13 stats that stand out from Seattle Mariners’ hot start

There is still plenty of baseball left to be played, but we’re seeing a different version of the Seattle Mariners in 2025.

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While the pitching staff has dealt with key injuries early on, the offense has helped carry the M’s to an 16-12 record and the spot atop the AL West standings. Seattle’s pitching has still been mostly solid, but after what the offense produced last season, any regression from that group seemed likely to quickly derail the season. Instead, the Mariners have weathered the storm, which includes winning 12 of their past 16 games and six straight series following a 3-7 start.

Below are several numbers that stand out from Seattle’s hot start.

Standout Seattle Mariners stats

• 125 – The Mariners are off to a surprising start offensively, and much of that is thanks to their ability to get on base. The team’s 125 walks lead MLB, as does its 11.4% walk rate. That’s helped aide a 125 wRC+ (100 is league average) as a team, which is second behind only the New York Yankees. Ten players have a wRC+ north of 100, including six above 130. The M’s had just four players who played at least 81 games with the team and posted a wRC+ of 100 or better last season.

• .749 – The Mariners are fifth in MLB and second in the AL with a .749 team OPS, which is a better mark than any qualified M’s hitter posted last season. Four players (Jorge Polanco, Dylan Moore, Cal Raleigh and Leo Rivas) have an OPS over .800, and two more (J.P Crawford and Ben Williamson) are over .750.

• 42 – Seattle’s 42 home runs rank third in MLB and second in the AL. Raleigh is leading the way with an MLB-high 10 homers and is currently on pace for 58 on the season. The M’s are getting some surprising early contributions in this category, too. After struggling last season, Polanco is second on the team with seven, and Moore has added six. Polanco and Moore are each on pace for over 30 home runs.

• 1.145 – Speaking of Polanco, he’s been off to a torrid start despite being limited to hitting only left-handed due to an oblique injury. Polanco had one of the worst years of his career last season, hitting just .213 with a career-worst 29.2% strikeout rate. This season he’s batting .377 with an absurd 1.145 OPS, has as many RBIs (20) as games played, and has seen his strikeout rate drop to just 12.0%, which is a career-best pace.

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• 0.00 – The bullpen has had some shaky moments early on while tossing the fourth-most innings in baseball. But when the M’s have been able to bridge the gap to closer Andrés Muñoz, he’s been absolutely lights out. Muñoz has yet to allow a run in 14 appearances this season. He’s tied for the MLB lead with 10 saves, and batters are hitting a meager .114 against him over 14 innings. To further show just how good Muñoz has been, his 1.6 bWAR is tied for fifth among AL players and eighth across all of MLB.

• 7 – The Mariners have already used seven starting pitchers this season, which is the same number they used during a remarkably healthy year from their rotation last season. That number will presumably grow to eight when George Kirby returns from the injured list.

• 23.4% – Strikeouts have been the crux of Seattle’s offensive issues for the past couple of seasons. The M’s haven’t completely done away with that problem in 2025, but they’ve showed noticeable improvement. Their 23.4% strikeout rate through 28 games is 4.8% lower than at the same point in 2024.

• 11.5% – The start to Julio Rodríguez’s fourth big league season has left something to be desired. It’s been another slow start for star center fielder, but there is one very noticeable improvement at the plate. Rodríguez has an 11.5% walk rate thus far, which is nearly double the 6.6% mark through his first three seasons.

• Minus-15 – Some of the surface-level numbers show the Mariners as a solid defense team. They rank in the top 10 fielding percentage and are tied for the eighth-least amount of errors committed. But the metrics paint a different story, as Seattle is 28th in MLB with minus-15 defensive runs saved.

• 12 – The Mariners’ aggressiveness on the basepaths has been both fun and painful to watch at times. They’re tied for third in MLB with 35 stolen bases, helped by Randy Arozarena’s team-leading eight on eight attempts, but the M’s also share the lead league with 12 times caught stealing. According to Statcast’s baserunning runs above average, Seattle is the worst baserunning team in the league at minus-3.7 runs.

• 3.79 – The pitching staff is supposed to be this team’s strength, but the group hasn’t been anything special early on. In fact, it’s been very average. The M’s are 13th in MLB with a 3.79 ERA, 17th in WHIP, 17th in walk rate, 20th in strikeout rate and 18th in win probability added. Injuries have certainly played a role here, and it’s pretty encouraging the Mariners are playing as well as they are with the pitching being so middle of the road.

• 5-0 – The Mariners have played five rubber games through their first nine series, and they’ve won all of them.

• 1 – When the Mariners started the season 3-7, there probably weren’t many who had them sitting in first place in the AL West at the end of April. Well, they’re closing in on doing just that. At 16-12, the M’s hold a one-game lead over the Texas Rangers and have the third-best record in the AL.

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