Seattle Mariners
So much for “taking a step back” in 2019 for the Mariners, right? There’s still plenty of time for the Houston Astros to ascend in the American League West, but Seattle is doing its best to make that as difficult as possible.
I mean, after seeing general manager Jerry Dipoto trade away what felt like half his roster over the winter, it’s surprising to see the Mariners with baseball’s best record (13-2) and run differential (+42), along with a four-game lead in their division.
The offense has been unreal, producing stats like this:
The #Mariners are 13-2 (.867) with 117 runs scored on the season.
Most recent teams with at least 117 runs scored through 15 games played:
1962 Cardinals
1901 Orioles
1901 Cardinals
1900 Phillies
1899 Phillies
1896 Phillies
1895 Orioles
1894 Orioles
1894 Phillies
1893 Spiders— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) April 11, 2019
What’s really jumped out about Seattle’s bats is their ability to hit dingers. They’re currently riding a 15-game homer streak, which once again distinguishes them from their peers:
The #Mariners have homered in a Major League record 15 consecutive games to begin the season (previous: 14, 2002 Cleveland Indians).
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) April 11, 2019
The Mariners lead baseball in total homers (36), team wRC+ (157), and team ISO (.270) so far in 2019. They also boast eight different hitters with at least 11 RBI, with Domingo Santana leading the way with 19 of his own. Another offseason acquisition, Jay Bruce, is pacing the squad in homers (seven).
And then there’s Tim Beckham, who is slashing .347/.429/.694 with four homers and 11 RBI. His 209 wRC+ is among the top 10 when looking at qualified hitters. His performance has been worth 0.9 fWAR in 56 plate appearances after producing -0.5 fWAR in 402 plate appearances last year.
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