Re: MLB The Show 17 Franchise Discussion Thread
Just got to the all star break and the Mariners are 50-40, which is good enough for the 2nd wild card spot, 6 GB of the 1st spot held by the Red Sox. There are a lot of teams behind me so anything can happen. I am also 1 GB of the Astros for the division lead so I might be able to avoid the wild card game, which would be fantastic.
Our best player so far has been cleanup hitter and DH Dan Vogelbach. He's hitting .313 (10th in AL) with 20 HRs (T-7th) and 62 RBIs (7th). He is also in the top-10 in the AL in walks (2nd), OBP (4th), SLG (9th), and OPS (7th). It's like the spirit of Nelson Cruz has overtaken him in 2019, as he's continued his 2018 success and added on to it, playing every day and playing well.
Robinson Cano (.274, 13 HR, 41 RBI) and Kyle Seager (.274, 9 HR, 26 RBI) have missed time this seaosn, but are both back and healthy and ready to lead the Mariners in the second half.
Leadoff hitter SS Jean Segura (.316, 22 SB) and #2 hitter LF Ben Gamel (.324, 12 SB) have been great atop the lineup, scoring runs, taking extra bases, doing it all. Gamel also leads the MLB with 35 doubles.
RF Mitch Haniger has filled in nicely in the middle of the order filling in for Seager and Cano, as his .277 average with 10 HR is a nice rebound forom his below average 2018.
Catcher Mike Zunino also had to fill in the middle of the lineup, and his .230 average and 5 HRs weren't helpful. backup catcher Tyler Marlette is hitting a nice .286 with 4 HRs, as he's been taking more playing time from Zunino.
1B Evan White has hit in almost every spot in the lineup (except 1st, 4th, and 9th) and has a .307 average and 9 HR to show for it. He us currently the front runner for AL Rookie of the Year.
CF Guillermo Heredia is also hitting .307 and has been a constant at the bottom of the lineup, hitting 5 HR and stealing 5 bases.
Backup utility men Taylor Motter (.279, 4 HR, 6 SB) and Shawn O'Malley (.268, 2 HR, 3 SB) were tasked with filling in for Cano and Seager in the field and did quite well hitting at the bottom of the order.
4th OF Leonys Martin hit .258 with 2 HR in 30 games, and when OF Andrew Aplin was called up to help the OF after Cano was injured and hit over .400 after a week, Leonys was expendable, meaning he was the one sent back to AAA instead of Aplin. Aplin is currently hitting .352 still with 5 SB (0HR) in 30 games, playing all 3 OF spots.
After being called up for dominating AA, 18-year old phenom catcher Brock Williams (from Washington too) came home to play for the AAA Tacoma Rainers. Since doing so, the 18 year old has hit .333 with 4 HR, giving him 18 HRs so far in 2019. 21 year old twins Robert and Douglas Francis have also hit well in AAA, with Robert playing CF and leading off everyday, and hitting an insane .352 while doing so, and Douglas hitting 2nd and playing LF everyday, hitting a respectable .271.
On the pitching side, Felix Hernandez (10-4, 3.07 ERA) and James Paxton (9-6, 3.07 ERA) are once again the best two starters the Mariners have. Paxton leads the MLB in complete games (5) and shutouts (4). Drew Smyly has emerged as a nice #3 pitcher, as his 9-5 record with a 3.20 ERA has filled in quite nicely for a thin Mariners rotation. Marco Gonzales has been a consistent #4, with a 3.88 ERA. former #5 starter Ariel Miranda (4.29 ERA) struggled in june and the first half of july heading into the ASB, and due to Sam Gaviglio doing great in the LR role (0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings of relief) and a strong showing in 2018 (2.08 ERA in 13 innings (2 GS)), Gaviglio will make his first start of 2019 in the #5 spot of the rotation coming out of the break. in AAA, Max Povse (3.39 ERA), Jose Spanos (4.31), Andrew Moore (3.62), Rob Whalen (3.82), and Chase De Jong (2.08 ERA in AA) will all look to pitch well in the 2nd half to get looks in September. Sam Carlson (3.96) and Nick Neidart (3.21) are still tring to figure out AA hitting and move to AAA.
As far as relievers go, Edwin Diaz made his 3rd straight all star team with a 2.34 ERA and 22 saves. Evan Scribner (1.50 ERA) has taken over 8th inning duties from Nick Vincent (3.16 ERA), who will most likely be playing his last year as a Mariner. Tony Zych (3.57) and James Pazos (3.48) have been good middle relievers and Dan Altavilla (2.91) has filled in nicely since coming up to replace Emilio Pagan, who struggled mightily (6.86 ERA) and was sent to AAA.
Evan Marshall, Jonathan Aro, Ryne Harper, and Shae Simmons will look to help the bullpen in September and help them rest for a hopeful playoff run.
Gonna try to finish 2019 hopefully with a playoff berth, Seattle's first since 2001. I will most likely let Smyly, Vincent and Leonys Martin walk at the end of the year to clear the path for some of my prospects, and Felix Hernandez will be my top priority to re-sign to finish his career as a Mariner.
I'll post my next update at the end of 2019 regular season.
Seattle Mariners
All-Star Break - 2019
All-Star Break - 2019
Just got to the all star break and the Mariners are 50-40, which is good enough for the 2nd wild card spot, 6 GB of the 1st spot held by the Red Sox. There are a lot of teams behind me so anything can happen. I am also 1 GB of the Astros for the division lead so I might be able to avoid the wild card game, which would be fantastic.
Our best player so far has been cleanup hitter and DH Dan Vogelbach. He's hitting .313 (10th in AL) with 20 HRs (T-7th) and 62 RBIs (7th). He is also in the top-10 in the AL in walks (2nd), OBP (4th), SLG (9th), and OPS (7th). It's like the spirit of Nelson Cruz has overtaken him in 2019, as he's continued his 2018 success and added on to it, playing every day and playing well.
Robinson Cano (.274, 13 HR, 41 RBI) and Kyle Seager (.274, 9 HR, 26 RBI) have missed time this seaosn, but are both back and healthy and ready to lead the Mariners in the second half.
Leadoff hitter SS Jean Segura (.316, 22 SB) and #2 hitter LF Ben Gamel (.324, 12 SB) have been great atop the lineup, scoring runs, taking extra bases, doing it all. Gamel also leads the MLB with 35 doubles.
RF Mitch Haniger has filled in nicely in the middle of the order filling in for Seager and Cano, as his .277 average with 10 HR is a nice rebound forom his below average 2018.
Catcher Mike Zunino also had to fill in the middle of the lineup, and his .230 average and 5 HRs weren't helpful. backup catcher Tyler Marlette is hitting a nice .286 with 4 HRs, as he's been taking more playing time from Zunino.
1B Evan White has hit in almost every spot in the lineup (except 1st, 4th, and 9th) and has a .307 average and 9 HR to show for it. He us currently the front runner for AL Rookie of the Year.
CF Guillermo Heredia is also hitting .307 and has been a constant at the bottom of the lineup, hitting 5 HR and stealing 5 bases.
Backup utility men Taylor Motter (.279, 4 HR, 6 SB) and Shawn O'Malley (.268, 2 HR, 3 SB) were tasked with filling in for Cano and Seager in the field and did quite well hitting at the bottom of the order.
4th OF Leonys Martin hit .258 with 2 HR in 30 games, and when OF Andrew Aplin was called up to help the OF after Cano was injured and hit over .400 after a week, Leonys was expendable, meaning he was the one sent back to AAA instead of Aplin. Aplin is currently hitting .352 still with 5 SB (0HR) in 30 games, playing all 3 OF spots.
After being called up for dominating AA, 18-year old phenom catcher Brock Williams (from Washington too) came home to play for the AAA Tacoma Rainers. Since doing so, the 18 year old has hit .333 with 4 HR, giving him 18 HRs so far in 2019. 21 year old twins Robert and Douglas Francis have also hit well in AAA, with Robert playing CF and leading off everyday, and hitting an insane .352 while doing so, and Douglas hitting 2nd and playing LF everyday, hitting a respectable .271.
On the pitching side, Felix Hernandez (10-4, 3.07 ERA) and James Paxton (9-6, 3.07 ERA) are once again the best two starters the Mariners have. Paxton leads the MLB in complete games (5) and shutouts (4). Drew Smyly has emerged as a nice #3 pitcher, as his 9-5 record with a 3.20 ERA has filled in quite nicely for a thin Mariners rotation. Marco Gonzales has been a consistent #4, with a 3.88 ERA. former #5 starter Ariel Miranda (4.29 ERA) struggled in june and the first half of july heading into the ASB, and due to Sam Gaviglio doing great in the LR role (0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings of relief) and a strong showing in 2018 (2.08 ERA in 13 innings (2 GS)), Gaviglio will make his first start of 2019 in the #5 spot of the rotation coming out of the break. in AAA, Max Povse (3.39 ERA), Jose Spanos (4.31), Andrew Moore (3.62), Rob Whalen (3.82), and Chase De Jong (2.08 ERA in AA) will all look to pitch well in the 2nd half to get looks in September. Sam Carlson (3.96) and Nick Neidart (3.21) are still tring to figure out AA hitting and move to AAA.
As far as relievers go, Edwin Diaz made his 3rd straight all star team with a 2.34 ERA and 22 saves. Evan Scribner (1.50 ERA) has taken over 8th inning duties from Nick Vincent (3.16 ERA), who will most likely be playing his last year as a Mariner. Tony Zych (3.57) and James Pazos (3.48) have been good middle relievers and Dan Altavilla (2.91) has filled in nicely since coming up to replace Emilio Pagan, who struggled mightily (6.86 ERA) and was sent to AAA.
Evan Marshall, Jonathan Aro, Ryne Harper, and Shae Simmons will look to help the bullpen in September and help them rest for a hopeful playoff run.
Gonna try to finish 2019 hopefully with a playoff berth, Seattle's first since 2001. I will most likely let Smyly, Vincent and Leonys Martin walk at the end of the year to clear the path for some of my prospects, and Felix Hernandez will be my top priority to re-sign to finish his career as a Mariner.
I'll post my next update at the end of 2019 regular season.
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