Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners.
This was supposed to be a tough week for the Seattle Mariners, facing two of the top American League teams from 2020. The Chicago White Sox won the first series of the week, 2 games to 1, but the Mariners traveled to Minnesota and managed to get two wins in a three-game series. Winning in Minnesota Sunday put the week at .500. After taking the first series of the season against the Giants, the Mariners are 5-4 to start the season.
This week the Mariners start a four-game series against the Orioles and a three-game series against the Astros. The Orioles pitching has been suspect at best. They are 4-5 to start the 2021 season but have scored a ton of runs. The Astros are off to a 6-3 start. While they started on an offensive roll (Scored 8 or 9 runs in their first four games, 35 runs), they have slowed down as of late (21 runs in the last 5 games).
Yusei Kikuchi – Quality Start, 6 innings, 6 strikeouts in another no-decision
Yusei Kikuchi is off to a great start for the Mariners, and he once again flashed his repertoire of great options. His velocity sat in the mid-to-high 90s with his fastball, and his breaking pitches, including the cutter, were on point. Also, for the second straight outing, he avoided getting into high pitch count innings.
Drew Steckenrider – 3 games, 4 innings, 5 strikeouts, and a 1-0 week
Drew Steckenrider was a key part of the series finale against the Twins. He pitched the eighth inning, and besides, a walk didn’t allow another base runner. The Rule 5 pickup started off the season with a horrible outing against the Giants after Kikuchi pitched a gem. Since then, he’s settled down (still allows too many runners and gets his pitch count higher than it should be) and been effective.
Ty France – .333 average, 8 hits, .804 OPS, 4 runs scored
With a strong week, Ty France‘s batting is .324 on the season. France didn’t make the Top 3 Stars because he didn’t do much with those hits. He picked up even singles, a double, a walk, and two RBI. The utility man/designated hitter is off to a great start with the bat, but not many well-timed, clutch hits either. In fact, he does nearly all of his damage during the 3rd inning (6-for-8).
The troubling thing about France right now is that he’s 0-for-9 in the 1st inning. While he makes up for that in the third inning, it’s important not to be a consistent out in the first inning, especially when batting second in the line-up.
The rookie had a much better second half of the week, but he strikes out so much. This week Taylor Trammell struck out 10 times in 17 at-bats. The performance is only slightly better than Trammell’s six strikeouts in his first ten at-bats. In the Twins series, he was 3-for-10 with two home runs and three walks against five strikeouts.
One of the telling things for Trammell’s struggles at the plate is, in games he’s played, and the Mariners lost, Trammell is 0-for-8, with 8 strikeouts and 4 walks. Also, he’s had two strikes on him 24 times this season. In those situations, Trammell has 2 hits, 4 walks, and struck out 16 times.
The final two games of the Twins series were good ones for the Mariner’s centerfielder. Overall, the rest of the week wasn’t that good, but he was integral in the M’s two wins.
3 appearances, 5.1 innings pitched, 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA
Will Vest is doing more than what it takes to remain on the big-league roster. The Rule 5 draft pick had a very strong week, only giving up a single earned run for the week. He was part of a bullpen that absolutely dominated this week.
The most compelling part of Vest’s performance was “accidentally” throwing an 87 MPH change-up at Byron Buxton’s ear. Was it retaliation? Probably not; it was a change-up after all. But after Ty France got hit high on the shoulder for a second time, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some intent on the pitch. That’s the kind of grittiness this Mariner’s team needs.
.348 avg, 1.075 OPS, 8 RBIs (tied for 7th MLB), 2 home runs, and a stolen base.
Before we get into the contract debate and the loyalist vs. the strategist conversation, let’s take an unbiased look at Kyle Seager’s performance. Would he have been the #1 star for the week if he hadn’t had a 4-for-4, 2 home run game, including the three-run wall scraper off of former Mariners closer Alex Colome? Probably not. His performance in this one game put him over the top. That and most of the Mariners were mediocre last week.
Admittedly, I’m still critical of his contract situation and the value it has. It was one game, and the rest of his season has been poor. Without the four-hit, 2 home run game, he is below average at his position. However, most people don’t take the context of Seager’s performance; they look at how one game has instantly changed his value.
After all, it’s not very often that a player nearly singlehandedly wins a game in baseball. There is value in that. As far as saying Seager is worthy of the M’s picking up his 2022 option after one game? Well, that’s very reactionary and quite shortsighted. Let’s wait and see if his suddenly hot hitting continues against the Orioles and the Astros this week.
Who were your Seattle Mariners 3 Stars of the Week? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle sports fan, owner, writer, director, and producer for Broken Arts Entertainment and co-host of the sports podcast In The Clutch.