Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Mariner Bullpen, Position players and amateur draft

The Seattle  Mariners  and the city are 
getting  ready for the all-star game  on 
Tuesday. Julio hit the most home runs
in the Derby in the first round with 42.
Unfortunately  lost Vlad Guerrero  Jr. 
in the second round. VLAD Jr. Won it 
all.

The Mariners had round three through 
10 on Monday as well. First round two
shortstop, and an outfielder. Both
shortstops could play elsewhere. 
Se ond round they selected a college 
third baseman  who is a good hitter
and can play defense.  

The Mariners  bullpen has been excellent 
once again. Andres Munoz  missed some
time however his fastball  is still electric.
Paul Sewald  the primary closer has 17
saves right now. Munoz will likely  be 
the 8th man though can pitch seventh 
or ninth if necessary. In 17 games Munoz
has 24 strike outs with an era of 2.81.
Penn Murfee  was injured  early  on is lost
for the season. 

The Mariners  have recently  called up
two relievers double-A ball.  Ty Adcock
has pitched in seven games without 
giving up a run and has four hits against
him. Isaiah Campbell pitched in only one
game going one inning without giving up.
He and Matt Festa who recently called
up will see some action before one of
them is sent down when Bryce Miller 
is activated. Both will tribute in the time
after the break.

Matt Brash has had his up and downs 
but has been successful when needing 
a reliever to stop the bleeding. Gabe Speier 
and Taylor  Salcedo have both pitched
well from the leftside.

Ty France has had a good first half though
inconsistent at times. We hope to see the
real Ty after the break. We all know  what
is going on at second base. Wong has been
a big disappointment while Caballero has
been a big surprise. It would be nice if the
Mariners could pick up a second baseman 
before the deadline.  Caballero will be around 
for sometime and  Wong won't get  an extension 
like we had hoped for during the off-season.

JP Crawford  has been the Mariners  most consistent 
player during  the first half. He has done well after
being inserted  into  the  leadoff spot. JP has the
history  not hitting well after the break.  We hope
not this season.  Eugenio Suarez has played consistent 
defense  at third base however his bat has been a
lot like  the  rest of the lineup.  He has hit better 
coming into the break and we hope it continues.

AJ Pollock  and Dylan  Moore  have been very 
disappointments coming off the bench. Dylan
though did not  play most of the first half. I 
expect his bat will likely not improve. Having
Caballero  his playing time will be limited. He
most likely  play left field  primarily when Kelenic 
has a day off. On the other hand it would be nice
if the Mariners  picked up another outfielder before
the deadline who can be on the  team next year too.

Speaking  of  Kelenic  he fell off on average after
getting  off to a good start. Pitchers have been
throwing him a lot of speed pitches.  I  don't care
since he has  hit in some clutch situations though
having his batting  average climb would  be nice.

We all know the struggle  Julio had for much of
the  first half though has improved as of late. We
hope the home run Derby  will help him out the
rest of the way.  How Julio  goes  is how the offense 
goes a lot of the time. Teoscar Hernandez  got off 
to a terribly  start though started hitting better as
time went on. His base running has been questionable 
at best by trying  to  make singles into doubles. He
has shown  a great arm on his defense. Whether the
Mariners  resign him is in question. It could go either 
way.

The recent promotion  of Mike Ford was in question 
at first however he has hit parvelous of late. Certainly 
made the dh spot  presentable from the left side. Now
the Mariners  need a dh who can hit from the right or
have Ford hit both if he can do it. Never having success 
in the majors before hard to know but I  figure what is
to have a right handed dh who can't  hit on the other
hand the Mariners can Hernandez at dh and blug in7 
another outfielder  or  Cal Raleigh or Tom Murphy when
one isn't  catching. The important  thing  is  the Mariners 
pick up  a  player  before the deadline  to give the fans 
hope. Go M's. 

The amateur  draft rounds on the second  day the Mariners 
drafted four pitchers  including  3rd round Teddy McCraw 
right hander from Wake Forest. Three outfielders and another 


This means in the first ten rounds  the Mariners have three
shorstops, a third baseman, four outfielders and four pitchers..
This has been an offense driven draft. It will be interesting  to 
see who ends up in the Mariners  top 30 prospects list and
especially  in  the top ten. I figure the Mariners  will have
their three first round picks there.  Tuesday will be rounds 
eleven  through twenty. See  who comes in that group.

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