gets more used to MLB pitching and he can turn into a cleanup hitter with his power. But for now, he should be towards the back of the lineup. Even if his offensive struggles continue I think it is best for the Mariners and White, in the long run, to have him stay up in the MLB.