Well that turned around fast.
For much of the season, the Seattle Mariners looked like they were a bit hungover from the celebration of last year's team breaking the franchise's interminable two-decade playoff drought. The new additions to the M's lineup were listless. Cy Young-winner Robbie Ray had a season-ending injury in his first start. After a Rookie of the Year campaign, young stud center fielder Julio Rodríguez wasn't mashing the ball in the same way.
The Mariners headed into the All-Star break in early July with a disappointing 45-44 record. Driving the knife deeper, the Mariners were hosting the All-Star Game and had zero starters on the squad, while the division rival Rangers and Angels took up seven of the nine starting spots.
No one could be blamed for thinking the Mariners were simply returning to the prior playoff-free form.
But that was then, and this is now. And now? There's no team in Major League Baseball playing better than the Seattle Mariners.
After last weekend's sweep of the Royals, the Mariners had won 11 of their last 12 games (and blew a ninth-inning lead in the lone extra innings loss). Their record after the All-Star game stood at an American League best 29-12. And the hot streak has translated to the standings, as the M's passed both the Astros and Angels to sit atop the AL West standings. While there's still another month of games to be played, the last time the franchise was the sole leader of the division this late in the season was 2003 (!).
While the pitching staff led by aces George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert have been stellar all year long, the bats finally waking up has led to the Mariners' zombie-like resurgence. And to no one's surprise that all starts with one guy — Julio Rodríguez.
To say Julio has been on somewhat of a hot streak is like saying that the sun has been on somewhat of a hot streak. The young superstar has put the team on his back and dragged them to wins with his bat. He's No. 2 in baseball's go-to value stat — wins above replacement (WAR) — since the All-Star break, trailing only Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts (all stats cited as of Aug. 27). But Julio has done plenty of things Betts has not. Since putting on a show in Seattle during the Home Run Derby, Rodríguez has launched 10 dingers while posting a .352 average and a 1.018 OPS (on-base + slugging percentage). During a four-game stretch earlier in the month, he went fully nuclear — setting the MLB record with 17 hits in a four game span, and tying another all-time record with four straight four-hit games. Julio's at-bats have become must-see moments.
And the face of the franchise has not been alone in his offensive quest. Cal Raleigh has officially cemented himself in the best catcher in baseball conversation, doing a fantastic job of managing the pitching staff while absolutely mashing the ball (he's 12th in position player WAR in the second half). Third basemen Eugenio Suárez and outfielder Teoscar Hernández (who seemed like a disastrous pick-up at the start of the year) have also joined the party, each mashing seven second-half home runs.
But most crucially, a bunch of unexpected names have been excelling and working their way into the hearts of Mariners' fans. Second baseman José Caballero has been a revelation, making a position that had been a black hole for the team into one of stability with excellent base running, timely hits, and good defense. The bat of utility man Dylan Moore has caught fire, posting a stunning 1.097 OPS in the second half so far (higher than even Julio, though in less than half as many plate appearances). Infielder Josh Rojas and outfielder Cade Marlowe have also come out of nowhere to be above-average big leaguers since the start of July.
Will that all lead to the Mariners first AL West title since 2001? It's far too early to say.
But after watching the flame of the team's high expectations seemingly fizzle to darkness early in the season, the Mariners' phoenix-like rise from the ashes has been a sight to behold. ♦
