Seattle Mariners comprehensive 2021 team preview
The Prospects
The Mariners are loaded with prospects. While Trammell, Kelenic, and Gilbert are likely the only top 100 prospects that will arrive in 2021, Emmerson Hancock, Kirby, and Julio Rodriguez are getting close. Seattle is loaded, and it’s not just the big names. They have the second-ranked farm system according to Baseball America and MLB.com’s number three farm system.
Noelvi Marte, Jonatan Clase, and Cal Raleigh are recognizable names, but there are so many more at different minor league levels and the Mariner’s international teams.
5 Somewhat Bold Predictions
- The Mariners will finish above .500
- Jarred Kelenic will win the Rookie of the Year
- Ty France will be the first Mariner to bat over .300 in a season since Jean Segura in 2018
- Marco Gonzales and James Paxton finish in the top 10 for Cy Young
- Mitch Haniger wins Comeback Player of the Year
Final Thoughts
It’s a great time to be a Seattle Mariners fan. There isn’t an annoying bandwagon yet. Plus, there isn’t a lot of noise or high expectations for the 2021 team.
It will be a young and exciting team that takes the field at T-Mobile Park in 2021. They will remind fans what is fun about baseball and that it’s a game. Also a highly competitive game, but one where it’s okay to smile and share a laugh.
Their future looks very bright, and while last season the M’s just missed the playoffs, they weren’t ready. I don’t know that this year’s team will make it either, but I think they will be entertaining and competitive. Look outside of the Pacific Northwest for a minute. As opposed to the rest of the league, you can see how this team is rebuilding in a completely different way.
The Baltimore Orioles seem to have been in a perpetual rebuild and remain constant bottom feeders. Since 1998 they’ve made the playoffs just three times. Moreover, they had a worse record than the Mariners in 16 of those 22 seasons. The Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and now Texas Rangers are going through long rebuilds of their own.
Seattle is doing it differently. They didn’t reload; they gutted and grabbed every good prospect they could get their hands on. Throw in Haniger and Murphy’s respective returns, along with the acquisitions of France and Torrens, and this team is taking a decent shape. Paxton and Flexen join a rotation on the rise. Sheffield is finding his way. If Kikuchi and Dunn don’t last, Gilbert, Newsome, and others are waiting in the wings.
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A Seattle Mariners fan since 1986, Joe Swenson is an award-winning writer, playwright, director, and producer. He owns the production company Broken Arts Entertainment, www.brokenartsentertainment.com. You can also watch him on “In The Clutch” by searching YouTube.