J.P. Crawford , Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners had a fantastic 2021 season winning 90 games and barely missing the postseason. After taking a little time to let the season sink in, the PNWS staff analyzed and graded each position group. We begin with one of the league’s best infields.
We used several factors to evaluate the Seattle Mariners infielders. They are offensive production, defensive production, and intangibles. The intangibles are a subjective list of items, including clubhouse presence, leadership, clutch factors.
Overall the Mariners infield ranked as one of the best defensively in the Majors, with three of the four positions ranking in the top ten for Defensive Runs Saved. Second base was just outside the top ten at 12th. It would be easy to argue that the Mariners had the #1 defensive infield in the Major Leagues, with the Astros coming in second.
Games Played: Ty France (106 games), Evan White (30 games), Jose Marmolejos (14 games), Jake Bauers (13 games), and three others.
Offense: B+
Ty France finished the season 12th at first base for offensive WAR/Games Played at the position.
Defense: A+
France was ranked by Fan Graphs and Baseball-Reference as the top defender at this position.
Intangibles: B+
France turned in a career year in his first full season of MLB action and spent time at three infield positions. The amazing thing about Ty France is that he was a 34th round selection in the 2015 MLB Draft out of San Diego State University. Not only is France a plus offensive threat, as it turns out, but he’s also a plus defender. In addition, France is part of the reason the Mariners clubhouse stays loose.
Offense: F
Evan White’s offensive numbers were worse in 2021 than they were in 2020. Though he primarily played during the “Great Offensive Depression of 2021” and wasn’t given a chance to hit lower spin rate balls, he still struggled incredibly.
Defense: A
Coming off of a Gold Glove season in 2020, he turned in a strong performance in 30 games at first base.
Intangibles: F
The injury that cost him the season also cost him the opportunity to be a clubhouse presence.
Games Played: Dylan Moore (66 games), Abraham Toro (58), Ty France (21), Donovan Walton (14), and three others.
Offense: C
With Seattle, Abraham Toro batted .252 with a .695 OPS in 60 games. He exhibited some power but also showed his contact consistency, striking out 14.6% of the time.
Defense: C+
His .975 fielding percentage at second base included five errors. In addition, his range factor was average for Major League second baseman.
Intangibles: C+
The 24-year-old that came over in the Graveman trade made a mark right off, but his power went away. He shored up the defense, but his range factor kept most of his work average, despite a stronger than average throwing arm. He is one of the youngest Mariners on the team and will look to build on a successful campaign in 2022.
Games Played: J.P. Crawford (160 games) also Dylan Moore, and Donovan Walton.
Offense: B-
The formerly light-hitting shortstop started the season at the back of the line-up but eventually moved up to stay. He finished with 108 games from the leadoff spot and batted .281 with a .734 OPS from the top of the line-up.
Defense: A
Crawford was second in the league in range factor and #7 in Defensive Runs Saved. No one was better than Houston’s Carlos Correa this season, and it would be quite the upset if JP won his second consecutive gold glove over Correa.
Intangibles: B+
He’s becoming a clubhouse leader. Crawford’s energy and effort in the field show that he’s one of the rebuilt Seattle Mariners’ core players. In addition, he deserves a full season from the leadoff spot.
Games Played: Kyle Seager (149), Dylan Moore (10), and 6 others.
Offense: C
Kyle Seager ranked 17th among all third baseman in OPS but was top 10 in home runs and RBIs. He also set career marks in both those categories, but also a career-low in batting average, finishing the season at .212. In addition, he set a career in strikeouts (161) and strikeout percentage (26.7%).
Defense: B+
Ranked as the ninth third baseman in overall defense by FanGraphs, Seager was also the number five third baseman in Defensive Runs Saved. His range factor was behind perennial Gold Glove favorites Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman.
Intangibles: A
When there were runners in scoring position, Kyle Seager was clutch. He finished with a 1.015 OPS, .308 batting average when runners were on second and/or third base. With the bases loaded, Seager batted .444. With a runner on third and two outs, he batted .421.
In five at bats with the bases loaded and no one out, he got hits four times and knocked in 8 runs. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Seager hit a blistering .356 and had a 1.263 OPS. By contrast, he struggled to get on when there was no one on base in front of him, batting .157 with a .593 OPS.
Games Played: Dylan Moore (80 games), Donovan Walton (18), Jose Marmolejos (14), Jack Mayfield (13), and 7 others.
Offense: D-
If F+ were an option, I would have taken that one. He struggled mightily at the plate this season, especially with strikeouts (33% strikeout percentage). July and August were especially brutal, batting under .160 in both months. On the positive side, Moore led the Seattle Mariners with 21 stolen bases.
Defense: B+
Moore had a .989 fielding percentage in 80 games in the infield. Moore’s defensive runs saved (6) put him in the top 10 for all infielders (non-first baseman) with at least 300 innings.
Intangibles: C+
Like many Mariners, he batted better when there were runners in scoring position. In addition, his ability to play many positions made him a valuable commodity in the 2021 season.
He had the opportunity to solidify the second base job early in the season. Unfortunately, he let that slip through his hands with an awful April (.132 average). His inability to make contact became a liability, and Scott Servais used him less and less as the season came to a close.
Joe Swenson is an author, award-winning playwright, screenwriter, director, producer, podcaster, actor, and all-around interesting fellow to talk to.