Seattle Mariners comprehensive 2021 team preview
Welcome to the Seattle Mariners 2021 preview. We give you a top to bottom look at a very young and exciting team.
This preview will discuss the schedule, breakdown the Seattle Mariners expected everyday line-up, the rotation, what the bench should look like, and when to expect Jared Kelenic and Logan Gilbert, and other Mariner prospects.
The Schedule
April
The Mariners will open their 2021 season in Seattle against the Giants on April 1st, 2021, vs. the San Francisco Giants at 7:10 p.m. Pacific Time. Those that are into schedule analytics have taken a peek and know how tough April appears to be. Five of the eight series are against 2020 playoff teams. After the Giants, the Mariners face the White Sox at home and then travel to Minnesota for a series against the Twins.
They face the Orioles in Baltimore before flying back to Seattle for back-to-back two-game series against the Astros and Dodgers. Then the M’s fly back to the East Coast to face the Red Sox, followed by a trip to Houston to finish the month. It would be tough to anticipate a winning record coming out of April.
May
The month of May seems to be a bit easier for the Mariners, and should Jarred Kelenic get called up by the end of April. This could be a confidence booster to the young future star and the rest of the team. There are nine series in May, and only three of them are against 2020 playoff teams. Half of the games are against division rivals.
Seattle faces the defending World Series Champs for two games and then the Padres and Athletics in back-to-back series. May should be a month for the M’s to expect a winning record with 13 games against the Orioles, Rangers, and Tigers.
June
Things start to heat up for the M”s as summer approaches. The Tigers and the Rockies are the only opponents in the month projected to finish fourth or worse in their division. They also start the month with six straight games in six days against the Angels and A’s.
Seattle then plays ten straight games in 10 days against teams that made the playoffs in 2020 and are projected to be in contention in 2021. June should be a tough month; if the Mariners can escape at .500 for the month, that would be a massive win.
July
The All-Star Game could feature quite a few Mariners, should things go well. There are 24 games in July, and only ten are against 2020 playoff teams. At least all 10 of those games are at T-Mobile.
July could be a vital month for the Mariners and just in time for the 2021 trade deadline. Should the Mariners be in contention, expect Dipoto to make some trades to specifically shore up the rotation and bullpen.
August
August will be a hectic month for Seattle, with 28 games in 31 days. It all starts with a road series in Tampa followed by a series against the Yankees. The competition will be fierce; 17 of the 28 games are against 2020 playoff teams and 2021 projected contenders.
The other 11 games are against the Rangers (7) and Royals (4). K.C. could be sneaky good, but the Rangers are projected to finish in the AL West cellar. August will be a tough month for the Seattle Mariners, so shooting for .500 would be another significant win.
September
14 of the 26 September games are against division rivals the Astros, Angels, and Athletics. Only ten home games for the entire month as well. September is going to be tough.
The good news is that their non-divisional games are against the Red Sox, Royals, and Diamondbacks. The division race may be decided in the final weeks this year, especially with so many divisional games for all of the AL West to play in September.
October
All Seattle Mariners hope that there will be October baseball beyond the one scheduled series against the Angels at home. In 1995, the Mariners had to clinch the AL West in a one-game playoff against the Angels. Perhaps 26 seasons later, they get to close out their playoff drought against the Angels. That would have a bit of poetry in it.
The 2021 Mariners schedule is here! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/fsSRyMEuOZ
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 9, 2020