2014 Outlook: Seattle Mariners

Year after year, I look at the Seattle Mariners, and I see a lot of potential, and then for five months, I see a group of vast underachievers.

Once again in the offseason, the Mariners made a ton of noise, highlight by the outrageous contract to Robinson Cano, the acquisitions of Corey Hart and Logan Morrison.

The Robinson Cano signing will be a good one for three to five years at a max. Once he starts to get into the downhill part of that contract, the Mariners are really going to find themselves cash strapped, which is really going to hurt when they try to sign their young studs in Taj Walker, Kyle Seager, Brad Miller, and Dustin Ackley (if the latter two even work out). In the short term, Cano serves his purpose to give this team a legitimate bat in the middle of the order.

There’s a lot of very solid offensive pieces. Kyle Seager, to me, is the biggest upside guy the Mariners may have. He’s maybe one of the most underrated third basemen in the game, and while only a career (two-plus years) .260-hitter, Seager has gotten better every year in the big leagues, and I look for him to build on that into an All-Star caliber year in 2014. Pairing him with Cano should be huge for them both.

After raking his way through the minor leagues, Brad Miller could be in for a nice season as the shortstop of the Mariners. The Clemson product will likely get the everyday shortstop duties and I can’t say I’d be surprised if he has an immediate impact at the top of the order setting the table for the likes of Cano, Seager and Smoak.

I do have to admit, I do wonder how the additions of Corey Hart and Logan Morrison will work out. Hart comes over from Milwaukee which was, one, a very hitter friendly ballpark, and two, what was a very potent lineup for many years. He’s also coming off a year long injury where he saw zero action last year. Hart will turn 32 years old later this March, and while that normally is a good age for a hitter like Hart, I do question how much pop he has left. If he’s a disappointment in this lineup, it would not surprise me.

Coming into his fifth season, Michael Saunders has been been vastly disappointing to this point. With little outfield depth and a significantly improved lineup around him, I think Michael Saunders could come into his own this year. Saunders has stayed in center field mostly because of his defense, but if I was to make a bold prediction for this team, it would be Michael Saunders comes into his own offensively.

One other guy I look at in Seattle I think could be in for a big year is Justin Smoak. I say that because after his fifth year in the big leagues, fellow top prospect in the Rangers system busted out after a couple disappointing years. While the circumstances and many other variables are completely different from the two sluggers, Smoak, who is entering his fifth season in the leagues, needs comes into his own, and I think he does and could be in for a big year.

Starting spring training, this rotation looked to be one of the more underrated in baseball, but if this injury to Taijuan Walker turns out to be serious, coupled with the loss of Hisashi Iwakuma for a short while, this rotation will get very young, and very inexperienced, quickly.

While I don’t question it’s potential at all, a lot of pressure will quickly build on these young arms, and I do question whether they are ready for that.

The status of the two top of the rotation starters does not impact how I look at the outlook of the Mariners, I still think they are somewhat disappointing this year.

The Mariners have plenty of talent to make a run at the Wild Card in the American League, but just as the Mariners have the tendency to do in the past, I think they will underachieve.