SeaSide Thoughts: 5 reasons to still believe in the Mariners

Jorge Polanco has awoken and looks legit

The curse of the Seattle Mariners 2nd base position is real. Take away the underrated and underappreciated Robinson Cano, and the position has been a black hole for a long time.

There was hope that this would change, when General Manager Justin Hollander finally got his man, trading four players to the Minnesota Twins in a deal that brought former all-star Jorge Polanco to the Mariners. The first ten games not only went poorly for the M’s, but were a nightmare start for Polanco on a new team.

With the whispers of Kolten Wong 2.0 were just about to get a little louder, Polanco has awoken, and shown why Seattle gave up a sizable amount for him. 

Despite a brutal start, Polanco has a 108 OPS+, and while he's currently slashing just .203/.338/.694, in his last 6 games before last night, Polanco is slashing .263/.462/1.040. While the hits haven't exactly been rolling in, Polanco has shown his power, including his big 3-run bomb to kick off their series against the Reds. Maybe even more important, Polanco has drawn 9 walks in his last 7 games. He's been an absolute on base machine and has produced when the big moment has arrived.

The defense will always be a question, especially with him playing second instead of 3B, but Perry Hill continues to work his magic as Polanco has looked much better since the Milwaukee series with the glove.

If he can be a serviceable defender, there's still a great chance that Polanco hits 25 bombs and produces a OPS+ above 110, which is exactly what this team was hoping for when they acquired him.