Kyle Schwarber is crushing Cal Raleigh's 60-HR pace from historic Mariners season

It's been a rough 2026 for Cal Raleigh, with a massive slump that included an 0-for-38 skid which came uncomfortably close to the Mariners' all-time hitless streak of 0-for-42. It didn't help that he'd been dealing with a right oblique strain for a couple of weeks, which has now landed him on the 10-day Injured List. On top of everything else, there's a growing threat that his standing as the most recent player to hit 60 home runs in a season might not last even one year.

That's because back east in Philadelphia, Kyle Schwarber is somehow managing to look even better than last season when he finished second in NL MVP voting. He's currently projected to set career- highs with a .610 slugging percentage, .965 OPS and 163 OPS+, while also leading the majors in home runs. He hit his 18th on Thursday evening in Boston, to help the Phillies beat the Red Sox 3-1:

For some context, Schwarber's pace through 44 games isn't the best of all time. That distinction is held by Barry Bonds with 23 home runs in 2001, on his way to setting the all-time mark of 73 bombs in a season. From a Mariners perspective, Ken Griffey Jr. is third all-time with 21 homers in 1994, while Raleigh "only" had 15 at the 44-game mark last year.

Plenty of evidence to indicate Kyle Schwarber is a genuine threat to hit 60

As much as players can be just as prone to cold runs as they are hot streaks, this is a case where you have to take Schwarber's threat seriously. Don't forget that just last season he hit 56, while he has the advantage of playing half of his games in the bandbox also known as Citizens Bank Park. Additionally, he has that ideal combo of a high Pull-Air% (a career-high 33.7%) and tons of power.

Based on his current pace, Schwarber is on course to hit 66 home runs this season. This would be tied third-most all-time with Sammy Sosa (1998), behind Bonds' aforementioned 73 and Mark McGwire's 70 (also 1998). Further helping the Phillies slugger's pursuit is his availability, with him mostly a DH these days and coming off a campaign when he played all 162 games for this first time in his career.

Between Raleigh, Aaron Judge (62 homers in 2022) and potentially Schwarber, critics could make the case that 60 home runs in a season is losing some of its luster. However, that's a conversation to save for if and when the three-time All-Star gets close. For now just appreciate what he's doing, or at least as much as the Mariners fanbase can do while pining for Raleigh to come back healthy and look more like last season's version.

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