3 great signs from Mariners hitters that may surprise you
Jun 30, 2025, 10:53 AM | Updated: 10:54 am
In cleaning out the notebook following a long Seattle Mariners road trip, there were three surprising and positive signs worth shining a light on from the lineup.
Part 1: Notebook from a strange Mariners road trip
Here’s a look at what has been flying under the radar.
Donnie’s found the barrel
Quick! Who is leading the team in June in wRC+?
Well how about that? The answer is Donovan Solano.
Solano leads the Mariners with a 196 wRC+ heading into the final day of June, two points higher than Cal Raleigh’s 194. Of course Raleigh has over twice the plate appearances as Solano and over double the WAR, but getting this kind of performance from a bench/platoon player is obviously helping the offense.
Good to see Mitch Garver, Dom Canzone, Luke Raley and Miles Mastrobuoni each also record a wRC+ over the league average (always 100) in June.
Dom’s in the zone
How about another one? Quick! Which Mariners hitter has the best strikeout percentage in June?
This one is a little more intriguing perhaps. It’s Canzone, who in 58 plate appearances struck out at a rate of just 12.1%. Smallish sample, but that’s a far cry from the 28.2% we saw from him in 188 plate appearances in 2024.
With the power he has, you are looking at a different offensive player if the strikeouts are more manageable. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Trending in the right direction
Last but very not least, the Mariners have taken some lumps with two rookies at the bottom of the order, but things appear to be heading in the right direction with Ben Williamson and Cole Young.
Williamson, the 24-year-old third baseman, is hitting .279 since June 6, while 21-year-old second baseman Young has a .273 average over the same stretch.
Neither are hitting for any power, and you would like to see more on-base from each, but Young’s strikeout rate of 19.4% is encouraging, as is Williamson’s rebound in general after a tough go in May.
Click here for Part 1 of Shannon Drayer’s notebook detailing Eduard Bazardo’s big year and why it was the strangest M’s road trip in 18 years.
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• There are two M’s minor leaguers an insider wouldn’t want to trade
• Hype Train: Is Cal Raleigh the first-half AL MVP?
• Mariners Mock Draft Roundup: Favorite emerges at pick No. 3
• Five players Seattle Mariners could trade for at third base
