Mariners are finally getting what they had been waiting for all season

To say it's been an interesting and unpredictable season for the Seattle Mariners offense would be putting it lightly. It seems that each time you think you have a handle on the lineup it does a 180, in both a positive and negative way.

Early on this season, the Mariners seemed to have it all worked out, with their admittedly unconventional approach appearing to be sustainable and ranking as a top-five offense. Then came May and an almost extinction-level collapse which threatened their playoff hopes despite still being relatively early in the season.

The reality is that Cal Raleigh is the only player in the Mariners lineup who has been consistently productive — and spectacularly so. There's certainly other quality talent there in the form of Julio Rodríguez, J.P. Crawford, Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco, but all of them — especially Rodríguez — still need to bring it more regularly.

Bottom of the lineup key to the Mariners' fortunes

What's really held the Mariners back at times this season, though, has been the production or lack thereof at the bottom of the lineup. They've been getting sub-.700 OPSes from the Nos. 7, 8 and 9 spots, plus a modest .724 OPS from the No. 6 spot.

However, it would seem the bottom of the lineup has finally woken up and decided to do their fair share of the heavy lifting, at least based on the series versus the Chicago Cubs and the first two games against the Minnesota Twins. The Mariners have scored a combined 47 runs in those five contests, in no small part thanks to the bottom four spots in the order:

The key to this outbreak has been the hitting of Donovan Solano, who has played in two games at both the No. 6 and No. 7 spots. He has a combined 11 hits in those four appearances and he's now looking more like the player who had a batting average of .294 during his six previous years in the majors.

Dominic Canzone is sometimes described as having almost too much confidence in himself, but while not always putting the work in. However, June has seen him get his first sustained action of the season in Seattle and he's proving himself so far as he's raised his OPS to .931 for the year.

Mariners' highly-rated prospects bringing it at the plate

Ben Williamson and Cole Young are linked by virtue of being two young promising prospects who finally got the call up this year. And while they've had their teething problems — which isn't exactly unexpected — both have produced four hits in the five games in question, with Williamson playing three times in the No. 8 spot and once in the No. 9 spot, and vice versa for Young.

We appreciate there's almost a mix-and-match approach at times with the bottom of the lineup, as Mariners manager Dan Wilson is continually looked to find the right approach and matchups on any given night. Hence Mitch Garver, Dylan Moore and Miles Mastrobuoni all making one appearance in the last five games in the bottom of the lineup, at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 9 respectively.

Of the trio, the one who gives us most reason for optimism is Garver, with him regressing to the mean. It was never going to be that much of a challenge to improve on one of the worst seasons of his Major League career last year, but it's still worth noting his .781 OPS during June is projected to be his best month since arriving in Seattle.

A timely return from injury for the Mariners

One final factor to consider in all of this is the return of Luke Raley from injury, with him batting .417 and recording a 1.283 OPS in four games. This includes two appearances at the No. 6 spot in the lineup and the chances are he's going to be able to help the bottom of the lineup produce when called upon.

Overall, there's no way of knowing for sure if this recent success by the bottom of the lineup is sustainable, but the signs are promising, with the continued development of Williamson and Young arguably the biggest key in all of this. In any event, if this productivity does continue, then you can expect the Mariners offense as a whole to help push their quest for a return to playoff baseball in Seattle.