3 Mariners' hitters going through terrible second-half slumps at the plate

These bats might need to warm up if Seattle wants a chance at making the postseason, but these 3 are in horrendous slumps currently

Toronto Blue Jays v Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays v Seattle Mariners / Stephen Brashear/GettyImages
1 of 3
Next

There are around 40 games left to play in the 2024 season, 40 more opportunities for Seattle to punch their ticket to October baseball. Things aren't looking great right now with a rough stretch coming at the same time as an eight-game win streak by the Astros, giving Houston a 2.5 game lead in the AL West. The Mariners are also three games back of a Wild Card spot, right behind the Red Sox. With just a 38.2% chance to make the playoffs as per FanGraphs, what bats need to warm up as soon as possible?

#3. Dylan Moore

80 PA, .179/.313/.328, 12 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 22 K, 2 HBP, 4 SB, 2 CS

Dylan Moore is having a very weird season. He's actually one of the better hitters on the team this year, sitting at a .697 OPS and 104 OPS+ on the season. What makes things extra kooky is his home/away splits. In 191 plate appearances away, he's posting a .881 OPS. In 162 plate appearances at home, he's at a .488 OPS. His performance after the All-Star break reflects an almost identical disparity, hitting to a .445 OPS at home and .886 OPS away.

At first, I thought the drawback was something to do with field dimensions and park factors. After all, in the second half, he has an ISO of just .054 while hitting at T-Mobile Park while having an ISO of .267 in the 29 other parks. However, he's also striking out at a whopping 39.1% clip while walking 17.4% of the time. His BABIP is down to .211 and he has just one extra base hit since the break, a triple on July 21st against the Astros.

On the bright side, this means that Dylan Moore is actually pretty good and it isn't out of the question for him to be a true offensive force for the team. An .886 OPS is better than any mark that Julio Rodriguez has ever posted over a full season. If only he could find a way to bring that kind of hitting home.

#2. Josh Rojas

71 PA, .190/.282/.317, 12 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 17 K, 1 HBP

In the first month of the season, Rojas was playing like 1992 Edgar Martinez. He hit to the tune of .938 OPS and performed well enough to take the full-time third base job from Luis Urías who is now with Triple-A Tacoma. Unfortunately, his offense has gradually regressed to his career average, putting him at a .665 OPS and 95 OPS+. His stellar defense has still given him nearly two rWAR but his offense leaves a little to be desired.

Without the natural power of other sluggers on the team like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, the hope would be that he would fill the role of a contact hitter akin to Luis Arráez but his .190 average since the All-Star break has shown that to be unlikely. In the second half, he has struggled the most against cutters and sinkers, logging just three hits against those pitches, none for extra bases. Can he return to April Josh Rojas? It remains to be seen but in the event that he does, it would be a huge boost to the Mariners' offense.

#1. Mitch Garver

51 PA, .119/.275/.167, 5 H, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 9 BB, 20 K

Garver never really found his footing in Seattle. The biggest free agent signing of the offseason for Seattle came off the back of a 2023 World Series run and a year that saw him post an .870 OPS and 139 OPS. Since coming to the PNW, he's slipped all the way down to a .617 OPS and 81 OPS+, a dramatic regression. His walk rate of 13.3% is the only thing that's been able to keep his numbers somewhat afloat but his poor strikeout rate and quality of contact numbers have limited his productivity as a traditional slugger.

Unlike Rojas and Moore, there isn't really a split one can point to where he's shown the ability to be elite in some circumstance. He had a .779 OPS in the month of June and currently has a .786 OPS against left-handed pitching which is decent enough but still under pre-season expectations. He's hitting four-seam fastballs for great power, slugging .506 against them, but he's getting destroyed on sinkers and breaking balls.

Can Garver come back? It doesn't look very likely this year but never underestimate the power of an eight-year major league veteran.

Next