MLB playoff picture: Mariners just on edge of Wild Card standings
With 120 games lost, the Mariners are right in the playoff chase.
SEATTLE – The Mariners (65-55) have gone through 120 games of the 2023 MLB Season and are still competing in the knockout stage despite failing to live up to the high pre-season expectations.
After Wednesday night’s win over the Kansas City Royals, the Mariners sit back in the last place of the American League (AL) Wild Card one game. Seattle’s rivals to the north, the Toronto Blue Jays, currently own that spot with an overall record of 67-55.
Forty-two games remain for the Mariners, meaning there’s plenty of time for the team to improve their position or slide further up the rankings. Baseball-Reference estimates the Mariners have a 44% chance of making it to the knockout stages, while FanGraphs is slightly less optimistic at 34.7%.
Mariners will have to increase quality competition, as the team has hardest friday remaining strength of the schedule in AL. That includes trips to Houston, Tampa Bay and Texas, three of the AL’s strongest teams.
Only the Minnesota Twins have made more team appearances than the Mariners in 2023, underscoring what has been an impressive season for Seattle.
Julio Rodriguez failed to keep up with the Rookie of the Year campaign with the promotion many expected from the young star. Rodriguez didn’t even lead his squad in home runs (Cal Raleigh had 21 big shots to catch up with the Mariners) and had an average hit score of 0.261, well short of his 0.284 mark on rookie year end. Rodriguez still has the highest Substitution on Win (WAR) in the Mariners (3.8) as his play in the central area has been excellent.
Both Eugenio Suarez and Teoscar Hernandez have done it more than 150 times, limiting the impact of their power numbers. JP Crawford should have been back soon from an injury list after a concussion sidelined him, and the 28-year-old miss has contributed firmly with the second-highest WAR on the team behind Julio.
Other reserve teams like Tom Murphy and Cade Marlowe have made their mark when called up, but the Mariners will need more consistency across the board from batting order if they want to catch up with the top teams in the AL.
On the pitching front, Luis Castillo and George Kirby formed one of the tournament’s strongest one-two punches in the starting spin. Logan Gilbert has 10 wins and an extra point of Earned Running Average (ERA) while Bryce Miller shows his inexperience at times but also looks like a potential factor in the future of the spin .
In the barn, Andres Munoz is mostly solid and Tayler Saucedo has recently emerged as a possible base for the barn. Justin Topa was also a welcome addition with a 2.28 ERA, but many fans lamented that the team abandoned Paul Sewald and didn’t add enough to the bullpen by the trade deadline.
Overall, the Mariners have a strong roster and certainly have enough talent and ability to come back from the season for the second year in a row. However, they must take care of business ahead of the lesser teams remaining on the schedule (like Thursday’s match against Team Royal 39-83) and hold their ground against the higher tier teams. in the list.
Now that Seattle fans got to enjoy last fall’s baseball game once again, expectations are heightened for this Mariners to fill that trophy up so the Emerald City can enjoy. MLB’s post-season drama.
