The best part about the Mariners is that every year before the season starts, fans are filled with hope. Maybe this is the year the team finds the right balance of hitting, pitching, defense, speed, and chemistry. Maybe the Mariners will have some pop in their bats for the whole year, maybe the young pitching talent stays healthy and gels as a unit, maybe puppet-master Jack Z finally has the right combination of players. Maybe. But it will take more than blind faith to impress this snarky columnist. Nevertheless, I do hope for a watchable team. So let’s act like the M’s have a shot to compete for now, and project Seattle’s opening day line-up.
1. RF. Ichiro. I have been hearing reports about Ichiro dropping from the top of the lineup for years. My ears are numb to it. For some wild reason, coaches just can’t seem to move the speedy contact hitter who has averaged over 200 hits per season for the last 11 years out of the leadoff spot. I wonder why?
2. 3B. Chone Figgins. Nothing pains me more than writing Figgins’ name in as a starter. However, he is locked in for 2 more years at $9 million per season. He was given that contract for a reason: to hit behind Ichiro, and get on base for the power hitters (who didn’t exist until this year). I believe the team attempts to get some return on their investment for at least the first 2 months of the season, much to the chagrin of everyone except Chone Figgins’ mom.
3. 2B. Dustin Ackley. Ackley is an exciting part of the Mariners’ core moving forward. He batted well over .300 for the majority of his rookie season last year, but had an awful September that brought his average down to .273. He has pop in his bat, and resembles the more traditional 3 hole hitter before Ken Griffey Jr. changed the identity of what Seattle fans sought from that slot forever. He has the pedigree to be a .300+ hitter with 15-20 HR this year.
4. 1B. Justin Smoak. Smoak had a great start to the season last year. Then the death of his father and some nagging injuries slowed his production mightily. However, let’s not forget that he was the crowned jewel of the Cliff Lee trade. Jack Z chose him over Montero that summer for his top-side ability to be a perennial .275 hitter with 30 HR. Seattle is banking on him being their cleanup hitter for years to come.
5. LF. Mike Carp. Holy cow, here comes Mike Carp. The most unexpected offensive juggernaut since King Felix belted a grand slam off Johan Santana (Google it, kids). Just how bad would the Mariners’ offense have been if Mike Carp didn’t emerge last year? Mike Carp came to Seattle as a trade chip in the J.J. Putz deal in 2008. Now he looks to be one of their brighter bats. He played a lot of 1B and DH last year, but Eric “The Atomic” Wedgie will need to find a way to get Carp, Smoak, and Montero all in the line-up. Montero’s catching skills are just not polished enough yet, and his defense would be a liability, so he’ll likely occupy the DH. So LF will probably be the best plan available for Carp.
6. DH. Jesus Montero. You don’t trade the next C.C. Sabathia in Michael Pineda for nothing. Montero has been listed as a can’t miss hitting prospect by top scouts across the country for years. He came to Seattle to hit, not to be groomed. He could very likely move up in the line-up to the 5 or even 4-hole as the season progresses, but they’ll start him in the 6-hole initially as a DH until they decide whether he can catch or not. If he can’t catch, the good news is that Mariner fans don’t mind have a Latin stud right-handed designated hitter that can spray the ball all over the park with power. If you don’t know who I’m talking about then get back to your 5th grade home room reading assignment.
7. C. Miguel Olivo. This one, like Figgins, makes me cringe a bit. I for one am not a big Olivo fan. Maybe it’s the reports of his attitude toward reporters, maybe it’s his lack of offensive consistency, maybe its because he’s balding and obviously bitter about it. Actually, it’s mostly because he’s 33, a career .243 hitter, not great at gunning down runners, and had the worst walk to strikeout ratio in the majors last year. Those things aside, managers tend to lean towards veterans early in the season. So expect a heavy dose early of our bald, bitter, offensively offensive catcher.
8. SS. Brendan Ryan. Ryan has been described as the “spark-plug” for the team. I don’t know much about cars, except that changing my spark plugs sucks, so I usually pay to have someone else do it. I personally never saw the appeal of Ryan. He batted .248 last year, which makes me think the Mariners need new spark plugs. However, there is very little experience at shortstop depth on the Mariners’ 40-man roster. So we should all expect to see more of Ryan this season, for better or worse.
9. CF. Franklin Gutierrez. 2 years ago, Gutierrez looked like a rising star in center field. Amazing defense, good average, some power, an iron jaw for the ladies, etc. It’s amazing what one (very bad) year does to the perception of a player. He hit .224 last year, turns 29 in February, and has several hungry outfielder prospects in the wings waiting for him to get injured, and Ichiro to retire/leave the team. I would love to see Guti get his career back on track this year; however I remain cautious due to health concerns and position depth.
Overall, I think the 3, 4, 5, and 6 hitters have a great future ahead of them. The top and bottom of the order appear to have their best years behind them. Still, this is just a realistic projection of the opening day line-up, not the most effective line-up, and not the line-up that will be in place by season’s end. A lot of young players can emerge and contribute. Last year at this time, Ackley and Carp were just hoping to make the team; and Montero was a damn Yankee. So a lot can change. I will disclose that I am very anxious to project the Seattle Mariners 2013 starting line-up. That one is loaded with top prospects. I’ll check back in later with a look at the pitching staff, and more positional depth.
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