Mariners Spring Training: The 5 hottest hitters right now

Mariners Hitter #2: Ty France

Ty France has been the best hitter in Mariners Spring Training up to now. He has been absolutely mashing pitches and leads the team in home runs with two.

Like Taylor Trammell, France has had a handful of at-bats this Spring (11 at-bats). Only Julio Rodriguez and Dylan Moore have had 12 at-bats to lead the team.

The 26-year-old infielder has six hits, one double, two home runs, and three RBIs. The outcome: .545 BA, 1.182 SLG, and 1.765 OPS.

Give him AL MVP already! Just kidding, or am I?

It honestly shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Ty France is one of the best hitters in Arizona right now because he smacked balls in 2020. He finished 2020 with a .305 average, and .836 OPS.

France is similar to Dylan Moore because they have small sample sizes of success, and broke out during the 2020 season. So, Ty France is still an “unproven” player but Mariners fans shouldn’t be worried any longer.

One thing to note, Ty France’s exit velocity was in the bottom 8% of the league. His average exit velocity was 85.7mph. But, from what I have seen this Spring, Ty France is making hard contact consistently and looking like a real problem for AL Division rivals.

Now onto hitter #3.

Mariners Hitter #3: Jose Marmolejos

Jose has had a quiet but impressive Spring Training. His teammates have been hitting big home runs left and right which is why you haven’t heard much of Marmolejos’ name.

Through 11 at-bats, the first baseman has five hits, one double, and one RBI. Yeah, nothing too flashy but it’s progress for Jose. Put together, he has a .455 batting average, .455 OBP, .545 slugging, and 1.000 OPS.

An important detail in his stats, Jose has only struck out once this Spring. In his rookie season (2020), he struck out 27.8% of the time. For context, Khris Davis, the perfect home run or strikeout example, strikes out 27.8% of the time (career).

I acknowledge that it has only been six games and 11 at-bats, but that already seems like a huge improvement. But, when a player switches their hitting approach, there can be tradeoffs.

As of now, Marmo has only hit one double in exchange for plate discipline. So, I wonder if he is taking more of a contact hitter approach to start the Spring. But I could also be entirely wrong and this could just be a bad sample to come to conclusions.

Regardless, Jose Marmolejos is one of the hot hitters right now at Mariners camp. I looked forward to seeing how he progresses/digresses as we get closer to Opening Day.

Now onto hitter #4.

Mariners Hitter #4: Mitch Haniger

Even if Mitch wasn’t hitting .300 this Spring, he probably would’ve been on my list for participation. We have been waiting a long time to see Mitch back on the field and he is finally back, looking great as well.

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Haniger has had 10 at-bats and has three hits, one home run, and one double. He isn’t tearing it up like Ty France right now, but did you see his home run? My goodness. If you need a reason to believe Mitch is back and healthy, that home run was it.

The 30-year-old Mariners outfielder has a big year ahead of him. With the new wave of Mariners players arriving, there is a little uncertainty about what will happen to Mitch. Don’t get me wrong, I love Haniger but the reality: he isn’t getting any younger.

Jerry Dipoto once called him the best player on the team, and I hope he can be in 2021.

Mariners Hitter #5: Kyle Seager

Last but not least, we have the Mariners version of Iron-Man, Kyle Seager. The 33-year-old is batting .429 and slugging .857 through five Spring Training games. Kyle only has three hits but has walked four times which has inflated his numbers. Obviously, I want Kyle to have six hits like Ty France, but I think his plate discipline says a lot about his character as a veteran.

Among the three hits, one of them was a big home run that was a part of the back-to-back-to-back jacks from him, Mitch Haniger, and Ty France.

Kyle Seager acknowledges that his time in Seattle is nearing a close, but we are still rooting him on every time he steps on the field. As far as we can tell, Kyle isn’t slowing down. Let’s hope he can be another reliable batter in the lineup again, and maybe he can lead us to a playoff appearance. I am sure Kyle would like that very much.

Now, a couple of honorable mentions worth sharing.

Mariners Honorable Mentions

Jack Reinheimer

Reinheimer signed with Seattle as a non-roster invite last month and he has been a nice surprise so far. The Mariners drafted him in the 5th round of the 2013 MLB draft out of East Carolina University and was with Seattle until 2015.

He’s put together a decent minor league career: a .272 average, .698 OPS, 25 home runs, and 135 stolen bases in 756 games.

The versatile infielder has played just 23 games in the big leagues back in 2017 and 2018 with the Diamondbacks and Mets. Reinheimer has been seeing time in the second rotation of position players this Spring Training and is batting .250, with a game-tying two-run home run, two walks, and one stolen base.

Nothing spectacular, but he deserves an honorable mention.

Sam Haggerty

Haggerty has also been solid thus far. In 10 at-bats he has three hits, one triple (nearly a home run), one walk, and two stolen bases to lead the team. The 26-year-old is trying to claim the utility player role and is doing enough as of now.

He has a .300 batting average, .364 OBP, .500 slugging, and .864 OPS. But, I think his two stolen bases are particularly important and give him some bonus points.

Cal Raleigh

The Mariners catching prospect is also putting up some impressive offensive numbers. In nine at-bats, Raleigh has three hits, one double, one triple, and two RBIs.

Together, that equals a .333 average, .667 slugging percentage, and 1.000 OPS. This is a great start for Raleigh who has been getting rave reviews from the Mariners coaching staff. I am hoping to see a couple of Raleigh home runs in the next couple of weeks as Spring Training really starts to heat up.