Chris Flexen, Seattle Mariners.
2022 is an important season for the Seattle Mariners. The rebuild is over, and the team should contend for not only a playoff spot but an American League West title. It takes a team effort to reach the next level, but there is always a catalyst. The one guy whose success trickles down to his teammates, and without him, the team falters.
We asked our Pacific Northwest Sports contributors who they think is the Seattle Mariners’ most important player in 2022. Stepping up to answer are Andrew Elerbaum, Chip Clark, Chris Phillips, Clint Prasky, Ed Stein, and Joe Swenson.
Chip: I’m going with Kyle Lewis. He only played in 32 games last year due to knee injuries. Among Seattle players with 140 or more plate appearances, he was fourth in On-Base Percentage (.333) and OPS (.726). He did that at far less than 100 percent.
If the Seattle Mariners had 500+ at-bats from K-Lew in 2021, he could have been the difference between the M’s watching the playoffs on TV with a 90-62 record and them participating in them at 92-60.
Aside from what the Seattle Mariners get out of Lewis’ production, there are more reasons why he is so important to his team. Just having K-Lew in the lineup protects other hitters. It’s hard to believe other teams pitch around Haniger or Kelenic to get to him. That gives both him and his teammates more opportunities to drive in runs. Additionally, Lewis’ fielding is rock solid giving Seattle one of the league’s best outfield defenses.
Now, if he could just cut down on those strikeouts.
Clint: I think Kyle Lewis could be the lynchpin. If he can come back post-all-star break and be the K-Lew from September 2020, then that is like a successful trade deadline addition of an all-star caliber bat for the stretch run. Lewis is a plus power bat with good defense with decent potential to add 15-20 home runs during the playoff push. It would be similar to 1995 when Ken Griffey Jr. came back and helped get Seattle to the playoffs.
Jarred Kelenic is billed as one of the top prospects in the game and a cornerstone of the Seattle Mariners’ future core. His rookie year was less than good. However, his end-of-the-year run is promising. He needs to carry his August and September rise over into the upcoming season (provided there is one).
The second most important Seattle Mariner is Abraham Toro. As of this writing (this could age horrifyingly, he’s most likely set to be the M’s starting third baseman. Toro ended the year on a cold streak. Hopefully, he performs closer to the beginning of his Seattle Mariners tenure. If he can’t secure a starting spot or at the very least be a contributing role player, then the trade to acquire him will look bad.
Although pitching is important for me, I think it has to be someone who plays nearly every day. I chose Ty France over J.P. Crawford and Jarred Kelenic.
During his 2020 cup of coffee in Seattle, France, showed he could hit for average and get on base. He picked it up in 2021 as a full-time player leading the M’s in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and WAR. If there was one player M’s Manager Scott Servais could count on for offensive production, it was France day in and day out.
What no one expected from him was the outstanding defensive effort he put forth last season. Replacing injured Gold-Glove winner Evan White, France was nearly flawless at first base. His importance to the Mariners isn’t tied to that position.
If White can exceed the sub-Mendoza numbers he had over his first two MLB seasons at the plate, France can easily move to second or third base, and his team is all the better for it. If White doesn’t come back and improve, the Mariners can rest easy knowing that first base is covered.
Logan Gilbert needs to continue his development. If Seattle really wants to be more than a borderline wild card team, they’ll need better pitching. I’m not confident that Robbie Ray can have another Cy Young level season or that Chris Flexen can repeat what he did last year. Someone will have to step up, and it should be Gilbert.
In a perfect world, Ray will still be an above-average starter, and Gilbert can ascend into the number two role. With those two at the top, Marco Gonzales would be on the higher end of third starters, and if Flexen does regress, it won’t be as potentially catastrophic for the rotation. There’s every reason to believe Gilbert will have a breakout season which gives Seattle one of the best rotations in the league.
Chris Flexen came out of nowhere to put up a top 50 starting pitcher performance in 2021. He’s not going to light up a radar gun, and he won’t have an astronomical K/9 ratio. The Mariners need him to be consistent and potentially the #2 to separate the power lefty from the finesse lefty.
Flexen got a decent contract based on his work in Korea for the KBO. Ultimately though, his consistency last year made him a reliable resource, and the Mariners will need that again if they are going to compete for a playoff spot in 2022.
Who do you think the Seattle Mariners’ most important player in 2022 is? Let us know in the comments section below.