Jake Fraley, Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners have a winning record each of the last two weeks and are 14-5 over their last 19 games. Despite going 4-2 this week, the Mariners only outscored their opponents by one run in six games. They also had their 4th walk-off win in the last two weeks and now have 7 walk-off wins on the season (tied for second in MLB).
For the second consecutive week, the Mariners hit a home run in every game. The Mariners are now up to 13 consecutive games with a home run. In addition, just like the previous week where the Mariners went 6-1, there were a bunch of players that were considered for our three stars. The honorable mentions could’ve also been awarded stars this week, but alas, I’m limited to just three stars and a few honorable mentions.
Ty France is a professional hitter. At times he is the best hitter the Seattle Mariners have in their line-up. M’s fans wish more Mariners were like Ty France. He hit safely in all six games this week, contributed a home run, and five runs batted in.
Whether he’s batting third or fourth in the line-up doesn’t really matter at this point as he’s done damage from both spots. It’s even better with J.P. Crawford’s continued batting excellence. Hopefully, France can keep it up. For reference, look at his 2019 performance at Triple-A El Paso (.399 average in over 300 plate appearances). It’s possible.
Chris Flexen has been amazing over his last 5 starts, going 2-0 and giving up 3 runs or less in each of those starts. He has seen his ERA drop from 4.70 on June 2 to 3.80 after his start last week against the Rangers. He has a 2.27 ERA over those five starts and at 7-3, he is definitely in the conversation for possible Mariners All-Star snubs.
In that game, Flexen flirted with a perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout. In 6 innings, the righty threw only 81 pitches. He didn’t really get into trouble until the 6th, but in a close game, Servais opted to go with his best relievers.
Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, and Kendall Graveman make up the A list of relievers when the Mariners are in a close game and are tied or leading. Sewald has been insanely good over the last two months. That dominance continued last week. Sewald was so close to earning a star for the second consecutive week, and while he performed better than he did last week, the top three were utterly dominant this week.
Yusei Kikuchi earned his first-ever All-Star nod this week and is currently the lone Mariner representative in the All-Star game. The Mariners could be the first team since the 2011 Cincinnati Reds to have a winning record at the All-Star break and have only one representative in the summer classic.
His performance against the Blue Jays, one of the best offenses in the league, was brilliant. Kikuchi worked pitches all around the zone and didn’t get himself hurt in any way throughout the game. He was stung by a lead-off home run from fellow All-Star Marcus Semien and while Semien owned him again later in the game, the veteran southpaw kept the rest of the line-up off-balance and finished the game looking strong.
Watching the Blue Jays side of the broadcast was an eye-opener on how other teams view the Mariners. Kikuchi’s fastball regularly hit 97 to 98 MPH and the announcers remarked early on about how that was surprising and chalked it up to adrenaline. However, when he was still hitting 97 late in the game, they blamed it on old scouting reports.
J.P. Crawford has been a hitting machine over the last month and a half and this week was no different. It was his fourth consecutive week batting over .300 and is now hitting .353 since June 1. His 89 hits now rank 11th in the American League and his batting average overall is 20th. His defense is phenomenal despite the number of errors this season. Crawford is the most important part of why Seattle leads the American League in double-plays turned.
For the week Crawford had 10 hits, including two games with three hits. He also hit safely in all six games and has now hit safely in 18 of the last 19 games. More importantly, and a departure from the month of June, Crawford got on base 13 times during the week and scored 7 times (53.8 percent run scored rate). In addition to his fantastic average, his OBP was .433 and he only struck out once during the week (27 at-bats). An impressive performance yet he wasn’t the #1 star this week.
The big question for Crawford is can he keep it up? On May 1, he changed bats. Former Seattle Mariners catcher Jacob Nottingham left a bat for Crawford to use. J.P. liked it so much, he ordered more after going 2 for 3 in a loss to the Angels. While he spent most of May hitting around .250, his contact rate and barrel percentage improved. Starting in June he became a hitting machine. His hot bat carried over into the start of July. Final thought, Crawford was an All-Star snub. Change my mind.
Jake Fraley is the reason Seattle Mariners are okay with Jarred Kelenic getting more seasoning at AAA. He’s the reason that Taylor Trammell is riding the pine. Finally, Fraley is the reason I believe in superpowers.
After the bearded wonder made the superhuman home run robbery against the Tigers last month and turned it into a double play, he accelerated to the top of my list of favorite Mariners. He’s also moved to the top of most Seattle Mariners fan lists as well. His hair, that beard, and the effort with which he plays, we’ve come to expect the impossible from him.
This week was a good example of his excellence. He hit home runs, made diving catches, stole bases, knocked in runs, and got on base often. His .479 OBP led all Mariners this week and his OPS was easily the leader as well. Unsurprisingly, Fraley also led the team in diving catches made (there isn’t an official stat for this, but if there was he’d lead it). Dare I say, he is the Mariners version of Chuck Norris.
While it would help him if his strikeout rate dropped (currently 31 percent), his walk rate is absolutely through the roof (30 percent). His .437 OBP leads the Seattle Mariners for batters with at least 100 plate appearances. Only Crawford is within 100 points of that number at .348.
On the season, he is also the clutchest of the clutch. Fraley has a .360 average with runners in scoring position, but that’s not all he’s good at. He’s batting .385 when the game is tied, .500 after the 6th inning with the game within 3 runs, and a sizzling .667 in extra-innings. For good measure, he also destroys relievers to the tune of a .968 OPS. That’s clutch.
The All-Star team was announced this week, the Mariners’ lone representative is Yusei Kikuchi. There are good arguments for Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, J.P. Crawford, Kendall Graveman, Chris Flexen, and Mitch Haniger (in that order) to join him. I live on the East Coast, and totally believe that East Coast bias is a thing when it comes to coverage and All-Star selections. The Seattle Mariners deserved to have at least one more represent them in the mid-summer contest.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan, Author, Playwright, Director, and Producer.