The Seattle Mariners are first in the AL West.
As of June 24, the Mariners have a six game lead over the Houston Astros and a 6.5 game lead over the Texas Rangers in the division.
The Mariners’ pitching staff has been excellent this season.
They are top 10 in the league in ERA, hits allowed, runs allowed, walks allowed, WHIP, and batting average against.
Their pitching has been the biggest reason for their success so far this season.
However, their offense has not been nearly as good as their pitching.
Below, we will examine Seattle’s offense and whether they can be World Series contenders with their current offense or if they should make moves at the trade deadline.
Mariners Offense Not Performing Nearly As Well As Their Pitching
The Mariners’ offense has been the opposite of their pitching.
While they are top 10 in most pitching categories, their offense has been lacking.
All stats below are as of June 24.
They are in the bottom 10 or around the bottom 10 in the league in runs, hits, RBIs, strikeouts, batting average, OBP, SLG, and OPS.
Julio Rodriguez is having a down season thus far.
We are almost done June and he only has seven home runs on the year.
His OPS is a putrid .665, despite a decent .260 batting average.
He has just six doubles on the year.
Rodriguez had 37 doubles and 32 home runs last year.
This has not been the type of season the Mariners were expecting from Rodriguez as he has lacked power.
Cal Raleigh has a batting average of .198 and a .653 OPS and J.P. Crawford is hitting .208 with a .657 OPS on the year.
Crawford bats leadoff and Raleigh usually hits fourth or fifth in the lineup.
These are not the kind of numbers you want from your leadoff and cleanup batter.
When the Mariners get on base, they are capable of getting steals.
Rodriguez has 16 steals, Dylan Moore has 13 steals, and the Mariners rank top half in the league in stolen bases.
However, they have a difficult time getting on base.
Seattle entered the year hoping their offense would be better but with Rodriguez struggling as much as he is, Seattle’s offense has been a bottom 10 team, despite being first in the AL West.
Are The Seattle Mariners World Series Contenders Or Do They Need To Make Moves At The Trade Deadline?
While the Mariners are first in the AL West, it is tough to consider them true World Series contenders.
Their offense has been lackluster to say the least this season.
They are bottom 10 or around the bottom 10 in many batting categories.
Seattle needs to improve their batting lineup at the trade deadline and acquire some offensive players.
They have a tough time getting on base.
Seattle needs to try and acquire a bat or two that hits for average.
The power will come for Rodriguez as he is too talented to have a .665 OPS and seven home runs.
Cal Raleigh has good power.
They need one or two bats that can get on base more frequently.
In order for the Mariners to be considered true World Series contenders, they need to make moves at the trade deadline and acquire one or two bats to improve their offense.
