How about those Mariners after a hot first half? | Bench Talk with Ben Ray

On June 18, Seattle was 10 games in front of Houston. Nearly a month later, Seattle has gone 8-15, and the dreams of cruising to a division crown is now a distant memory.

By Benjamin Ray • July 18, 2024 3:45 pm
Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert represented at the All-Star Game. (Photo courtesy of Seattle Mariners Facebook page)
Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert represented at the All-Star Game. (Photo courtesy of Seattle Mariners Facebook page)

Major League Baseball’s All-Star break is a great time to look at the highs and the lows of the first half of the Seattle Mariners season.

Generally speaking, the Mariners are in first place and have been in first place since April 25. The last time a Mariners team was in first place was back in 2003. That team led until Aug. 26, and ended up missing the playoffs entirely.

That is 85 days Seattle has been atop the American League West. Any other year or scenario, that would be something to look at in positivity. But the way that the month of June went, it crushed so much momentum for the Mariners.

On June 18, Seattle was 10 games in front of Houston. Nearly a month later, Seattle has gone 8-15, and the dreams of cruising to a division crown is now a distant memory. The ever-threatening Astros have cut that lead to just a single game heading into the All-Star break.

The Mariners have seen historic highs on the mound, putting together one of the best, if not the best pitching staff in the league. A staff that looked like a two-headed monster has grown a third, as Logan Gilbert got his first career All-Star Game nod.

Andres Munoz and Gregory Santos, who made his Mariners debut just a week before the All-Star break, look to be the one-two punch that can win a lot of games for the M’s down the stretch.

According to FanGraphs, Mariners pitching is fifth in WAR (Wins Above Replacements), first in walk rate and third in FIP (Field Independent Pitching). For the most part, the pitching has been the one thing Manager Scott Servais can rely on. Well, he can also rely on his defense too.

Coming into the season, third base, second base and corner outfielders were in question. But the emergence of Josh Rojas being an everyday player and Ryan Bliss coming up and being a spark plug has given the Mariners some juice.

Rojas is tied for the third highest fielding percentage in the entire MLB among qualified third basemen and leads all third basemen in defensive runs saved.

It has been the offense that has not performed to expectations, even if the expectations were low. This Mariners offense is just not producing.

After spring training and the free agency window and come and gone, the Mariners’ big additions this offseason were Jorge Polanco, Mitch Garver and Luke Raley. Garver was coming off a scorching second half and World Series run with the Rangers, and Polanco is a career .264 hitter who had only struck out over 100 times twice in his big league career.

But this year has been rough not just for the three mentioned, but the entire Seattle lineup. As it stands, the Mariners have the worst overall batting average as a team (.219). Although 29, the White Sox are batting a smidge better at .220, these aren’t the teams we should be comparing a first place team to.

Seattle has struggled hitting, and just making contact has been a problem. According to Baseball Savant, the Mariners swing and miss at a 28.5% clip, third highest in Major League Baseball.

Julio Rodriguez had looked like a completely different player up until the last week or so. In the middle of June, Rodriguez was at his low point.

From June 10-28, Julio was hitting a mere .172 and slugging just .266. But since June 29, Julio has been getting back to the All-Star level fans are familiar with. He hit .356 and slugged .596 in his last 15 games for the M’s. He also hit three doubles and clubbed a trio of homers.

The hope is that this level of play continues for the 23-year-old and the addition of a bat or two can get the Mariners back on the winning side of things.

That has been the first half in a nutshell so far.

Pitching has been really good this first half — literally the only reason the M’s are in the position they are today is because of how lights out the ball throwers have been.

The offense has struggled. The new players who were supposed to alleviate problems, are now key contributors to those problems.

It is hard to believe the front office of Justin Hollander and Jerry Dipoto won’t make any moves at the trade deadline as that approaches day by day. But what price they will pay, literally, will be interesting to see.

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Ben Ray covers sports in South King County. Contact benjamin.ray@fedwaymirror.com.