Three big questions the Mariners are facing this month

The Seattle Mariners are roughly a quarter of the way through the MLB season, and a few questions stand out for the rest of May as they hit the road for the first time this month.

Where Mariners stand as season nears quarter point

Here are three things we’re watching.

The big questions Seattle Mariners

• How will M’s handle impending rotation decision?

The Mariners starting rotation is about to become crowded with Bryce Miller set to return soon from the IL. The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude reported Thursday the club is leaning toward activating Miller on their upcoming homestand.

So, what comes next?

When the season started, it was expected the easy decision would be to send Hancock down when Miller returned. But that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore with the way Hancock is pitching.

The M’s could go to a six-man rotation. They could ask Miller or Castillo, their highest-paid pitcher, to pitch out of the bullpen. They could find other creative ways to navigate the situation.

Only one thing is really certain: It’s a difficult situation, but one many MLB teams would like to have.

• Can Julio Rodríguez keep it up?

Rodríguez has been a notoriously slow starter during his career, but he’s shown some very good signs this season while getting off to a career-best start at the plate. The three-time All-Star has the highest batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS he has at this point of a season.

Much of that is a product of the 19-game heater he’s on. During that stretch, Rodríguez is batting .321 with an .892 OPS, four homers and five doubles. He’s also had at least one hit in 16 games and multiple hits in seven.

Rodríguez had a similarly strong stretch in May of last season, but it was followed a power outage that saw him hit only one home run over a 39-game span.

• When does Colt Emerson get the call?

The buzz about when top prospect Colt Emerson would receive the call to the big leagues has died down quite a bit as the 20-year-old shortstop has hit some speed bumps in Triple-A. But the expectation is he will still be in the majors at some point this season, just maybe not as soon as it looked like it would happen when the season started.

With that said, if Emerson puts together a strong sustained stretch that includes a drop in his strikeout rate (which is up to 29.4% after sitting at 17.5% last year), that could change rather quickly.

When Emerson does get the call, it will be interesting to see its ripple effect on the Mariners’ lineup construction. The team has stated the plan is for Emerson to play third base, which would presumably move Brendan Donovan to left field and Randy Arozarena to more of a DH role. Donovan could also get some time in right field, a position he has 204 innings of big league experience at.

Additionally, the M’s could benefit from letting Emerson play some shortstop while keeping J.P. Crawford’s bat in the lineup as the DH. One could argue Crawford’s defense at shortstop is more detrimental to the team than Arozarena’s is in left field.

Of course, injuries could change this whole conversation by the time Emerson is called up. But it figures to be a situation where the Mariners will have to be creative in how they deploy their lineup.

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