Mariners first quarter grades: A wild assortment of success and failure

Mariners Outfield: 2024 1st Quarter Grade: C-

Let's start off with the biggest problem in the outfield. Mitch Haniger. If you are going to be a bad defender, then you at least need to produce at the plate. In Haniger's case, he needs to produce a lot at the plate, because he doesn't belong in a major league outfield, and is the worst defender on the team. I like Haniger, but you can't have a 90 OPS+ and be on pace for a -2.5 dWAR.

Canzone was doing well enough before his injury, finding enough contact and power to justify the lower BA. If he can keep up his exit velo with it at 90+, he's going to help the Mariners offense and defense, providing all around value. The same goes for Luke Raley, who has been on fire lately. The big man has three homers and three steals, and is now hitting .276/.315/.425. If he and Canzone can keep it up, the Mariners outfield all of a sudden looks a lot better.

Then, there is Julio. It's hard to grade him, because the .266/.317 looks fine, but there is no power. He has just two homers and five doubles, and the Mariners need more from their star CF. It seems like he is starting to come around, as he's had more XBH lately, and the hard hit rate and exit velo are both climbing.

Let's throw Dylan Moore in here as well, even if he has been the fill-in for Crawford. Already with six steals, Moore is hitting as he has throughout his career with an OPS of around 700. With ten extra base hits and a decent walk rate, Moore gives the Mariners the perfect UTIL man to move around, and let's hope he is able to succeed in that role.