Several Seattle Mariners make top reliever list that should have fans pumped

The Seattle Mariners had one of their best seasons yet last year. It was fueled by a combination of both pitching, hitting, and a little luck going their way from time to time. No one expected them to make the playoffs last season if we are being completely honest, but now people are starting to take notice of what’s going on in Seattle.

Fans of this team know about their best players, or guys who are criminally underrated, and even the players that aren’t so good. But, with a team like the Mariners, how often do you hear from media or sports outlets about the hood going on with the Mariners? Not very often.

Recently though, Seattle was given a bit of praise heading into the 2023 season - some praise that many people probably didn’t expect.

There is a pretty popular baseball page on Twitter that goes by the name of MLB Nerds. They do all types of graphics, stats, and other cool stuff regarding the game. The page has over 39 thousand followers and is pretty interactive, and their opinions are respected. They recently ranked the top 50 relievers in the league heading into 2023, and what they had to say may make fans pretty excited.

To start, MLB Nerds had Paul Seward at 32nd on this list, which is pretty good when thinking about how many good relievers there are in baseball.

In the same amount of innings, as he pitched in 2021, Sewald finished with 10 fewer hits allowed (32), three fewer runs allowed (21), and nine more saves (20) all in 2022. He had a pretty decent year for a reliever. He was a guy that, for the most part, you could count on, but he still gave up 10 home runs, the same as in 2021. But, that’s probably why he is at 32.

Matt Brash came in at 20 for MLB Nerds. Did he have a better season than Sewald? Not necessarily. In some areas, he was better, yes, but for the most part, his game was kind of similar. But, there is likely a reason he is ranked so high. Brash played his first season in the big leagues last year at just 24 years old, and he will only get better and more experienced. This ranking is for next year, so that may be where their head is at with these rankings.

The one thing Brash didn’t do often in his 50 innings pitched is give up home runs, as he only surrendered three on the year. That’s a positive to look at for sure.

And last but not least the popular page had Andrés Muñoz as number four heading into the season. Muñoz is also 24, but had a pretty impressive year in 2022, and has the potential to only improve as he plays more.

Muñoz had very similar numbers to Brash. He gave up 43 hits and only gave up five home runs on the year. But, he had a much higher strikeout rate than Brash, as he retired 96 batters last season. This next year we can expect to see his game expand and his skill set prove it. The Mariners have a diamond in the rough with Muñoz.

It’s nice to see the Mariners finally get some respect too, especially for pitching. It seems like anytime there is some attention or respect thrown Seattle’s way, it is because of their offense. We could see more of this type of praise in the future I’m sure.