Seattle Mariners Spring Training – Who’s Hot and Who’s Not
With a week to go before the Seattle Mariners open their 2022 season, we check in on the team’s spring successes and failures.
The Seattle Mariners expect to compete to make the playoffs and win the American League West in 2022. It all starts in spring training. Who is doing well? Who isn’t? How will their performance (good or bad) affect their standing with the team?
Who’s Hot – Position Players
Abraham Toro – 2B/3B
9 games, 10-for-20, .500/.565/.600, 5 runs, 1 RBI
Acquired near last season’s trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners are counting on Abraham Toro to be a big part of the team in 2022. Hitting .500 certainly justifies his place on the roster. A little more pop might be nice. Only 1 of his 10 hits is for extra bases (a triple).
Julio Rogriguez – OF
9 games, 7-for-23, .304/.360/.565/.925, 3 doubles, 4 runs, 5 RBI.
“You think you belong on this team, Rook? Go earn it.”
That’s exactly what Julio Rodriguez is doing. While his day-to-day performance has been somewhat uneven this spring, for the most part, Rodriguez is handling the competition well.
Four extra-base hits in 24 at bats looks really good. A team-leading 9 strikeouts show he still has some things to learn about Major League pitching.
Julio Rodriguez absolutely destroyed this ball. Holy mother of god. Aaron Goldsmith with another gem of a call. pic.twitter.com/2MTihSwKpU
— Gravel (@Gravel_sense) March 18, 2022
Dylan Moore – Utility
8 games, 5-for-16, .313/.421/.688, 2, home runs, 3 runs, 3 RBI.
2020’s play almost anywhere; do-it-all sensation, Dylan Moore, bottomed out last year. He had a .181 batting average and .610. OPS. Worse, Moore came close to twice as many strikeouts as hits, 111-60 in 332 at bats.
The utility man arrived at spring training squarely on the bubble. His play so far is earning him a job with the Mariners to start 2022.
Cal Raleigh – C
8 games, 4-for-15, .267/.421/.667/1.088, 1 home run, 4 runs, 3 RBI
After a mid-season call-up, Cal Raleigh proved defensively that he’s an MLB catcher. His performance at the plate left something to be desired.
Sharing time this spring, the switch hitting catcher is putting up some good offensive numbers. When he makes contact, Raleigh is productive, with three of his four hits going for extra bases and three driven in. If the Mariners can live with his high strikeout rate, either Tom Murphy or Luis Torrens may be playing somewhere else this season.