Stecker’s Three Things: Mariners’ outfield depth is paying off

The Mariners wrapped up a big series win on Thursday night, taking care of a Mike Trout-less Los Angeles Angels for an 11-3 victory, their second in a row. Now a struggling Texas team comes to town, presenting an opportunity for Seattle to (13-16) to inch closer to .500 for the first time this season.

Here are three things to keep in mind about the M’s.

1. Jerry Dipoto’s emphasis on athleticism and depth in the outfield is paying off.

Remember Mitch Haniger, the Mariners’ best player through the first month of the season and the guy who had the best WAR in the American League before he hit the DL with an oblique strain? Well, it’s fairly understandable  if you don’t considering the way Seattle hasn’t missed a beat with Ben Gamel playing in his place in right field and hitting out of the second spot in the everyday lineup. The 24-year-old Gamel has a .333 average, .444 on-base percentage, five RBIs and eight runs scored in the eight games since Haniger was injured and he got the call up from Triple-A Tacoma. He also has good speed on the bases and is an exciting player in the outfield, and ther Mariners’ general manger is quite happy to see the long-haired Florida native proving himself to be worthy of a starting role. “Ben’s been great. I know there was a lot of angst in Mariner land when we talking about Ben Gamel as an everyday guy. We believe he is,” Dipoto told “Danny, Dave and Moore” on Thursday. “This guy was the MVP of the Triple-A International League last year. He’s showing you now what he’s capable of when you give him an opportunity to play every day. He’ll take his walks, he can really hit, he has the ability to spray the ball around the field, he’s athletic, he can run the bases, and he fits our model.” Not only that, he didn’t lose himself when he didn’t make the team out of spring training, and like Guillermo Heredia (.311 average, two homers, and catches like this) is making the most of his opportunity with the M’s. “He got off to a good start in Triple-A, he had a good spring, he didn’t complain when we sent him back (to the minors) – he understood,” Dipoto said of Gamel. “He’s here now and certainly with the outfield mix we have, even when Mitch comes back – which we anticipate being sooner than later – we’ll have Mitch, we’ll have Ben, we’ll have (Jarrod) Dyson and we’ll have Guillermo, and some combination of those four players gives us a really interesting and athletic outfield.” By the way, all those nice things Dipoto said about Gamel came before he went 3 for 3 with a double, two RBIs, three runs scored and reached base all five times he came to the plate on Thursday. Carry on.

Have a game, Ben Gamel. #GoMariners pic.twitter.com/kUpLlbbwt1

— Mariners (@Mariners) May 5, 2017

2. The Mariners are hanging on, but they need to make their move soon.

Things seem cheery for the most part after the Mariners won the series against the Angels, who are still 1 1/2 games ahead of them for second place in the American League West. Of course, 2017 has also seemed like a successive string of instances of bad luck for Seattle, with the injuries to Haniger and Felix Hernandez last week being a pretty big kick to the gut. The good news for the M’s is that they’ve gone 5-3 since a disastrous 19-9 loss in Detroit, the last time Haniger and Hernandez weren’t on the disabled list. The slight turnaround is all well and good, but considering how brutal April was as a whole for the Mariners, they still need to pick up W’s on a more consistent basis. They could still use some help for the pitching staff (more on that in a minute), but at least for now the offense is carrying the load. Nelson Cruz in on a tear, having hit safely in 13 straight games and sitting at a .330 average with seven homers, 27 RBIs and a 1.012 OPS for the season. Robinson Cano (five homers) is continuing to warm up, and Danny Valencia’s four-hit night on Thursday was very encouraging. If Kyle Seager and Mike Zunino start looking more like their 2016 versions any time soon, Seattle’s offense might really take off.

3. Help is on the horizon for the pitching staff.

Seattle for the most part can feel good about its starting rotation, especially after Ariel Miranda, a player who didn’t make the team’s initial roster out of spring training, threw seven innings of two-run ball on Thursday to lower his ERA to 3.55. The rotation spot manned by Chase De Jong could be problematic with Hernandez and Drew Smyly still on the DL, though, as he can’t be relied upon to go deep into games and will likely give an up-and-down bullpen a lot of work on his days to pitch. The Mariners should get a reliable reliever back soon in Steve Cishek, who Dipoto said is set to resume his rehab assignment after working with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. at Safeco Field for a few days and hopefully will join the team late next week in Toronto. The fact remains that they need another quality rotation piece, however. That won’t be immediate, but when it finally does happen, they may get two returns close to each other in June. Hernandez’s shoulder issue was said to be a four to six week deal, and one week has already passed, and Smyly (flexor strain) is nearing a throwing program. “The rehab’s going very well,” Dipoto said of Smyly. “Drew’s a hard worker. He’s been diligent in there with our rehab coordinator every morning, 10 o’clock, and he’s grinding through. … He will start throwing we hope at the six-week mark, which is coming up shortly, and if all goes well we will start his throwing progression.”

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