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The Seattle Mariners enter the All-Star break with a 2.5-game lead in the race for the second American League wild-card spot but still have some clear needs to address at the MLB trading deadline.

There’s no doubt Seattle will be in the market for offense. The Mariners are tied for last in the AL in wRC+ (weighted runs created plus) and have holes in left field and at designated hitter.

While offense is the primary need, the Mariners also will be looking for an addition to the middle of their rotation. Seattle has depth to sell at relief pitcher and shortstop, meaning it should be possible for the Mariners to address as many as three needs without mortgaging the future.

The Mariners don’t necessarily need to make a blockbuster trade to get into the playoffs. Simply addressing a few holes with even league-average players will make Seattle a significantly better ballclub.

Acquire a right-handed corner outfielder

Such a player would fit exactly what the Mariners currently need. Seattle’s lineup is overloaded with lefties and desperately needs an upgrade in left field.

Seattle has received a combined 0.3 WAR from Dustin Ackley and Endy Chavez, the team’s primary left fielders. Anyone who can post league-average offensive numbers over the rest of the season will be an upgrade.

The situation worsened last Thursday when Michael Saunders injured his oblique muscle, via Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune:

That means the Mariners are looking at playing both Ackley and Chavez every day until around September, if everything goes well with Saunders’ recovery. Upgrading both would be nice, but the Mariners must at least get one corner outfielder.

There are a number of right-handed corner outfielders who should theoretically be available. Marlon Byrd, Josh Willingham, Alex Rios or Justin Ruggiano would make some sense in Seattle.

Of those, Byrd seems the most likely to land with the Mariners at the moment. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners have had “serious” discussion with the Philadelphia Phillies about acquiring Byrd:

Byrd has hit .263/.315/.479 with 18 home runs this season, including a .954 OPS against left-handed pitching. That power would decrease in Safeco Field. Byrd has an ugly strikeout rate, but he would be a clear upgrade over Ackley.

FanGraphs has Byrd playing roughly average defense in right field over the past few seasons in terms of defensive runs saved. Byrd would likely be slightly worse than Ackley in left and slightly better than Chavez at either spot, but his offense would make up for it.

Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs offers a breakdown of how Byrd turned his career around in 2013 after bouncing around the majors:

Between 2010 and 2012, Byrd ranked in the upper eighth in ground-ball rate. Since the start of last season, he ranks in the upper fifth infly-ball rate. Byrd’s swing has a bit more of an uppercut, and the other numbers that come along with it aren’t surprising.

Again, the home runs would decrease, but Byrd has the kind of power the Mariners need.

A dream scenario could be prying away Scott Van Slyke from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it might be too much of a stretch. The Dodgers need to sort out a logjam in the outfield, but it’s unclear if they would be willing to part with Van Slyke.

Van Slyke has posted a 166 wRC+ in 155 plate appearances this season, including a 1.125 OPS against lefties. If he were available, Van Slyke would be more expensive than Byrd, as the Dodgers would be selling him when his value is at a peak.

The Mariners should be content with turning one of their high-upside relievers, likely Brandon Maurer, into a decent outfield bat. Ackley could also be involved in a change-of-scenery deal.

Look for an additional bat

The Mariners are last in the AL in on-base percentage and have scored 19 runs in their last 10 games. One bat is necessary to hold on to a wild-card spot, but Seattle needs two to be a serious contender.

Those numbers are about to get worse with Saunders’ injury, as he had the third-best wRC+ on the team among regular players.

Even if the Mariners can’t pick up two outfielders, they can get someone to be the DH. Corey Hart has a .628 OPS and is an injury risk, meaning the Mariners could use an upgrade.

Hart has been a bit unfortunate with a .246 BABIP and is still regaining his timing from a long stint on the disabled list, but he needs to turn it around by the July 31 deadline.

If Hart doesn’t improve fast, the Mariners will be looking to add another bat of any sort. Ruggiano hits lefties well (.869 OPS versus left-handed pitching) and should come at a reasonable price.

In addition to the outfielders listed above, Ben Zobrist is a big name who will be available. Zobrist has a wRC+ of 117 and can be plugged in at any number of positions, likely right field in Seattle’s case.

However, the Mariners can’t play Zobrist at second base, his most valuable position. Other teams will be likely willing to give up more for him.

Pick up a mid-level starter

Despite the great pitching numbers, the Mariners will soon have a need for a starter.

Roenis Elias is unraveling, with 16 earned runs allowed in his last three starts. He has never thrown more than 148.1 innings in a professional season and is quickly approaching that mark.

Greg Johns of MLB.com reports that James Paxton will make a rehab start at Low-A Everett on Thursday. Still, a lat injury is difficult to recover from, and Paxton could be shut down for the year with even another minor setback.

Taijuan Walker is back, but the Mariners are going to be incredibly careful with both him and Paxton. Lloyd McClendon was also less than pleased with Walker’s start in Tacoma last Sunday, according to Curtis Crabtree of Sports Radio KJR:

Even veteran Chris Young is on pace to pass his career-high innings count of 179.1. The Mariners need a healthy and reliable option behind Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma.

The big name out there is David Price. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports believes the Mariners should trade for the ace.

“Yes, the Mariners would need to give up legitimate pieces for Price – one rival executive suggested a package of right-hander Taijuan Walker, infielder Nick Franklin and third baseman D.J. Peterson, the 12th overall pick in the 2013 draft,” he wrote.

Walker and Nick Franklin would be understandable in a trade, but the name that should concern the Mariners is D.J. Peterson. The Mariners can’t afford to lose any offensive prospects due to the difficulty of attracting hitters to Seattle, particularly ones with Peterson’s power.

It would be hard to fault the Mariners for going for it, but acquiring Price assumes they can win a World Series in the next two years. That’s possible but not probable without at least two bats.

Instead, a cheaper mid-level starter might be a better option. Ian Kennedy is the kind of player who would be a good fit.

Kennedy has a 3.47 ERA (2.94 FIP) and has struck out 26.1 percent of batters faced while only walking 6.7 percent. He is a slight fly-ball pitcher, meaning his numbers shouldn’t drop too much transitioning from Petco Park to Safeco Field.

San Diego Padres manager Bud Black explained why he thinks Kennedy is on pace for some of the best numbers of his career, including a career high in strikeouts, via Will Laws of MLB.com:

“I think Ian is throwing as well as he’s thrown in a few years as far as just pure stuff and making pitches. His velocity is up, his secondary pitches are good. So it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

If Seattle wants a starter, it will take more than a relief pitcher. The Mariners have a number of shortstops who are blocked at the major league level and could be traded.

Franklin is the most valuable, but the Mariners could also get something for Chris Taylor or include Ketel Marte as part of a package.

The Mariners need to make acquisitions, particularly bats, to reach the playoffs. Once there, anything is possible with Hernandez and Iwakuma at the top of the rotation.

All stats via FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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Earlier in the 2014 season, pitcher Brandon Maurer’s future with the Seattle Mariners was in serious doubt.

Much like the year before, Maurer was forced into the starting rotation due to injuries and struggled, posting a 7.52 ERA (5.37 FIP) in seven starts while walking nearly as many as he struck out.

Although he just turned 24 years old, Maurer didn’t look to have a place in a healthy Seattle rotation, either in the present or in the future. He was sent down to Triple-A Tacoma on May 29.

The Mariners surprised by calling up Maurer on June 25, a few days before Taijuan Walker returned from a shoulder injury and took over the No. 5 rotation spot.

Even more surprising, Maurer came out of the bullpen that night in the late innings of a close game rather than the long-relief role he was placed in near the end of 2013.

Maurer didn’t just look better on June 25, he looked dominant.

In seven scoreless innings out of the bullpen so far, Maurer has given up only three hits and two walks while striking out nine. Seven innings isn’t enough to judge anything statistically, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Maurer’s ideal fit was in the bullpen all along.

Maurer has always had the raw stuff to be successful. He used a lively mid-90s fastball and assortment of various off-speed pitches to dominate the low minors, racking up strikeout rates north of 30 percent along the way.

The strikeouts came back to earth a bit in Double-A as Maurer began to struggle with his command, but he still posted a 3.20 ERA and gave up just four home runs in 24 starts. Seattle needed a starter at the beginning of the 2013 season and decided to have Maurer skip Triple-A to join the rotation.

It didn’t work, as Maurer looked completely overmatched as a major league starter. We can’t know how much those initial struggles impacted his confidence or mentality, but he continued to be ineffective for the rest of the year and early on in 2014.

Then the breakthrough came on June 25 against the Boston Red Sox, as he struck out the side in his first relief inning.

We’ve seen Maurer’s fastball sit around 95 or 96 mph before, but it has hit 99 several times since his move to the bullpen. With as lively as his fastball is, the increased velocity is going to be a challenge for opposing hitters. 

Maurer said pitching short outings out of the bullpen has improved his mentality, per Greg Johns of MLB.com.

“It’s fun. Just attack, get back in the dugout and let our hitters put up some runs…I think that has to do with adrenaline, just knowing I can get out there and let it rip for an inning or two and let it go that way.”

Maurer has also been using his slider effectively as an out pitch since moving to the bullpen. Data from PITCHf/x on FanGraphs.com indicates Maurer has done a good job of getting hitters to chase his slider out of the strike zone, generating a swinging strike percentage of 17.4.

It’s when Maurer tries to mix and match his other three pitches that he runs into trouble. Only having two plus pitches won’t work for a starter, but it can make for an effective short-inning reliever.

It’s still too early to think about prepping Maurer for a closer role one day, but he has the makeup and stuff for it.

Maurer’s command issues as a starter made him prone to big innings, even on the few occasions he started well. He also tends to throw far too many pitches, lasting past the fifth just once this year.

Both are things Maurer won’t have to worry as much about coming out of the bullpen, which could further help his mentality on the mound.

The other scenario Maurer’s conversion opens up is using him as a potential trade chip. If he continues to look dominant as the deadline approaches, the Mariners could use the opportunity to sell high on him in an attempt to get the right-handed bat they desperately need.

Seattle’s bullpen has been outstanding all year, leading the majors in ERA while striking out over a batter per inning. It would be nice to have yet another power arm in the bullpen, but the Mariners can survive without Maurer should a trade open up.

Just months after he looked lost, Maurer’s future is brighter than ever.

All stats via FanGraphs.com unless otherwise noted.  

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For the first time since 2010, the Seattle Mariners will have a position player representative at the All-Star Game.

Robinson Cano will be making the trip to Minnesota on July 15 to play in his fifth consecutive All-Star contest. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will join teammate Felix Hernandez, who would be making his fourth straight appearance.

Cano and Hernandez have been virtual locks since the beginning of the season, but they may not be Seattle’s only representatives. The Mariners have two other players who have an outside chance of making the team.

After that, nobody else is realistically in the picture. But based on their season numbers, competition at their respective positions and voting results, four Mariners are candidates for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.

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For the first time in a number of years, the Seattle Mariners may consider being buyers at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

The Mariners have been both buyers and sellers at the deadline at various points in their history, although they have been hesitant to pull off major blockbusters in the past decade, with some noteworthy exceptions. Just like any team in the league, the Mariners have attempted to shore up the present while mortgaging the future or vice versa through trades, changing the course of the franchise.

This season’s Mariners need only look to franchise history to see the kind of impact that deadline deals can have. Midseason trades helped set up Seattle’s first-ever run of success in the 1990s and early 2000s, but have also contributed to Seattle’s downward spiral ever since.

Everyone remembers the Mariners giving away Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and David Ortiz for little return at the deadline. But Seattle also acquired Randy Johnson, the best pitcher in team history, through a midseason trade.

Ten such trades have shaped Mariners’ history more than any other, ranked based on impact they had on the team for better or worse and what the club may have looked like if they didn’t occur. This only takes into account in-season trades, so Erik Bedard and Horacio Ramirez don’t appear.   

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Lloyd McClendon has had a relatively successful first 57 games as manager of the Seattle Mariners, leading the club to a 29-28 record, including its first winning month since July 2013.

Despite dealing with a starting rotation decimated by injuries, McClendon has managed the Mariners into contention for a Wild Card spot through two months of the 2014 season. In general, it seems like McClendon is more equipped to steer Seattle towards success than Eric Wedge and his other predecessors.

One thing McClendon has opened himself to criticism about is his lineup construction. McClendon has been stubborn to make needed changes and is a little too eager to run out platoons at the price of keeping superior hitters out of the lineup.

McClendon’s lineup construction may have already cost the Mariners a few wins, and further tweaks from the optimal lineup will continue to hurt the team if they continue.

The big mystery of the first month of the 2014 season was McClendon’s insistence to bat Abraham Almonte consistently in the leadoff spot. Almonte led off for the Mariners in 23 games, running a .198/.248/.292 line before being demoted on May 4.

Almonte had all the signs of an old-school manager’s pet project. He possesses an interesting skill set, including the speed and aggressiveness that’s typically associated with a leadoff hitter.

But it became clear after several weeks that batting a rookie with nearly seven times as many strikeouts as walks was not conducive to fielding a successful lineup. Keeping Almonte in the lineup for another couple of weeks to see if he could bring anything to the table was fine, but batting him in the leadoff spot was only going to hurt him and the team as a whole.  

That experiment came at the expense of reduced playing time for Michael Saunders, an above average hitter in terms of OPS+ over the past two seasons and a plus defender on the corners. Saunders is hitting .279/.329/.456 in 2014 and has helped the Mariners climb to the top half of the majors with 4.18 runs per game since receiving more playing time.

Since then, McClendon has mostly run out the best available lineup, apart from a few choices. James Jones (.281/.330/.375) and Saunders have energized the Mariners at the top of the order, helping everything else fall nicely into place and giving the Mariners an ideal order that there is no need to tweak.

But then, in the first two games of a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers, McClendon made a few strange choices.

Granted, McClendon’s hands were tied due to Robinson Cano missing four games with a hand injury and the Mariners still managed to split the two games, to give him some credit. But it’s a bad process to run out such a lineup, and the results will eventually suffer if such decision-making continues.

The lineup for the May 31 game was just bizarre. McClendon talked to Greg Johns of MLB.com before the game about stacking the lineup with right-handed bats.

“I know [Drew] Smyly‘s pretty good. He’s tough on left-handers. This year, they’re hitting .122 off him. That’s hard to ignore. I’m just trying to put as many right-handers in there as we can and hopefully we’re successful with it.”

He’s right about Smyly being dominant against left-handers, but the rest of that quote doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It makes it sound as though McClendon is throwing in righties just for the sake of supposedly favorable matchup platoons rather than considering the pieces involved. That is backed up by some of his selections for that particular game and others over the past couple of weeks.

There’s absolutely no reason Jones and Saunders, who have two of the top-four wRC+ marks on the team, should be left out of the lineup. They are the club’s two best outfielders and likely were the two hottest available bats coming into the Detroit series. Both would have produced more than any possible replacement, regardless of opposing pitcher handedness.

Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider highlights that Saunders has actually been better against left-handed pitching in a small sample size this season.

Despite this, Saunders is being benched once or twice a week, mostly against lefties. If the Mariners want to field the best lineup possible every day, Saunders needs to be included.

McClendon is also misusing Stefen Romero by tossing him in as a right-handed bat just because the club is so overloaded with lefties. Romero has actually shown a reverse platoon split over the past two seasons, including a .801 OPS against righties in Triple-A in 2013, compared to a .688 OPS against left-handers.

So far in his major league career, Romero has 73 at-bats against lefties and 39 against righties, and he has struggled mightily as a result. Romero has the skill set of an interesting prospect, but he is not being given the chance to succeed.

Another concerning emerging trend has been the use of Endy Chavez, particularly at the top of the lineup. The 36-year-old posted a .617 OPS with Seattle last year and owned a .636 OPS with Tacoma in 2014 before being called up May 30 and starting four consecutive games, batting first or second in three of them.

You can make an argument that Chavez shouldn’t even be on the team, but playing him that often and batting him at the top of the order when he does play doesn’t make much sense. Chavez isn’t going to give you more production offensively or defensively than Saunders, Jones or Dustin Ackley. Even backups like Romero or Cole Gillespie provide more upside and a better chance to win.

Finally, it’s well past time to move Kyle Seager into the cleanup spot in front of Justin Smoak. Seager raised his OPS to .857 Monday night with a double, two triples and this three-run blast against the New York Yankees.

With the one-game outburst aside, Seager has been a better hitter this year and in previous seasons than Smoak. While Smoak might look more like a typical cleanup hitter, he is currently mired in a strikeout-fueled slump and has the lowest OBP in the league among qualified first basemen.

Tuesday night’s lineup against Atlanta Braves right-hander Gavin Floyd features the team’s best three outfielders and Seager in the cleanup spot. McClendon needs to keep that against lefties and righties and eliminate these unnecessary tweaks that have cost the club.

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Rookie relief pitcher Dominic Leone has earned a spot in the Seattle Mariners bullpen and could soon be moving into a more critical role for the team.

Since making his debut April 6, the 22-year-old right-hander has excelled as yet another power arm in Seattle’s bullpen. In 19 appearances, Leone has a 1-0 record with a 1.57 ERA and the peripheral statistics to suggest he should be able to continue pitching at a high level.

For a number of reasons, Leone has been used often as a long relief man or in mop-up duty. But he’s now ready to step in to a larger role and pitch in more high-leverage situations.

Leone was selected by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 2012 draft and quickly became a highly touted pitching prospect, reaching Double-A Jackson in less than a year. A starter at Clemson, the Mariners figured Leone’s fastball-cutter combo would be better suited for a bullpen role and converted him to a closer in the low minors.

They were rewarded for that decision, as Leone cruised through his first three stops, running strikeout rates around 30 percent along the way. He reached the High-A level early in 2013 and held his own with a 2.50 ERA and two home runs allowed in 29 games at hitter-friendly High Desert.

Part of Leone’s success has been thanks to increased velocity on his fastball. Early on in his career, Leone’s velocity would range between 90 and 92 miles per hour. At High Desert, he was suddenly sitting in the mid-90s and touched 97 at times, which he continues to do in the majors.

Leone talked to George Alfano of MiLB.com last year about his bump in velocity, crediting it to improved mechanics.

“I keep a consistent approach,” he said. “If you do that, the strikes will come and you’ll keep the ball down. I keep my motion fluid and my arm is getting on top.”

Leone reached Double-A shortly after and skipped the Triple-A level altogether. He was called up when Hector Noesi was designated for assignment April 6, marking yet another incredibly fast riser in Seattle’s organization.

Since then, Leone has been strong out of the bullpen and is rewarding the Mariners for rushing him through the minors. Leone’s ERA ranks 11th in the American League among relievers, bolstered by an 8.1 inning-long scoreless streak throughout most of May.  

Leone is also running an impressive strikeout rate of 27.7 percent, adding yet another powerful arm with high strikeout potential to Seattle’s bullpen. He struck out five while allowing just one hit and no walks in 2.1 innings in his most impressive outing of the year May 14 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As it was during most of his minor league career, Leone’s most valuable pitch has been his cutter. Per FanGraphs, opposing hitters have swung and missed at the pitch 13.3 percent of the time and have only made contact at a rate of 72.5 percent.

Leone’s slider needs a bit more refinement, but it is developing quickly. He has successfully mixed in his slider on just over 19 percent of his pitches and is continuing to get better command with the pitch.

As you might expect with a pitcher two years removed from the draft, Leone’s biggest issue has been his control. Leone’s walk rate of 9.6 percent is a bit higher than you’d like to see after he struggled a bit with throwing strikes in April.

But Leone is quickly improving with that aspect and has only walked one batter over his last seven appearances. Fellow reliever Tom Wilhelmsen praised Leone’s recent approach of aggressively attacking the strike zone, via Greg Johns of MLB.com:

He’s kind of the leader by example right now. He’s doing pretty darn well for himself. He just gets in and shows strike one, strike two and is just a bulldog. He goes right after you. He’s truly fun to watch. I’m just trying to follow Dom’s lead.

Despite the instant success, Leone has mainly been used as a long reliever. He’s gone over two innings in five different appearances and has rarely been used in the late innings of close games.

That has mostly been out of necessity. The Mariners don’t really have another pitcher for long relief and the team has needed one pretty much every time Brandon Maurer has started.

But that could be changing in the next month. Taijuan Walker and James Paxton are hoping to join the team sometime in June and will be taking over two rotation spots when they do, altering the dynamic of Seattle’s bullpen.  

That is likely going to bump Chris Young out of the rotation. However, Young has pitched well enough to earn a spot on the team, particularly at Safeco Field, as Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN points out.

Young is an ideal fit for that long relief role, potentially freeing up Leone for some more high-leverage situations.

Obviously, Leone won’t instantly become a closer or primary set-up man. But he does have enough ability already to be the third guy out of Seattle’s bullpen and set up Fernando Rodney whenever Danny Farquhar needs a day off.

Giving the inconsistent Yoervis Medina or Wilhelmsen’s innings to Leone is only going to improve the team. Leone has the most upside of anyone in the bullpen other than Farquhar and is getting better with more experience as a pro.

Just two years removed from the draft, Leone is already ready to step into a critical role in Seattle’s bullpen. He can improve the Mariners at the present moment while also being groomed as a potentially dominant reliever in the future.

All stats per FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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Many of the top-ranked prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization have already reached the major leagues, but a few more could be on the way shorty.

The Mariners have already had James Jones, Dominic Leone and Roenis Elias make their major league debuts in 2014, and each has experienced some success. It should be only a matter of a few weeks before Chris Taylor and Carson Smith join them to fill a couple of holes on the roster.   

Nine of these prospects stand out and should be able to reach the majors either later this season or in 2015. Prospects are not necessarily ranked by talent or upside, but rather by their expected date of arrival, major league readiness and how they can improve weaknesses on the big league roster.

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The Seattle Mariners have been searching for a reliable long-term answer at the leadoff spot for a number of years. They may have finally found one with center fielder James Jones.

Jones’ major league career is only 22 games old, but his early returns are promising. He has all the traits you want in a leadoff hitter and has already established himself as a fan favorite as one of the Mariners’ most exciting prospects moving forward.

At the very least, Jones has the physical tools to stick in the major leagues. The first thing that stands out about Jones is that he is extremely fast and has great form running the bases, as Larry Stone of The Seattle Times points out.

Such speed also gives Jones great range in center, meaning his defense could also potentially be a plus. His route running and ability to break on the ball are still question marks, but Jones has used his natural ability to make a few nice catches already, including this one on May 22 against the Houston Astros.

But speed and defense are not enough for a leadoff hitter. For Jones to be successful in the role and keep his position long-term, he has to show the Mariners an ability to get on base.

In a very small sample size of 78 plate appearances, Jones has done exactly that. He has energized the Mariners at the top of the order, compiling a line of .286/.350/.400 with four successful stolen-base attempts without being caught.

That combination of speed, defense and hitting has led to Jones racking up an impressive 0.5 WAR to begin his career, per FanGraphs. Lloyd McClendon foresaw such a start coming for Jones in an interview with Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com during spring training.

“He’s a pretty interesting young man. He’s very talented and I really like what I’ve seen. I don’t think he’s going to knock on the door, I think he’s going to knock the door down when he’s ready to get there.”

McClendon has been absolutely right about that so far. Jones had a hit in each of his first 14 MLB starts, a club record, which put him ahead of some elite rookies in Mariners history.

Jones’ streak was finally broken last Sunday by the brilliant Dallas Keuchel, but he continues to completely change the dynamic of the Mariners order in a positive fashion. The Mariners recently have gone with Jones, Michael Saunders and Robinson Cano at the top of the lineup, which is the ideal order moving forward.

The first inning last Monday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was a great example of what that lineup can do. Jones beat out an infield single before Saunders reached on a bunt, thanks in part to a hurried throw from Hank Conger due to the speed on the bases.

Robinson Cano then drove in Jones with an RBI single to give Seattle a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. None of those balls was exactly hit well, but the Mariners must find a way to get runners on base in front of Cano in any way possible.

That simply wasn’t happening with the strikeout-prone Abraham Almonte and Brad Miller at the top of the order. Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle points out that Monday wasn’t the first time that Jones has helped to create something out of nothing.

Jones probably won’t keep up this torrid pace forever, particularly at this early stage of his career. His BABIP currently stands at .345, which is likely to regress soon.

But Jones’ other peripherals look strong, and he should be able to continue to get on base. Jones showed good plate discipline in the minors and has continued that so far with a strikeout rate of 15.4 percent and a walk rate of 9 percent. Those numbers have been bolstered by an 86.4 contact percentage, a good sign that Jones is successfully adjusting to major league pitching.

Jones also isn’t going to provide much in the way of power. He had a career-high 14 home runs at hitter’s paradise High Desert in 2012 and tallied just 28 home runs over the rest of his time in the minors.

However, Jones will sprinkle in enough doubles and triples to maintain a solid slugging percentage. He has two triples on the year already, including one on May 17 against the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins did commit a defensive gaffe on the play, but few players in the majors would even think about reaching third with where that ball was hit. Seattle has been searching for a player who can create situations like that from the leadoff position since Ichiro Suzuki began to enter his years of decline.  

Dustin Ackley was supposed to be that guy, but he never really worked out as a leadoff man. Miller showed flashes in 2013 before the wheels fell off. Almonte was a failed experiment for the first month of 2014. The situation reached such a dire point last season that Jason Bay led off 13 times.

Jones looks like he could finally be the player to stabilize the leadoff role. It’s his job to lose for the foreseeable future.  

All stats per FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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Numerous injuries have depleted the Seattle Mariners’ rotation during the first quarter of the 2014 season, but the team has found a hidden gem in Roenis Elias as a result.

After jumping directly from Double-A, Elias has found success in his first 10 starts in the majors. The 25-year-old lefty has compiled a record of 3-3 with a 3.58 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched so far in 2014.

The Mariners got burned last season by bringing up Brandon Maurer directly from Double-A. Elias has not only shown he’s capable at the major league level, he has also displayed tremendous upside that has earned him a rotation spot for the foreseeable future, even after Seattle is back at full strength.   

Elias seemingly came out of nowhere and broke camp with the team after an impressive spring. He rose slowly through the low minors and his statistics didn’t exactly jump off the page.

But Lloyd McClendon saw something in Elias. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports 1 points out that the Mariners have one of the best rookies in the league on their roster as a result.

Masahiro Tanaka is the obvious answer, and Yordano Ventura has been better than Elias so far as well. Other than those two, it’s hard to argue for a rookie pitcher who’s having a better season than Elias, and he will see that reflected in the Rookie of the Year vote should he continue at this current pace.

Elias made two decent starts to begin the year before notching his win April 14 against the Texas Rangers. But more important than the statistics was the fact that Elias showed tremendous raw potential in the early going.

His low-90s fastball is not overpowering but has some lively late movement. Elias’ best weapon is his arsenal of plus off-speed pitches, particularly an outstanding curveball and changeup.

According to FanGraphs, opponents are hitting .115 with 28 strikeouts against Elias’ curveball. Elias is going to be a particularly tough matchup for left-handed batters moving forward because of his biting curve, as lefties have just 11 hits and four walks to 15 strikeouts against Elias all season.

On May 1 against the New York Yankees, Elias took it to another level, becoming the second rookie ever to record at least 10 strikeouts in his Yankee Stadium debut.

Elias spoke to Greg Johns of MLB.com after the game about being in the spotlight, saying, “That’s where the adrenaline comes from. That’s when I feel good…nothing [intimidated me]. Nothing at all. It’s just baseball.”

It was an impressive display of confidence from a pitcher with no Triple-A experience and just six starts in the big leagues. Elias showed his mound presence on several occasions so far in his young career.

Elias had likely his worst outing as a Mariner on May 11 against the Kansas City Royals, but it was an impressive moment for him nonetheless. He battled through four frustrating infield hits and an abysmal Mariners defense that committed five errors during the game to surrender only three earned runs in five innings and leave with his team in the lead.

Despite being a bit wild in his latest start Thursday against the Houston Astros, Elias yielded just one run in 5.1 innings to add another solid outing. Colin O’Keefe of Lookout Landing points out that Elias’ ceiling is clearly looking higher now than it did at the begging of the year.

Elias has some things he can work on to become even better as he develops further. He has given up seven home runs, which might be a cause for concern, but Elias’ high HR/FB rate of 14 percent could regress in the near future.

The biggest thing for Elias to improve upon will be his command, particularly of his fastball, as his walk rate of 10.2 percent is higher than the Mariners would like. According to FanGraphs, Elias has given up a walk rate of 15 percent with his fastball while only having a strikeout rate of 13 percent.

Seattle will have a decision to make regarding Elias in the near future. Johns reports that James Paxton and Taijuan Walker threw simulated games last week as they progress on their rehab stints.

Both will have a rotation spot when they return, leaving the No. 5 starter as the only potential question mark. But it shouldn’t be much of a question, as Elias has clearly outpitched Maurer, Chris Young and Erasmo Ramirez and has more upside than all of them. 

Suddenly, a healthy Seattle pitching staff looks formidable top to bottom. Elias gives the Mariners a strong back end and adds another exciting young pitcher to the rotation.  

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Much like the Seattle Mariners as a whole, third baseman Kyle Seager had an up-and-down first month of the 2014 MLB season.

The 26-year-old Seager is one of the young cornerstones of the Mariners franchise and has been Seattle’s best hitter for the past two years prior to the arrival of Robinson Cano. Seager’s busy April included a horrid start, an AL Player of the Week Award and a walk-off home run to snap an extended losing streak.

Small sample size is still a factor at this point in the year, but there are still a few important takeaways from Seager’s early-season performance. In any case, it’s become clearer and clearer that Seager is going to have a major impact on how the Mariners perform in 2014. 

Seager is still a streaky hitter

Through his first two-and-a-half years in the big leagues, Seager has numerous dominant stretches to go along with some cold spells. April 2014 was no different.

Just at the point where some were starting to get concerned, Seager ripped off a huge week, April 20 to 27, to return his season numbers to respectability. He shared league player of the week honors with wonder rookie Jose Abreu.

The most important thing at this point is that Seager’s awful first 15 games were just a bump in the road and not indicative of a more long-term problem. Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington explained it best following a series where Seager hit three home runs against the Rangers. Via Adam Lewis of MLB.com, Washington said, “I thought we had him. For a moment I thought he was in a slump. I guess he’s not.”

His plate discipline numbers are changing

Some interesting trends have emerged with Seager’s plate discipline over the first month of the season. So far, his walk rate is up to career-high 10.4 percent, and he is swinging at fewer pitches outside the zone than at any other point in his career. At the same time, Seager is striking out in 21.7 percent of his plate appearances this season, up a little over four percent from his career rate.

As Seager’s whiff chart on Brooksbaseball.net shows, the pitches he has struggled with the most have been low and away, but he is doing fairly well with everything else. 

A number of factors could be influencing Seager’s changing plate discipline numbers. Seattle has a brand new coaching staff with a different approach, including hitting coach Howard Johnson. The Mariners as a whole are striking out a lot, and strikeouts league-wide have been steadily climbing. It could also just be April noise.

In any case, Seager’s plate discipline will be something to keep an eye on through the rest of the season.

Seager will again play in at least 150 games

The only reason Seager is not more known around the league is that poor finishes in both of his full major league seasons have severely hampered his overall numbers. On July 31 of last year, Seager was hitting .298 with 17 home runs and 27 doubles before hitting below .200 in both August and September and seeing his power numbers sharply decline.

There’s no telling what the cause for Seager’s late-season swoons have been, but he played in 155 games in 2012 and 160 a year ago. It could be the case that he simply wore down by the end of the season. That was mostly out of necessity, as the Mariners had no other options at third, but that changed during the offseason with the addition of utility man Willie Bloomquist.

Nobody is going to argue that Bloomquist gives the Mariners a better chance of winning than Seager, so Seager should be in the lineup as much as possible. So far, Bloomquist has started twice at third, and Seager is on pace to play in about 150 games. Maybe that just occasional off day will make a difference come August, and it will be interesting to see if manager Lloyd McClendon is thinking about that along the way.

Leading Seattle in home runs is a possibility

Seager led the Mariners in home runs in 2012 and was third last year behind Raul Ibanez and Kendrys Morales, who are both no longer with the team. The Mariners added some more power with Robinson Cano and Corey Hart, but Seager still leads the team in home runs with five.

Of course, all five of those came in a span of four games. But spurts like that mean Seager could hit 25 to 30 home runs if he can avoid the aforementioned late-season problems. When Seager is locked in, he has the ability to launch some deep shots. 

Cano has been getting his hits, and the home runs will eventually come, albeit at a decreased rate moving from Yankee Stadium to Safeco Field, but he has some work to do to catch Seager. Hart has more power, but also might not be in the lineup quite enough to overtake Seager by the end of the season.  

The Mariners’ success is heavily dependent on Seager

The big question for the Mariners coming into the season was who would produce offensively besides Cano. That placed a lot of pressure on a number of young players, none more so than Seager.

An eight-game losing streak in mid-April coincided with the worst part of Seager’s slump. On April 23, the Mariners were in danger of being swept by the Houston Astros for their ninth consecutive loss, one that could have easily sent things spiraling out of control.

Seager then picked a good time to get out of his slump.

It’s hard to call something in April a “turning point,” but Seager’s two home runs in that game were about as important as they come at that point in the season.

McClendon highlighted how important it was that Seager finally turned things around after the game, via Greg Johns of MLB.com:

He has a track record, and I’ve said all along he’s going to hit. Obviously when you’re in a losing streak and the guys you expect to hit don’t hit, it’s a little frustrating. But in that case, you have two options: You can sit ’em or you can play ’em. I chose to play him and he didn’t disappoint. I think he’s going to be just fine.

The Mariners have now won six out of their last eight games to get to one game under .500, thanks in large part to Seager. If he produces more like his last 15 games then his first 14, Seattle might be able to hang around in the division race just a little longer.

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