Seattle Mariners combination of art and science makes them contenders.
Analyzing the comps
Good art is often duplicated. The 2021 Seattle Mariners will produce compelling and potentially successful art. Parts of it are original, but this rebuild looks familiar. As opening day approaches, it’s easy to dismiss the Seattle Mariners on a national stage because of how young they are. Due to their lack of known players, it’s also easy for media members to dismiss the M’s as not compelling or unable to compete. Maybe those people forgot some recent history.
Atlanta 2018
In 2018, the Atlanta Braves were projected to finish last or second to last as they entered the third year of their rebuild. They came into the 2018 season as the youngest team in MLB. In fact, their only starting players over the age of 28 were position players Kurt Suzuki and Nick Markakis and pitcher Anibal Sanchez in the rotation.
Atlanta was creating compelling art. They were faster, had a stronger defense, and focused more on gap-to-gap power (26 home runs led the team). With their pitching, the Braves focused on how much to use their young staff. Atlanta also split closing duties between two young relievers (Arodys Vizcaino and A.J. Minter). Led by four pitchers that were 27 or younger in their rotation, Atlanta won the highly competitive NL East in 2018. So much for early predictions of doom and gloom.
Now, look at the 2021 Mariners. Only two position players Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger, are over 30. As far as the rotation goes, only James Paxton was born before 1990.
The Braves 2018 comparison is so strong that even the Jarred Kelenic service-time conversations relate. Ronald Acuna Jr. was a top prospect in 2018. He debuted on April 25, 2018, after playing 23 terrible games at AAA. He would go on to win the Rookie of the Year. Opposing teams shouldn’t sleep on the 2021 Seattle Mariners, either.