Seattle Mariners Held Back Early by Sputtering Offense

The Seattle Mariners offense has been overmatched to start the 2017 season. Surely the heart of the order will heat up soon, but can they get production from any other part of the lineup?

Thirteen. That is the number of runs the Seattle Mariners have scored in their first six games of the regular season. Basic math equates to the Mariners averaging slightly over two runs per game. Despite great starting pitching, poor offense has caused Seattle to begin the year with a 1-5 record.

The three-headed monster of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager has been far from inspiring early on. In total, the heart of the Mariners order has combined for four RBI, a goose egg in the home run category, and an average slash of .149/.269/.195. That’s right, the three have thus far combined for a slugging percentage of .195!

To pile on, the newcomers to the lineup have also struggled. Aside from Jean Segura (the only Mariner hitting above .300), Danny Valencia is slashing .190/.190/.238, and the speedy Jarrod Dyson has graced the base paths rarely, contributing a horrendous .208 OBP.

The Seattle Mariners have the luxury of a good pitching staff, so their offense does not have to be firing at all times. However, they have to be much better than their current state. Seattle’s active offseason revolved around improving their offensive depth. Valencia was and is expected to be the team’s everyday first baseman. He’s coming off a nice season with the Oakland Athletics, yet he does not have a track record as an everyday player.

The same goes for Dyson. Dyson was a specialized speedster for the Kansas City Royals. Most generally, he was a role player. Now the Mariners are expecting him to play in the majority of games and perform as a tenured player. Dyson has averaged 78 games a season since he debuted in 2010.

All in all, the Mariners will be going nowhere fast if the aforementioned heart of the lineup doesn’t dominate. Reoccurring All-Star and franchise-altering signee Robinson Cano must perform as such if this offense wants to play at its best. Nelson Cruz, one of MLB’s greatest power hitters, must contribute his traditional 40+ home run season as the team’s cleanup hitter. And the quietly fantastic Kyle Seager must also perform greatly, as he is the anchor to a shallow lineup.

More from Seattle Mariners

• Stock Up, Stock Down: Mariners, Padres, Giants, Phillies
• Julio Rodriguez doing it all for Mariners, including playing peacemaker against Astros
• MLB Trade Deadline: AL West roundup with Rangers, Angels, Astros wishlist, A’s and Mariners for sale
• How the St. Louis Cardinals trading Jordan Walker to the Seattle Mariners makes sense
• What we got right and wrong about 3 surprising and disappointing MLB teams

You’d certainly believe each of those three will get hot soon. Barring injury, the trio should put forth their traditional numbers by the season’s end. However, they could still use some help. The best candidate to provide said help would have to be Jean Segura.

The Seattle Mariners gave up a key piece to their future this offseason when sending starting pitcher Taijuan Walker to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, they welcomed shortstop Jean Segura. Segura has made a nice first impression as he is the sole Mariner off to a good start. He is coming off a career year and it appears he’s found his way as an elite MLB hitter.

Whomever it may be, the Seattle Mariners need at least two players outside of their big three to step up. And when I say step up, I mean above league average in most offensive categories. If not, Seattle is looking at a very similar season to 2016, a year in which they missed the playoffs.

Next: Jeremy Guthrie's No Good, Very Bad Day

It’s common to freak out early. However, the reality is there are 156 games remaining in the regular season, in an AL West division that has no guaranteed victor. Needless to say, the Seattle Mariners offense is off to an ugly and unsettling start. That being said, there is plenty of time left to wake up. There isn’t much sense worrying about Cano, Cruz, or Seager. It’s the lesser-thought-of names that really need to emerge if Seattle wants to make a run at a playoff berth.