What Makes the Mariners’ Offense So Annoying to Face
At the time of this writing, the Mariners’ injured list consists of Logan Gilbert (Grade 1 right elbow flexor strain), George Kirby (right shoulder inflammation), Victor Robles (dislocated/fractured shoulder), Ryan Bliss (torn biceps), Dylan Moore (right hip inflammation), Luke Raley (Grade 1 right oblique strain), and Gregory Santos (right knee inflammation) — all of whom were expected to be significant contributors in 2025. Yet through the first 31 games of the season, Seattle holds the second-highest winning percentage in the American League (.613), sits atop the AL West with a record of 19-12, and currently boasts an offense that ranks among the game’s best in most statistical categories.
Much has been rightfully made about the elite-level production Jorge Polanco and Cal Raleigh have provided in the early going, as well as the correlation between the team’s increased numbers from last August onward and the coaching changes made by the organization that same month, but one of the biggest reasons Seattle’s offense is as good as it’s been — which likely, at least partly, goes hand-in-hand with the shift in leadership and vision — is what it continues to get out of the bottom-third of its lineup.
Among the 7-8-9 stretches of every lineup in the majors, the Mariners rank fourth in batting average (.255), second in on-base percentage (.350), fourth in wRC+ (110), first in walk rate (11.8 percent), and are tied with the Athletics for the fifth-lowest strikeout percentage (20.2 percent), per FanGraphs. Perhaps the most important stat: they’ve scored 52 of the Mariners’ 165 runs this season (31.5 percent), which ranks fifth in MLB. The one area they’ve fallen short in is power output, tied with the Padres’ 7-8-9 hitters for 20th in slugging percentage (.333), but they are consistently setting the table for the club’s big-boppers like Polanco and Raleigh.
Some of the Mariners’ biggest innings this season have been kicked off — or greatly assisted — by the bottom-third of their lineup. On Friday night, nine-hole hitter Rhylan Thomas’ bloop double down the left field line was the first hit of the club’s seven-run fifth inning in Texas. On Wednesday, Leo Rivas and Samad Taylor collected back-to-back infield singles and later scored the first and second runs of a six-run seventh inning against the Angels. In the team’s dramatic comeback victory over the Astros on April 9, which can now be pointed back to as a turning point in the season, Miles Mastrobuoni hit a pair of late-game singles — one in the eighth to help set up Randy Arozarena’s grand-slam to bring the Mariners back within a run, and one in the ninth ahead of Julio Rodríguez’s game-tying double.
The list goes on, and notice that four different names were mentioned as having a major impact in those moments. J.P. Crawford leads all qualified shortstops in wRC+ (149) and has worked his way into Seattle’s leadoff spot as a result, but while his contributions from his time at the bottom of the lineup certainly inflate the group’s numbers, they’re not solely carrying the load. Rivas (172 wRC+) and Ben Williamson (105 wRC+) have both produced at an above-average rate, and even those below the 100 wRC+ threshold, such as Mastrobuoni, have still found ways to make an impact, whether it be stealing a critical base or drawing out a long plate appearance.
This is what makes the Mariners such an annoying offense for opposing pitchers to work through. They’re frustrating, grind arms down, get them to show their full arsenal (sometimes twice over), and balloon pitch counts. Rivas has seen an average of 4.93 pitches per plate appearance, which is the highest of any hitter in baseball with at least 40 plate appearances, while Crawford has seen 4.53, Williamson 4.02, and Mastrobuoni 3.75. Even if they don’t get on base, they’re still manufacturing small wins.
Whether their ability to help with at least some regularity sustains or not remains to be seen, but so far it’s been a masterclass on knowing who you are as a hitter and what you do best. It’s a way of life and the player buy-in on what Dan Wilson, Edgar Martínez, Kevin Seitzer, and Bobby Magallanes are selling is evident from top to bottom, culminating in complete team efforts at the best possible time with the amount of injuries the Mariners have suffered.
