Areas Of Concern For The Seattle Mariners, So Far

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The Seattle Mariners aren't off to a great start and it's not surprising given how the team is struggling in several areas. We are extremely early in the season but here are a few areas where the Mariners need to pick it up.

Early Areas of Concern for the Seattle Mariners | Concern #1 - Backup catchers

Tom Murphy

Prior to the season starting, I was excited to have Tom Murphy back in T-Mobile Park as the main backup for Cal Raleigh. He is no All-Star player, but I will gladly take his 2019 season slash line: .273/.324/.535. I became even more excited after monitoring Murphy's Spring Training stats; he hit .275 with three home runs.

Now we're half way through April and things aren't looking great. The Mariners catcher is hitting well below the Mendoza Line and his advanced metrics doesn't give me any hope at the moment. His xBA (prior to 4/15/23) is .183 and his xwOBA is .210. For comparison, Cal Raleigh's xBA is .282 and his xwOBA is .356.

Cooper Hummel

Cooper Hummel, the backup to Tom Murphy at home plate, is also off to a rough start. Like Murphy, the Oregon native had a good Spring Training. Hummel hit .275 with four home runs and four stolen bases. However, his numbers in Arizona are not translating in the regular season. The 28-year-old is also hitting below the Mendoza Line and hasn't homered yet. He does have one stolen base which is one of the unique skills he brings to the lineup as a catcher.

All this being said, it's still VERY early in the season and I expect Tom Murphy to pick it up next month. It's been a little while since he's had action and he might just need more opportunities to find his groove.

As far as Cooper Hummel, he is a little more of an unknown and expendable for the Seattle Mariners. He hasn't proven himself at the big league level and he has minor league options if the Mariners decide to give him more work in Tacoma.

Now on to the next area of concern.

Seattle Mariners v Cleveland Guardians / Jason Miller/GettyImages

Concern #2 - Second base and infield depth

Kolten Wong

I cannot say that I was ecstatic after acquiring Kolten Wong in the offseason but I was certainly happy. Mmm, a better word to describe my feelings is that I was "content." Wong is not a star player but he felt like a good fit considering his defensive skills, experience, and average hitting and speed.

Prior to 2023, he was a .261/.334/.398 slash line per 162 games. This is not bad at all for the type of player he is.

Right now, his Baseball Savant page doesn't look great. He doesn't whiff or strike out a lot, but his exit velocity, barrel rate, xBA, xwOBA, and xSLG are at the bottom of the league.

Offensive production from second basemen in 2022 was an inconsistent mixed bag and Wong hasn't lived up to the hype yet. Luckily, Wong is defensively minded so he will be an important part of the team even if he only hits .225. But right now, he isn't close to that and will need to produce with the bat against right-handed pitchers. So far, his xBA is around .168.

Sam Haggerty

The utility man is fun to watch and cheer on, but he struggled so far in 2023. Haggerty is another Mariners player that is below the Mendoza Line and we need him to get on base one way or another. He is a great base stealer but that won't do us any good unless he can get on base.

Sam's xBA is higher than his batting average which gives me a bit of hope, but his xBA is still quite low. It is roughly .215 according to Baseball Savant.

I am particularly paying close attention to Haggerty because of his defensive flexibility. The outfield looks to be in good shape but Haggerty is the main backup at second and shortstop with Dylan Moore still working his way back from injury.

Tommy La Stella

Like I said, I was content with bringing in Kolten Wong but the addition of Tommy La Stella was a bit of a head scratcher. His offensive metrics look nearly identical to Tom Murphy's and I am not feeling too optimistic about him picking things up.

La Stella's xBA is low and it regressed in 2022 as well. The well experienced infielder has some decent seasons early in his career that would be viable as a backup. But as of now, he isn't there much like Kolten Wong.

It will be interesting to see how much of an impact Dylan Moore will make when he is back healthy and is able to give Ty France and Eugenio Suarez breaks at the corners.

Seattle Mariners v Chicago Cubs / Jamie Sabau/GettyImages

Concern #3 - Designated hitter

AJ Pollock

The one Seattle Mariner involved in the DH group who I have not talked about is AJ Pollock. When I heard that we signed Pollock, I was quite excited given his sneaky track record.

While he was with the Dodgers between 2019 and 2021, he hit double-digit home runs and hit over .260. Pollock also produced a .795, .880, and .891 OPS respectively.

Another thing to add, he played in just 86 games for the Dodgers in 2019 and hit 15 home runs. In 2020, he played 55 games and hit 16 homers.

And if you go all the way back to 2015 when he was named an All-Star, he hit .315 with 20 home runs and 39 stolen bases. The former 17th overall pick really had it all and is one of those players that is easy to overlook.

But in 2022, Pollock regressed a good amount. His batting average dropped to .245, his OPS down to .681, and he only hit 14 home runs which was the lowest amount since 2017.

So far, the regression continues. He is hitting below the Mendoza Line much like the others I have talked about but he has homered twice and driven in 6 RBI (prior to 4/15/23). You'd think that Pollock's xBA would be higher given his two home runs but it's not far off from his true batting average.

He has hit the ball relatively hard and is barreling up baseballs but it hasn't been good enough. We need better production from our DHs and Pollock is my top pick out of the rest. Luckily, my nerves are a bit calm since Jarred Kelenic has been absolutely on fire and doesn't seem to want to share left field with AJ.

I am hopeful that AJ Pollock will find his groove and once he does, that is going to improve the Mariners offense by A LOT. We didn't get a whole lot from Jesse Winker at DH, Carlos Santana had a couple of clutch moments, and featured guests like Abraham Toro and Justin Upton weren't enough.

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