What we hope to see in Week Two of Spring Training from the Mariners

There were plenty of highlights from the first weekend, although the Mariners did struggle to put up offense. They have just 4 HR and 9 2B through five games, with a paltry slash line of .196/.296/.325. What is this, Mid-May 2021 or something?

There is now a real possibility that Julio could end up on the major league roster to start the year. With the new incentives (Top prospects who start on the roster and finish top 3 in ROY voting can earn the team draft picks) as well as Julio playing well through his 4 games (.300/.364/.700), we could see him open the season in Minnesota with the team.

Abraham Toro has been seeing the ball well also, with 5 singles in 9 ABs. Cal Raleigh is showing off a nice eye, with a slash of .200/.500/.400. The other Mariners super-uber wunderkind prospect, Noelvi Marte, hasn’t faired nearly as well as Julio. He has 4 Ks in 5 ABs, so letting him get a bit more game action to see if he can find a couple of hits will be important in the upcoming week. Servais told us to expect to see him a lot, so he should get even more action this week.

On offense, it sure would be nice to see the Mariners bats heat up a bit, as there just hasn’t been much action.

I’m not overreacting at all, and am not worried, but 20 R in 5 ST games just isn’t fun to look at. Maybe the day off will help, as Wednesday the 23rd was their sole day off this Spring. They played five games before that and will play 13 straight before getting April 6th off in advance of their season opener against the Twins in Minnesota.

Robbie Ray looked good, and it would be nice to see him put together a repeat performance in his next outing. There are still questions on the mound though, as the team needs to figure out who is going to hold down that 5th and final spot in the rotation. It’s why it’s gonna be fun, and important, to see how guys like Stoudt, Ramirez, Kirby, and Brash all throw.

For the first 4 weeks of the season, options don’t accrue and rosters will be 28. So we could see a lot of movement, and guys given a taste of the big leagues to keep arms fresh. It’s a huge opportunity for these guys to take advantage of. Just like Penn Murfee has been doing so far. Through 2.1 innings, he has 6 Ks and has given up just one hit. If there’s an opening in the pen, he’s making a darn good case for why it should be his.

Watch for Devin Sweet as well. He’s got one of the best changeups in baseball. He did give up an HR but struck out 4 in two innings. It’s an elite-level changeup, above plus-plus. If he can locate, the team is likely to give him a look this April for at least an appearance. He’s one that we should see at least 4-5 more times this Spring and should be climbing everyone’s radars as a name to know.

The regular season is only two weeks away, and there is a lot of baseball left to be played in Spring Training. Make sure to tune in Thursday afternoon to listen/watch the Mariners play the Guardians in their first of 13 straight games to finish out the Spring.