Countdown to Opening Day: #29 Seattle Mariners

By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter for Montgomery Media

Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515

To help pass the time between now and the start of the 2011 Major League Baseball season I am going to be examining a different team every day. Starting with the Pirates, working toward the Phillies. I will give you my projected starters, breakout and bust players, biggest spring training question and top prospect.

PROJECTED LINEUP

RF Ichiro

3B Chone Figgins

CF Franklin Gutierrez

DH Jack Cust
1B Justin Smoak

C Miguel Olivo

LF Michael Saunders

SS Jack Wilson

2B Brendan Ryan

PROJECTED ROTATION

Felix Hernandez

Jason Vargas

Doug Fister

Erik Bedard

Luke French

PROJECTED BULLPEN
Closer - David Aardsma
Set-up - Brandon League

Top Prospect - Dustin Ackley (2B)

Breakout
Michael Pineda - There is no better place to avoid the National hype than the Pacific Northwest and Pineda, a 21 year old future ace will have a chance to break spring training as a member of the Seattle rotation at 22 years old. He may get some media attention in Starbucks and Nirvana world, but it should be a rather quiet ascent to stardom, which bodes well for success. 

Bust

Justin Smoak - While Seattles impatiently waits to see what kind of return they got for shipping Cliff Lee, the M's first basemen struggles to figure it all out. While the Mariners need Smoak to be a run producer immediately it will not be this year for the former Ranger top-prospect.

Biggest Spring Training Question

Can I get a RBI - It is beyond me how Ichiro can continue his Hall-of-Fame career by collecting another 200 hit season and still not come close to 100 runs scored. Suzuki has 339 hits in the past two seasons and only 162 runs to show for it. If the Mariners can not get any meat in the middle of the order this season from Cust, Gutierrez, and Smoak, it could be another long season in the American League. 

LAST YEAR'S RECORD: 61-101

Will King Felix stay in Seattle?

PROJECTED FINISH: 4th in the National League Central

***THANKS FOR READING MY TEAM BY TEAM OUTLOOKS TO HELP PASS THE TIME

Check back tomorrow for the Arizona Diamondbacks