Seattle Mariners: Inside Robinson Cano’s powerful start

Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano is killing plenty of flies early on in his 2016 campaign and letting the worms live in peace. What other factors are contributing to his hottest start in long time? Possibly ever.

Opening Week of the 2016 MLB season is nearly in the books. The Seattle Mariners are off to a favorable start at 2-1. But through those three games played, second baseman Robinson Cano has arguably been the best hitter in the entire American League.

There’s no debating Cano’s level of talent. He certainly played like a perennial All-Star during his time with the Yankees. At 33, he’s probably still on a trajectory for Hall of Fame consideration, but that pace has declined some. From 2005-13 with New York, he averaged 23 home runs per season and a .860 OPS. Those power numbers through his first two seasons in Seattle were 18 and .807, respectively.

After signing his 10-year, $240MM deal with the M’s following the 2013 season, Cano saw a big lull in his 2014 power numbers, having hit only 14 home runs in 595 at-bats. A slow start to 2015 surely had some Mariners faithful concerned about how the organization had spent its money, though the veteran eventually pushed through for a strong finish that year by clubbing 15 of his 21 home runs after the All-Star break.

Heading into yesterday’s action and through three M’s games in 2016, Cano led the AL in home runs (4), RBI (7) and total bases (16). Obviously, Safeco Field is not a home run haven of a park like Yankee Stadium was, so it makes sense that Cano’s hot start came on the road against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, another renowned hitter’s diamond in the AL ranks. Even still, home and road games combined in 2014, it took Cano 12 contests to clear the fences four times and 67 matchups to match his current total last year. That’s not a typo, folks. Cano didn’t hit his fourth dinger of 2015 until June 17.

So what’s gotten into the Mariners’ franchise player in 2016?

If we dial back the clock again, we’ll see Cano’s past ground ball rates hurt his numbers. Though he ended up going deep 21 times in 2015, his OPS of .779 was easily his lowest total since 2008’s .715. During his prime years in New York from 2009-13, Cano routinely topped 300 total bases in a season. He’s yet to do so as a Mariner. Also during that window of time with the Yankees, the highest percentage of ground balls he hit in a season was 48.7% in 2012. In 2014 and 2015, his ground ball rates were 52.6 and 50.5 percent with Seattle, respectively.

Cano looks great so far this season. He had a torrid Spring Training and that confidence has carried over into the regular season. Peter Gammons, in his annual preseason predictions write-up, is confident saying Cano will appear in the top five of numerous AL MVP ballots in 2016. Two things are contributing to this belief; one is that Cano had offseason surgery in October to repair a sports hernia.

The second is more speculative, but Gammons believes Cano has already learned a thing or two from Edgar Martinez. Papi was named hitting coach of the Mariners on June 20, 2015. Martinez’s status approaches legendary within the organization. The timing of his hiring seems to have sparked Cano’s strong second half from yesteryear. Now healthy and with an all-time great who made a living purely as a designated hitter to consult with, Seattle’s second baseman is reaping the rewards.

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Robinson Cano has four extra base hits in 2016. All of them have registered as home runs. Historically a doubles machine, it’s clear Cano is swinging for the fences this year with the Seattle Mariners, both literally and metaphorically. He wants to lead this team to their first postseason experience since 2001. He’ll eventually start finding the outfield gaps for his trademark stand-up doubles. But you won’t hear a single Mariners fan complaining about the possibility of a new personal best for four baggers in a year.