How many Mariners will be All-Stars? Jon Morosi weighs in

Next month, the MLB All-Star Game returns to the Pacific Northwest for the first time since 2001 as the Seattle Mariners will host the event at T-Mobile Park.

The last time the Midsummer Classic came to Seattle, the Mariners were well-represented to say the least, with eight players making the American League roster and manager Lou Piniella serving on the coaching staff.

That season, as we all know, was a magical one for the Mariners, who won a record 116 games. That’s far from the case right now.

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After Friday’s 5-4 loss in Anaheim, the Mariners are 30-32 and have been one of the game’s bigger disappointments with 100 games remaining.

When looking ahead to the All-Star Game, how many Mariners will actually make the AL squad? MLB Network’s Jon Morosi shared his thoughts with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Thursday.

“I think that there’s always that hometown bump,” Morosi said.

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Even though the Mariners, both individually and as a team, have underperformed, Morosi thinks they’ll have solid representation. (Note: Each team has at least one player make the All-Star Game no matter what.)

“I think (Jarred) Kelenic, based on the way he started the year, I would expect he gets a really strong boost,” Morosi said of the young M’s outfielder, who started hot in April but has cooled off over the last month.

Morosi also thinks another Mariners outfielder will likely make the team, too. That would be Julio Rodriguez, who earned an All-Star nod as a rookie last year.

“Part of it, too, is MLB will help with input about how the rosters come together,” Morosi said. “J-Rod, he was one of the faces of the game a year ago in terms of the All-Star game itself, the (Home Run) Derby. I really hope that he’s there even though maybe the numbers haven’t been — for the full season — as great as you would expect for him. I think he is one of the stars of the game. So Julio needs to be there … I really believe that J-Rod even though April wasn’t what we expected, he’s still one of the faces of baseball and belongs there at the All-Star Game.”

“Kelenic’s numbers overall I think potentially could put him in that conversation, but there’s a lot of outfielders that are really good,” Morosi added. “Cal Raleigh might be a really good fit behind the plate.”

A big reason the Mariners are even close to .500 right now has been the pitching, which for a while was the best in baseball. Morosi thinks a young starter could earn his first All-Star Game nod.

“I think on the pitching side, Kirby belongs for me. I think pretty strongly that he belongs there,” he said. “So I would say at least three with that hometown bump. There’s always a snub or two that don’t get in and you think they belong like (Ty) France, it took him right to the last minute last year.”

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