MLB Season Preview - Seattle Mariners

2016 Record: 86-76	Manager: Scott Servais (2015)
2nd  in Division	General Manager: Jerry Dipoto (2015)
Failed to make the playoffs	AAA Affiliate: Tacoma Rainiers AA Affiliate: Arkansas Travelers

News

• Traded C Jesus Sucre to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later or cash
• Acquired SP Drew Smyly from Tampa Bay for OF Mallex Smith, SS Carlos Vargas, and P Ryan Yarbrough
• Acquired SP Yovani Gallardo from Baltimore for OF Seth Smith
• Acquired OF Jarrod Dyson from Kansas City for P Nate Karns
• Acquired P Chris Heston from San Francisco for a player to be named later
• Acquired Ps Rob Whalen and Max Povse from Atlanta for OF Alex Jackson and a player to be named later
• Acquired SS Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and P Zac Curtis from Arizona for SP Taijuan Walker and INF Ketel Marte
• Acquired UT Danny Valencia from Oakland for P Paul Blackburn
• Acquired C Carlos Ruiz from the Dodgers for P Vidal Nuno

Players Lost in the Offseason

POS.	Player	New Team	Contract
1B	Adam Lind	Washington Nationals	1 year, $1.5 million
RP	Drew Storen	Cincinnati Reds	1 year, $3 million
CF	Franklin Gutierrez	Los Angeles Dodgers	1 year, $2.6 million
C	Chris Iannetta	Arizona Diamondbacks	1 year, $1.5 million

Incoming Free Agents

POS.	Player	Old Team	Contract
RP	Marc Rzepczynski	Washington Nationals	2 years, $11 million

Top Prospects

• OF Kyle Lewis - MLB.com (29), BA (34), BP (70)
• OF Tyler O'Neill - MLB.com (36), BA (38), BP (53)

Projected Lineup

Order	POS	Number	Bats	Name	Age
1	LF	1	L	Jarrod Dyson	32
2	SS	2	R	Jean Segura	27
3	2B	22	L	Robinson Cano	34
4	DH	23	R	Nelson Cruz	36
5	3B	15	L	Kyle Seager	29
6	RF	17	R	Mitch Haniger	26
7	1B	20	L	Dan Vogelbach	24
8	C	3	R	Mike Zunino	26
9	CF	12	L	Leonys Martin	29
Bench	C	52	R	Carlos Ruiz	38
Bench	UT	36	S	Shawn O’Malley	29
Bench	UT	26	R	Danny Valencia	32
Bench	OF	5	R	Guillermo Heredia	26

Projected Pitching Staff

Role	POS	Number	Throws	Name	Age
1	SP	34	R	Felix Hernandez	30
2	SP	18	R	Hisashi Iwakuma	35
3	SP	65	L	James Paxton	28
4	SP	49	R	Yovani Gallardo	31
5	SP	33	L	Drew Smyly	27
LR	RP	32	R	Chris Heston	28
MID	RP	38	R	Casey Fien	33
MID	RP	25	L	Marc Rzepczynski	31
MID	RP	58	R	Evan Scribner	31
SU	RP	50	R	Nick Vincent	30
SU	RP	53	R	Dan Altavilla	24
CL	RP	39	R	Edwin Diaz	23
DL	RP	31	R	Steve Cishek	30

Most Important Player

• 2B Robinson Cano - The probable future hall-of-famer had an amazing season in 2016 after having two down years by Cano's standards in his first two seasons in Seattle.  He batted .298 with a .350 on-base percentage, and a .533 slugging percentage, while slugging 39 home runs, and driving in 103 runs.  As a result, he received MVP votes, finishing 8th, although I think he should have been a top five finisher.  Cano is one of the best hitters and all-around players in all of baseball but still somehow flies under the radar.  He is the Mariners' best player and bats third in their lineup, and sets up a 3-4-5 that has Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager following him.

Breakout Candidate

• RF Mitch Haniger - Haniger, at age 25, received his first major league call up in 2016 and this season, at age 26, I believe he still has rookie eligibility.  The Mariners acquired him from Arizona in the Taijuan Walker, Ketel Marte, and Jean Segura trade.  He struggled a bit in his 34 games with the Diamondbacks last season, batting .229, but did hit 5 home runs and drove in 17 RBIs.  Throughout his minor league career, Haniger hit extremely well, including a .321 average, with 25 home runs, and 94 RBIs in 2016 when he split time between AA and AAA. In 2017, Haniger will finally get his opportunity to seize playing time in the major leagues since the Mariners are most likely going to give him the chance to be their everyday right fielder.

Regression Candidate

• None - No one who had a great season last year for the Mariners was that far above his career averages to expect a regression in 2017.  

Bounceback Candidate

• SP Felix Hernandez - The former Cy Young Award winner is already entering his 13th season in the major leagues, an amazing realization considering he will soon be just 31.  Last season, Hernandez struggled mightily compared to his career averages.  His fastball velocity dropped a bit and his ERA rose significantly in part as a result of this, to 3.82.  What's more alarming is that his FIP was actually higher than his ERA, showing that he did in fact pitch poorly.  Nothing he did in 2016 conveys the idea that he will bounceback from this down season except that he is Felix Hernandez, one of the best control pitchers of his era.  However, Felix has pitched extremely well in Spring Training this season and looks to be in much better shape than he has so far in his career.  Look for King Felix to pitch better again in 2017 and be the Mariners' ace once again.

Season Outlook

• I think the AL West is going to be super competitive this season and that any of Houston, Texas, or Seattle are capable of winning the division and that two of the teams will make the playoffs. I really liked the Mariners last season and even like them more this season.  I really like the changes the front office made this offseason, including the acquisition of SS Jean Segura who is coming off his best season, and Danny Valencia, who is capable of playing all over the field.  I didn't think I would be a fan of the team's starting rotation but I like the depth of the rotation now that Drew Smyly is slotted in as their fifth starter.  I am still not a fan of Yovani Gallardo and don't think he is very good, but the other four starters should be able to overcome any weaknesses he has.  I also think that their bullpen is better than I initially anticipated with the signing of Marc Rzepczynski and with Edwin Diaz as their closer.  However, in my opinion, the Mariners will be led by their offense, which has arguably the best 3-4-5 of any team in baseball. Robinson Cano should have been an MVP Award finalist last season, Nelson Cruz has continued to prove that he is one of the best power hitters in baseball, and Kyle Seager has emerged as a perennial 30 home run, 90 RBI guy.  I don't think that they will have any problems scoring runs this season and if Felix Hernandez can bounce back, their pitching staff should be good enough to contain opposing offenses.

Predictions

• With the additions made to the roster this offseason, I think that the Mariners will be a Wild Card team this season and only lose the division by a few games.  I am predicting the Mariners to go 85-77.

*All stats and information came from baseball-reference.com, mlb.com, espn.com, spotrac.com, fangraphs.com, baseballprospectus.com, baseballamerica.com, and rosterresource.com