Escalating respect for Mariners revealed by latest MLB power rankings

No matter how early it was in the season, the mood was dire in Seattle following the San Francisco Giants series. The Mariners had been swept for the first time in 2025 and were looking up at the rest of the AL West with a 3-7 record.

Slow starts are nothing new for the Mariners, but if there was ever a season when they couldn't afford to do it again, it was this one in the aftermath of an extremely disappointing offseason. However, from the depths of despair something then happened within the team, as they started to display a much-needed collective mental fortitude.

Since that sweep in San Francisco, the Mariners have been on a roll, helped by some impressive late-innings heroics in a style akin to the Kardiac Kids, i.e. the Cleveland Browns of the late 1970s-early 1980s. As a result of this refusal to accept defeat, Dan Wilson's team has now won four consecutive series, going 9-3 in the process and propelling themselves two games above .500 for the first time this season.

As a result of this extremely encouraging progress, various mainstream sports media outlets around North America are beginning to view the Mariners more favorably, at least if some of the latest MLB power rankings are anything to go by. There's one exception of note, but we'll get to that in due course.

ESPN likes the subtle progress of Julio Rodríguez and the Mariners

We begin with the sports media colossus (for better or worse) known as ESPN. They ranked the Mariners 15th last Thursday, up four places from their previous power poll. For some context, their rankings are based on a combination of what they've seen so far and what they already knew going into the 162-game season.

For the Mariners, Buster Olney weighed in on the Julio Rodriguez situation by noting that even though he isn't standing out, per se, he's doing better offensively early in the season compared to previous years. We've written about this ourselves already, but Olney goes on to note the two-time All-Star's improved patience at the plate.

Over at MLB.com, Will Leitch and 10 of his colleagues have similarly moved the Mariners up four places in their latest power rankings, from 18th to 14th place. What stands out about Leitch's observation on the M's is his assessment that they do not have an overwhelming offense, which is fair from the standpoint that it's been like that for a while.

However, we would contend that the Mariners offense has been pretty damn overwhelming of late, as highlighted by ranking second in OPS, tied for seventh in walks, first in wRC+ and fourth in runs scored between April 9-20. In fairness to Leitch, it's probably a case of him wanting to see some consistency long-term before being suitably impressed by the lineup.

Biggest praise for the Mariners

The biggest jump of all for the Mariners comes courtesy of Bleacher Report, who have moved them up from 16th all the way to 10th place in their latest power rankings. Joel Reuter and company are suitably impressed, pointing out that Cal Raleigh has done a lot of the heavy lifting while Rodríguez continues to warm up, highlighted by being tied with Tyler Soderstrom for the Major League lead with nine home runs at the time of writing.

Next up we come to the Score, who have moved the Mariners up one place from 13th to 12th. You know the Canadian sports outlet is being objective given they have placed the M's above a Toronto Blue Jays team with the same 12-10 record, although they also know better given the outcome of the weekend series between the two rivals.

However, the Score seems almost passive-aggressive in their praise of the Mariners, something Seattle folks admit they know a thing or two about. The staff comment on how the M's are winning despite being middle of the pack in scoring and rotation ERA and being near the bottom in batting average and defensive rating. The M's do have high rates of steals and walks, but even then are mostly winning close games.

Mariners can't please everyone

We conclude with CBS Sports, who similarly to the Score don't have the best of reviews for the Mariners, but with the difference of actually moving them down in their power rankings. Hey, you can't expect everyone to love you and, but it does still seem like a surprising move.

For his part Matt Snyder comments on the Mariners' batting average remaining low on the season, although it's interesting that he predicts it's going to remain low?! In any event, he does give kudos to their ability to steal bases and find ways to win games.

Overall, it's good to see the Mariners getting some respect, although it's the least they should expect when they are one of only four AL teams with a positive run differential ahead of Monday's slate of MLB action. Extra encouragement comes in being the only AL West team with a positive run differential, helped by leading the division in scoring.

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