Why Dylan Moore's hot streak should translate to more playing time with Mariners

For years, Dylan Moore has been the Mariners' Swiss Army Knife. Their utility man who can do it all. He literally can play anywhere, and does a pretty good job at it in the field. Most of his reps seem to be in the middle infield or LF, and he rates as a better than average to plus defender there. That's never been an issue. However, it's the consistency with his bat that was always the question.

Well, ever since JP Crawford went down, Moore has been thrust into the spotlight. It's not always easy filling in, and it's even tougher when you are doing it for the charismatic leader of the team. Moore has made some nice defensive plays at short, flashing a fantastic glove to make up for the below-average arm. He's still a plus defender by WAR, but it's the offense we need to talk about.

Dylan Moore has earned a full-time role with the Mariners

Since April 30th, a span of 19 games, Dylan Moore is hitting an impressive .295/.389/.672 with six doubles, a triple, and five homers. His K rate is way down as well, sitting at just 19.4%, well below the league average. Do I expect him to keep this up?

No, especially the power. However, it's worth noting that Moore has shown power in the past as well, so it's not like it's going to disappear. He has a season with a 4.2% and a 5% HR rate, which translates to 21 to 25 homers over 500 plate appearances. Can he keep up a 20-25 HR pace? Yeah, he can. He's crushing lefties at a .278/.386/.611 this season in 44 PA, and is even hitting righties decent at a rate of .228/.333/.456 in 93 PA.

The Mariners need to find a spot to keep Dylan Moore's bat, and glove, in the daily lineup. Whether it's at second to give Polanco some rest and putting Rojas at third to get Urias out of the lineup, spelling JP at SS, or sticking him in the corners to keep Haniger out of the field, something needs to happen. Dylan Moore has earned more playing time and is a big reason for the Mariners' recent success.