2021 Seattle Mariners line-up card with ideal hitters in each slot
Joe Swenson
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Clean-Up
Ideal Clean-Up Hitter: Immense power. Nelson Cruz like. .800 OPS, but with 35+ home runs.
Mariners 2021 Answer: No one. Kyle Lewis is the closest. The 2020 AL Rookie of the Year was on pace for a 30 home run season. He’s so streaky, and who knows how that horrible September impacted his overall offensive ability heading into 2021.
Mariners Future Answer: Julio Rodriguez. He has a ton of strikeouts in the minors. Also, he hasn’t shown the raw power we expect from him so far. It’s there; scouts and analysts alike believe that he could be a 40+ home run hitter in the not too distant future. Staying healthy is an excellent place to start.
Batting Fifth
Ideal Fifth Batter: Good power, protects the clean-up hitter in the line-up. A .750 OPS guy with extra-base ability works well in this spot.
Mariners 2021 Answer: Kyle Seager or Mitch Haniger. Mitch comes off of two injury-plagued years. Kyle Seager is a .750 OPS machine, having done it seven times in his career.
Mariners Future Answer: Cal Raleigh. He has raw power and raw power potential, but with a low batting average and lower graded contact rate (he struck out 47 times in 145 at-bats at AA in 2019). He has tremendous power, though.
Batting Sixth
Ideal Sixth Batter: A dumbed-down version of a second hole batter. OBP of .350, a plus is to have a .750 OPS but not required. You want to see contact here, someone who can reset your line-up.
Mariners 2021 Answer: Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, Kyle Seager. Any of these three can fit the bill, but it will likely come down to the player that isn’t occupying the fourth or fifth spots in the line-up.
Mariners Future Answer: Zach Deloach. His college and wooden bat league statistics suggest that he’ll be in the .750 OPS range with a higher than normal OBP. He might work his way up to the number two hole, but I like his fit in this spot in the future.