Did the Seattle Mariners rush Evan White to the Majors?
Seattle Mariners, Evan White.
Over his head
At the plate, White, ahem, struggled this year. His numbers took a serious nose dive once he faced top tier pitching. He ended the 60-game season slashing .176/.252/.346/.599 with eight home runs, 26 RBI, and 84 strikeouts in 182 at-bats. Yikes! Striking out 46 percent of the time is not what the Mariners expected from him.
White’s struggles aren’t totally surprising considering he skipped Triple-A. His glove keeps him in the lineup, but the bat needs to come around. As with any rookie, White had his highs and lows at the dish, but the six RBI game highs were offset by way too many hitless game lows. He looked completely lost at times.
Is White the next prospect that’s ruined because the Seattle Mariners rushed him to the bigs? More than likely White is Seattle’s 2021 opening day first baseman. But with the 2020 feel-good story of Jose Marmolejos (what an awesome name, but not as good as Gift Ngoepe) probably on the roster, White will need to hit much better to keep Marmolejos in the DH role or on the bench.
Hopefully, White isn’t added to the long list of Mariners prospects that were rushed and not properly developed. My belief is that he gained valuable experience this year. White will come back next year much better equipped to face Major League pitchers.
Do you think the Seattle Mariners rushed Evan White to the Majors this year? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.