Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners (Photo by Paul Hamaker, via Wikimedia).
It was a tough week for the Mariners. Not a lot went right against two of the teams expected to be the bottom feeders of the American League. The Mariners were also expected to be there as well, so it might not have been a surprising week for the “experts.”
When I started writing these articles, I knew there were going to be tough weeks. However, a stellar bullpen and some timely starting pitching, along with occasional clutch hitting, helped to keep the stars coming out. This week though, going 2-4 and being no-hit by the Orioles’ John Means showed fans how close the M’s are to being terrible, as did allowing 10 runs to the Rangers.
That means that this list of stars is going to be a bit different than in past weeks.
Justin Dunn 5.1 Innings, 6 Ks, 1 ER
Justin Dunn didn’t get a win on the stat sheet, but he did enough to keep the Mariners in his start against Baltimore. Besides giving up a solo home run to Rio Ruiz, he managed to escape without damage from nearly every inning pitched. He had trouble with his control again, issuing four walks, but he pitched well enough for Seattle to win.
Yusei Kikuchi, 7 innings, 3 ER, 7 Strikeouts
Lost in the John Means no-hitter, Yusei Kikuchi threw an outstanding game. He only gave up five hits and a walk. While Kikuchi gave up three earned runs and was tagged with the loss, he pitched well. If the Mariners’ hitters could have done anything against the O’s that day, Kikuchi did enough to walk away with a win, throwing his 87 pitches in seven innings of work.
J.P. Crawford, .286 average, 1 HR
J.P. Crawford had a strong enough week at the plate that by week’s end, he was batting lead-off. He started the week at the end of the line-up and then moved up to bat fifth in the first game of the Texas series. By Sunday, Crawford was leading off. The M’s shortstop did most of his damage against the pitching-poor Rangers, but if he’s going to retain the lead-off spot, then he really needs to shine.
5 innings pitched, 1 ER, 5 Ks, and a win – Tacoma Rainiers
Logan Gilbert (Mariners #4 prospect and a top 30 MLB prospect) threw five strong innings for the Tacoma Rainiers in his 2021 debut. He did it on May 7 against another top prospect McKenzie Gore of the Padres organization.
As two of the top three farm systems battled it out, Gilbert got the best of the El Paso Chihuahuas to run his lifetime Minor League ERA to 2.12. He featured a 95+ MPH fastball along with a nasty 1-7 curveball. The only run the rookie gave up was to a safety squeeze, pulled off to perfection. Impressively, Gilbert pitched his 5 innings in just 67 pitches.
.417 average, 1.079 OPS, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs.
Kyle Lewis came into the week batting .184 and came out of the week at .258 for the season. Most of his damage came against the Rangers, though he did have a 3-run dinger in the Mariners’ Tuesday win against Baltimore. In the Rangers series, he batted .615 (8-for-13), which gave a huge boost to his team.
Having Lewis’ bat in the line-up is going to help the lineup considerably. With him, Seattle has five bats that are potential .250+ hitters. They need all the help they can get because several batters are struggling to reach the Mendoza line (.200).
Lewis is someone who has an infectious attitude as well as a plan when he comes up to the plate. Like all Seattle Mariners, he struggles with strikeouts, but his 22.5% strikeout percentage is below the league average and well below his career average (33.6%).
.444 average, 1.278 OPS, 2 HRs, 2 SBs, 6 runs – Tacoma Rainiers
It was only one week but Jarred Kelenic started his Triple-A season with a bang.
On May 6, Kelenic knocked two balls over the rightfield fence in Tacoma. He went 2-for-6 in that game with three runs scored. It doesn’t stop there; he also made an incredible throw to get a Chihuahua base runner out who tried to advance from first to third on a single to right field.
Kelenic batted leadoff in every Rainiers game of the season and has also played stellar defense in right field. When he gets to the big leagues, his best fit is likely to be in left field. We just don’t know when that will happen.
Major League Baseball’s #4 prospect overall has a five-game hitting streak to start the season. But it’s not just a five-game hitting streak; it’s also a five-game streak of at least two hits in each game. Both streaks are likely to end at some point, but his performance made a statement that the Seattle Mariners brass needs to hear.
Is he ready? Small sample size, but if he keeps this up, he’s going to be in a Seattle uniform very soon.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle sports fan. President, Director, Producer, Writer for Broken Arts Entertainment and the upcoming Web Series, Quarantine 2038.