BRENT STECKER

5 storylines for 2017 Mariners: Pitching panic, new speed and a potentially elite offense

Mar 31, 2017, 5:02 AM | Updated: 12:32 pm

New Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger has received praise throughout the spring for his hitting ...

New Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger has received praise throughout the spring for his hitting approach. (AP)

(AP)

It’s been 15 full seasons since the Seattle Mariners reached the playoffs, but they enter the 2017 campaign with expectations that the MLB’s longest current playoff drought will finally be put to an end. But before Game 1 of 162 on Monday in Houston, let’s take a look at five big storylines for the Mariners this season.

1. How close are the M’s to pushing panic button with their starting rotation?

A few weeks ago, it would have been acceptable to be optimistic about the Mariners’ starting pitching. Felix Hernandez looked like The King of old and teammate Drew Smyly matched him every step of the way in an intense World Baseball Classic game between Team Venezuela and USA, plus there was plenty of depth behind a rotation rounded out by James Paxton, Hisashi Iwakuma and Yovani Gallardo. All it took was one thing to go sideways for those positive feelings to escape out the window, however. A sudden issue with Smyly came up earlier this week, which manager Scott Servais described as Smyly dealing with an arm that is “a little soggy.” Mariners Twitter spent most of the week trying to figure out exactly what a soggy arm is, and on Friday came the answer: Smyly has a flexor bundle strain in his elbow that will keep on the disabled list into June. With Smyly out of the picture for the foreseeable future, everything changes when looking at the rest of the rotation. Even though Felix and Paxton have looked good enough this spring that optimism outweighs concern for them entering the season, the same can’t be said for Iwakuma and Gallardo, who have Cactus League ERAs of 7.13 and 9.24, respectively. If their spring performances turn out to be indicative of their regular seasons, Seattle may have to rely on the minor-league depth of players like Ariel Miranda, Chris Heston and Dillon Overton too much, and it could find itself in situations where the offense needs to out-hit a struggling pitching staff far more than they Mariners would like.

2. With Jean Segura, do the Mariners now have a core of four offensive stars?

The pitching may be a big concern, but for the first time in a long time, the Mariners enter a season with reasonable expectations of having an above-average offense. The seeds of that date back to the signings of Robinson Cano in 2014 and Nelson Cruz in 2015, giving them a core of three stars in the middle of the batting order along with third baseman Kyle Seager. In 2016, the trio was without a doubt one of the best in the majors – each had an OPS over .850 with at least 30 homers and 99 RBIs. Well, in 2017 it should get even better. Now hitting ahead of them will be Jean Segura, a one-time All-Star who led the National League in hits last season. The 27-year-old shortstop comes to Seattle off a year in which he hit .319 with an .867 OPS, 20 homers and 64 RBIs, and whether he hits second (as expected) or leads off for Seattle, one thing is for sure – he’s an incredible hitter. Even though he doesn’t walk that much, his high OPS suggests that adding him to a lineup that already features three All-Star hitters could make the Mariners’ offense a legitimately elite one. It’s not just Segura’s bat that’s going to help out the offense, either, because he factors into the next storyline pretty heavily as well.

3. Are the Mariners suddenly one of the fastest teams in baseball?

In 2016, the Mariners ranked 24th out of 30 MLB teams with just 56 stolen bases in 162 games. But in 34 spring training games entering Friday, they had 39 steals, second behind only the Angels. A big reason why is a bunch of players that weren’t on the team last year – new leadoff hitter Jarrod Dyson (five steals), utility man Taylor Motter (five), Segura (four) and Mitch Haniger (three). When Dipoto came to Seattle at the end of the 2015 season, he spoke of an emphasis on athleticism, specifically in the outfield. He started to put that into action with the addition of center fielder Leonys Martin, who went on to lead the team with 24 steals in 2016, but the emphasis didn’t truly become a reality until this offseason, with a trade for Dyson being the most obvious example. Dyson stole 30 bases in 107 games last year with the Royals, and if he’s able to stay in the lineup for the everyday role he’s slotted for, he could be in the 40-50 steals range. Then there’s Segura, who swiped 33 bags last year, and Haniger, Motter, and outfielders Guillermo Heredia and Ben Gamel that could all give opposing pitchers reason to be distracted throughout 2017. That all fits in line not just with Dipoto’s vision, but something manager Scott Servais said last year on 710 ESPN Seattle. “The term I use is I want us to be uncomfortable to play against,” Servais told “Brock and Salk” in May 2016. “There’s certain teams in the league – I’ll talk about the Houston Astros, they’re uncomfortable to play against (with the) things they do athletically and can challenge you on the bases.” A year later, the Mariners may be ready to beat even the Astros at that game.

4. Will Mitch Haniger be the steal of the offseason?

Whenever the question of which player was opening eyes the most this spring came up, the answer out of the Mariners’ camp was pretty consistent. Nearly to a man the response was right fielder Haniger, who has been mentioned in the media and by Mariners brass seemingly more often than Segura despite Haniger being the second-most significant piece Seattle received from Arizona in the November trade for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. That’s pretty interesting considering Haniger has a .229 average in just 34 MLB games to this point. The Mariners clearly are impressed by Haniger’s professional approach to hitting that belies his age (26), though, something both Servais and Dipoto have spoken about. That point was backed up by veteran catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, a Mariners teammate who played with Haniger both with the Diamondbacks and in Arizona’s minor league system. “He’s really a student of the game and practices quite a bit in the offseason and he really tries to study his swing and understand himself more than anybody I’ve played with,” Gosewisch told “Danny, Dave and Moore” early in spring training. “I think he’s gonna be something special. I think he’s gonna be surprising. I don’t think he was the main piece that people looked at in this trade but I think he’s gonna turn out to be pretty solid.” Haniger’s Cactus League returns support that. Entering Friday, he has a slash line of .389/.436/.653 with two homers and 11 RBIs. The most impressive stat, however, are his 12 doubles and one triple. Haniger projects to have decent power, but even if the area beyond the left field wall at notoriously pitcher-friendly Safeco Field proves to be elusive to the right-handed swinger, that kind of extra-base potential would still allow him to be plenty productive in the Mariners’ home park.

5. How big of a role will Daniel Vogelbach have?

When the Mariners entered spring training, the idea was that rookie Daniel Vogelbach would be the left-handed half of a platoon at first base with Danny Valencia, whom Dipoto acquired in a trade with Oakland. Seattle had concerns about Vogelbach’s defense at first, and while he made some strides in the field, it wasn’t enough to completely sell the Mariners on giving him a regular role on the roster. When his batting average took a turn in the middle of spring training, it was enough for Servais and Dipoto to option him to Triple-A and roll with Valencia as the full-time first baseman to begin the season. Now the question is how much time Vogelbach will need in Tacoma before the Mariners are convinced he’s ready for his shot. It’s much like the cases of Paxton and catcher Mike Zunino last season; they both started the year in Triple-A, made adjustments away from the big lights of the MLB, and returned to Seattle during the season. They each had productive stretches for the Mariners in 2016, too, so the team has reason to believe it can see similar success with Vogelbach. If the Mariners can get suitable defense from the 250-pound rookie, they could benefit greatly from his powerful and patient approach at the plate – but all in due time.

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