First wave of 2027 MLB power rankings give Mariners the benefit of the doubt

Power rankings can often be misleading, especially in baseball. It's difficult to assume how injuries will play out and even when supposedly healthy, even the best players can have down years. When several members of a team face setbacks at the same time, you get a result that doesn't exactly make sense on paper and goes against consensus expectations.

The Mariners are one of just several great examples of how reality can often be disappointing. Heading into 2026, MLB.com ranked them as high as fifth. ESPN ranked Seattle even higher, placing them third and The Athletic, like MLB.com, also had them at fifth. Despite the lofty expectations, they finished the year with a disappointing 76-86 record and missed the postseason.

To many, the current roster is the worst it has looked in quite some time, but publications are still holding on to a little bit of optimism.

ESPN and The Athletic believe that the Mariners could still be a solid contender in 2027

In the projections for next year, ESPN has ranked Seattle at 11th and The Athletic has them listed at 10th, both of which seem quite generous. Based solely on win total, that would put them where the Diamondbacks and Guardians were this year, the latter of which won the AL Central and made it to the ALCS.

But what is the source of this bullish sentiment? Though some organizations use the offseason to load up on free agents and add marquee players to the roster, the Mariners don't exactly have a penchant for doing so. In fact, there's a solid chance that the front office stays the course and relies even less on spending for success, a strategy exemplified by the frugal teams that squared off in this year's World Series.

Like Jerry Dipoto, it seems like the source of both ESPN and The Athletic's optimism is their belief that this year was a fluke unrepresentative of the actual talent on Seattle's roster. This season saw uncharacteristically shaky seasons from Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh, Andrés Muñoz, and most of the rotation. Josh Naylor had the worst year of his career and Colt Emerson seemed like he needed more time before becoming a major league mainstay.

Yet one would be hard-pressed to admit that any of these players are bad players. It's possible that there were broader cultural issues that negatively impacted the team and though a well-respected figure in Mariners history, Dan Wilson may not have been ready to be a big league manager just yet.

Even if Seattle gets all of their key players back to peak form, there are still some roster questions that remain unanswered. Will they get the right-handed bat they need? Will they find a sufficient replacement for Randy Arozarena? Can Colt Emerson and Kade Anderson live up to the hype? If they want to return to championship contention, these unresolved issues will need to be taken care of.

It's also important to note that power rankings tend to be immensely misleading, especially this early on. Teams like the Blue Jays, Tigers, and even Mets were all projected to do well only for them to also miss out on the playoffs. MLB.com ranked the Brewers as the ninth-best team in baseball in November 2025 and Milwaukee went on to have their best year in franchise history and one of the best seasons ever.

It goes without saying but like free agent rumors and trade whispers, power rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. They're far from scientific and even further from deterministic. If anything, fans should find solace in the fact that despite the ugliness of last year, there are still people who believe in this team to get the job done next season.

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