Seattle Mariners: Predicting the Opening Day 30-man roster
Mallex Smith, Seattle mariners (Photo by Dinur via Flickr)
Outfield
The starting outfield to open the season will be Kyle Lewis, Mallex Smith, and Jake Fraley. Smith slumped badly to open the season, hitting a putrid .191 through May. He found his game in the summer months batting .243, with a .723 OPS, and 25 stolen bases from June through August, before finishing the year on a horrendous 8-for-61 slump. To compete, the Mariners need Smith to be the .296/.367/.406/.773 slash line player he was with Tampa Bay in 2018.
Fraley and Lewis, the numbers nine and ten ranked prospects, respectively, both had a cup of coffee in the Majors last year. Lewis was particularly impressive with six home runs in 71 at-bats, including three in his first three MLB games. If he can be a little more selective at the plate, Lewis will become a very dangerous middle of the order batter.
Mitch Haniger starts the season on the 45-day injured list as he recovers from several nasty injuries. Depending on how his rehab goes, Haniger could return in mid-August.
Seattle might add Braden Bishop to the 30-man roster, though he was sent down to Tacoma before the end spring training in March. Additionally, top prospect Jarred Kelenic has a punchers chance to make the team, although he only played 21 games at the end of last season in Double-A ball. Gordon, Lopes, and Moore can all play the outfield.