The issue Harold Reynolds sees in Cal Raleigh’s struggles

After his record-setting 2025 campaign, it’s been a struggle for Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh so far this year, especially of late.

Before big home run, Julio Rodríguez won flip flops from Astros fan in bet

Raleigh is mired in an 0-for-36 slump with 16 strikeouts and three walks over his past nine games dating back to April 28. It’s dropped his season average to .157, the second-lowest mark among qualified MLB hitters entering Tuesday, and his OPS to .558.

During Tuesday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk, MLB Network analyst and former Mariners second baseman Harold Reynolds shared what he sees as leading to Raleigh’s troubles at the plate.

“I went all the way back and looked at what made him right, what got him good last year at 60 homers, and it’s just the timing,” Reynolds said. “He is just literally a real tick (behind), as I said (on MLB Network).”

Speaking more generally about hitters struggling with their timing, Reynolds said too much time hitting off a pitching machine is a common factor. Reynolds explained that the timing mechanisms used to hit off a machine are different than hitting live pitching.

“You can’t sit there and load up (with a pitching machine). It’s just like boom, it’s on you and you gotta jump at it, and it’s not always the same (live pitching),” Reynolds said. “And I think hitting off machines throws your timing off. And I can’t speak for Cal, I don’t know if that’s what he’s doing every day, but that’s what it looks like to me.”

"He is just a tick off. It's just a little timing thing."

MLB Network's Harold Reynolds did a deep dive on what's causing Cal Raleigh's struggles and explained how the #Mariners Catcher can get back on track on with @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk.

(Full 📺: https://t.co/xFP1SxWd06) pic.twitter.com/IRT8tvzHXW

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) May 12, 2026

Reynolds, a two-time All-Star during his 10 seasons with the Mariners, was asked how he would approach telling or showing Raleigh the timing issue he sees. He said he’d be showing Raleigh video of his at-bats, which he’s sure the Mariners’ hitting coaches are already doing.

“I’ve known Kevin Seitzer since we played. He’s one of the greatest ever. And I played with Edgar (Martínez), so I know those guys know what they’re doing,” Reynolds said. “It’s just a matter of they’re all trying to figure it out. And it really takes one at-bat, one game, and it kind of gets you rolling.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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