Kyle Seagers Production

[Captain 97]

Another year of Seager (disgruntled or not)is the least of our worries. However, if they could exercise his option then immediately trade him that might not be so bad.

There's nothing wrong with a Kyle Seager who is hitting 5th or 6th in your lineup. Kyle Seager is not a number 3 or 4 hitter. He's been forced to hit in these spots because aside from Haniger and France (who is probably more of a 2 hitter) nobody else can. I think it's unfair to assess a guy who is a career .750-.780 OPS hitter in the same light as guys who are supposed to be .870-.930 OPS hitters.

His OPS with men on base is .976 and with runners in scoring position its 1.086. That is exactly the guy you want batting 3rd or 4th.

[Donn Beach]

giving the pitchers their props

“It’s been awesome, our pitching’s truly been incredible. To win these one-run games, that’s what it boils down to, right?” Seager said. “Offensively, we’ve done just enough, but our pitching … that’s certainly been the key. We play good defense and we’re pitching really well. That’s definitely been our brand.”

[Donn Beach]

Ichiro is catching BP sessions

“I had heard last homestand that he was into catching bullpens, and he had gear and everything else,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I'm certain it is authentic Ichiro gear that he had made from some company that only fits him and his style of catching. Anything else would be disappointing.”

Ichiro gear
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1421604092691062789

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Yeah, i'm sure Ichiro catching bullpen sessions is making a difference in anything.

[Donn Beach]

making a difference?

[Sibelius Hindemith]

But if he was such a great hitter you would think he could help the young guys like Kelenic at least.

[bpj]

Ichiro is catching BP sessions

“I had heard last homestand that he was into catching bullpens, and he had gear and everything else,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I'm certain it is authentic Ichiro gear that he had made from some company that only fits him and his style of catching. Anything else would be disappointing.”

Ichiro gear
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1421604092691062789

Now as a catcher he would have been a real gem. As a right fielder he was good.

[Donn Beach]

what's funny is the gear. I could see Jr showing up, grapping some gear and catching a bullpen. Ichiro has his own gear.

[SeattleSportsRUs]

Another year of Seager (disgruntled or not)is the least of our worries. However, if they could exercise his option then immediately trade him that might not be so bad.

There's nothing wrong with a Kyle Seager who is hitting 5th or 6th in your lineup. Kyle Seager is not a number 3 or 4 hitter. He's been forced to hit in these spots because aside from Haniger and France (who is probably more of a 2 hitter) nobody else can. I think it's unfair to assess a guy who is a career .750-.780 OPS hitter in the same light as guys who are supposed to be .870-.930 OPS hitters.

His OPS with men on base is .976 and with runners in scoring position its 1.086. That is exactly the guy you want batting 3rd or 4th.

I highly doubt Seager's numbers w. runners on base this year are something to rely on going forward. Not only that, but the M's stats with runners on base have got to be an anomaly. In a "normal" season, no hitter batting .213 should be hitting 3rd in what is considered a quality lineup. That's just not something you can rely on. 3 and 4 hitters are still table setters in a sense, and his .603 OPS w. nobody on and nobody out is not something you want in the 3 or 4 hole.

Because Seager is so boom or bust, in a good lineup, he should be hitting where his volatility shines a bit better. For instance, Seager would realistically be hitting 7th in Houston's lineup considering their 3/4/5/6 holes are all hitting .280+.

[SeattleSportsRUs]

One other note**

Seager has got to be one of the absolute worst hitters in baseball when he falls behind:

0-1 .469 OPS
0-2 .582 OPS
1-2 .397 OPS
2-2 .608 OPS

Conversely he's got to be one of the best hitters in baseball when he's ahead in a count. It's sort of weird that he's such a free swinger when he's a much better hitter working a count in favor:

1-0 .794 OPS
1-1 .903 OPS
2-1 .917 OPS
3-0 1.000 OPS
3-1 1.474 OPS
3-2 1.063 OPS

Because we know Kyle has been a much better hitter with runners on base, it should go without saying that he gets in really good counts with runners on base and really bad counts when they're not on base. Maybe someone's got to get him focused up when there aren't runners on.