By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter for Lansdale Reporter
| Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515 |
#25: Seattle Mariners: The King & his court of jesters
PROJECTED LINEUP
2B Dustin Ackley
CF Franklin Gutierrez
3B Kyle Seager
LF Mike Morse
DH Kendrys Morales
C Jesus Montero
1B Justin Smoak
RF Michael Saunders
SS Brendan Ryan
2B Dustin Ackley
CF Franklin Gutierrez
3B Kyle Seager
LF Mike Morse
DH Kendrys Morales
C Jesus Montero
1B Justin Smoak
RF Michael Saunders
SS Brendan Ryan
PROJECTED ROTATION
Felix Hernandez
Joe Saunders
Hishashi Iwakuma
Blake Beaven
Danny Hultzen
Joe Saunders
Hishashi Iwakuma
Blake Beaven
Danny Hultzen
PROJECTED BULLPEN
Closer: Tom Whilemson
Set-up: Stephen Pryor
Top Prospect: Mike Zunino (C)
I believe the Mariners did make some upgrades to their offense this season, however I think downgrades would only have come from the minor leagues. Seattle has sent out the worst lineups over the last few years and people are excited to see a few more balls leave the yard this Spring.
But, remember Peoria, Arizona is far from Safeco Field. Mike Morse, Kendrys Morales, Raul Ibanez, and even Jason Bay add some cheap power and decent depth to fill in around a young and still promising team.
However the M's cannot be too more patient with Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero. They only have eight more years of Felix Hernandez.
Forget about the offensive woes, they are not going to become Muderer's Row overnight. What those coffee drinking fans should be excited about is the lively arms on the horizon. Lefthander Danny Hultzen, fireballer James Paxton and big-framed Taijuan Walker all have the chance to join the King. That foursome has the ability to put something together like A's did with Zito, Hudson, Mulder, and Harden - and then the Mariners could be back in the playoff hunt. But not this year.
THEY CALL ME MR. SUNSHINE - Kudos to the front office for not shipping out Felix Hernandez to the highest bidder becuase the calvary has arrived. In fact, the Mariners have an above average player at every position and enough depth to maximize platoons in the outfield. It turns out the combination of Jason Bay against lefties and Rual Ibanez against righties is a pretty good middle of the order player. This group of M's thrive on being looked past and Mike Morse of all people puts his name in the MVP race with a .300/30/120 season.
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| Felix Hernandez |
Forget about the offensive woes, they are not going to become Muderer's Row overnight. What those coffee drinking fans should be excited about is the lively arms on the horizon. Lefthander Danny Hultzen, fireballer James Paxton and big-framed Taijuan Walker all have the chance to join the King. That foursome has the ability to put something together like A's did with Zito, Hudson, Mulder, and Harden - and then the Mariners could be back in the playoff hunt. But not this year.
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| Jason Bay |
REAL TALK - I don't care what the size of the ballpark is, you cannot send any functional arm to the rubber and expect them to produce. Joe Saunders is inconsistent in every ballpark, Hisashi Iwakuma and Blake Beaven are barely major league fifth starters, and the youngsters that are on the way just are not ready yet. Come back to this blog next year and maybe my hopes will be higher.
Breakout: Danny Hultzen
Bust: Jesus Montero
Fantasy Baseball Sleeper: Mike Morse (OF)
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: 75-87 (4th in AL West)
PROJECTED 2013 FINISH: 77-85 (4th in AL West)
**Check back tomorrow for the New York Mets**
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