The Mariners’ offense has carried them most of the season. They rank fifth in MLB with a 115 wRC+ and sixth with 17.2 fWAR. A similar performance in the second half would make this the best group of position players in Jerry Dipoto’s tenure. Cal Raleigh has been incredible, of course, and Randy Arozarena, J.P. Crawford, and Julio Rodríguez have each chipped in strong production of their own. It’s one of the league’s best cores
The rest of the offense has been a mix. The Mariners continue to platoon most of their 5-through-9 batters, as they often have, but this year’s group has been one-dimensional: they rank in the bottom 10 in both fielding and baserunning. Their “flexibility” appears suffocating at times, and it’s forced them to pinch hit more than any other team. That was especially noticeable when Luke Raley’s multi-week absence left them without a first baseman and also too many.
Still, they’ve taken some of the most platoon-favorable at-bats in MLB, with nearly two-thirds of their plate appearances coming against pitchers of the opposite handedness. Collectively, they work deep in counts, make good contact, and strikeout out at a reasonable rate. The Mariners’ 5-through-9 batters have a 102 wRC+ — third best in MLB
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