The Seattle Mariners Are RED HOT

Can these guys finally get into the playoffs already? Seriously, no fan base should have to wait 21 years between playoff appearances. I really liked the Mariners coming into the year. I liked them so much, in fact, that I picked them to win the AL West. I've put on record multiple times that that was an incredibly stupid take, but this was a 90-win ball club a year ago that had what I thought had a rock-solid offseason. Then they did what they often do and disappointed their fans to begin the season, starting 18-27. Since then, they've slowly crawled their way back. The M's have currently won 7 in a row and 9 of their last 10 to put themselves into a tie with the Blue Jays for that final Wild Card spot. 

While I don't see any future in which the Mariners are World Series champions, they're one of those teams I place into the category of "fun." They have a lot of young talent with a ton of upside. Players like Cal Raleigh and All-Star snub Ty France are just now entering the primes of their careers, and of course, you have Julio Rodriguez, who just made the All-Star game in his rookie season. J-Rod has the ability to be the best position player the Mariners have had since Ichiro. He'll be a top 10 player in baseball sooner rather than later. 

Going 21 years in between playoff appearances is a rough look for any organization, but what's bizarre about the Seattle Mariners is that I wouldn't categorize them as incompetent. Hall Of Fame caliber players and perennial All-Stars have consistently been through their system over the last two decades. They've won 85 games or more eight times since their 116-win season in 2001. They always seem to be in the mix. They just never break through. Hopefully, the expanded postseason changes that. Last year's team came as close as you can get. They lost out on a playoff berth in the last game of the season. They've done an excellent job loading up on prospects since they hit the reset button following the 2018 season. It wouldn't shock me if they made a big splash at the deadline. 

The AL East appears to be the most competitive division in baseball. While the Yankees are clearly running away with it, it appears that the other four teams (including the Cinderella Orioles) may spend the rest of the year beating each other up, which could open the door for a team like Seattle, who doesn't have much competition out west other than the superior Astros, who all but have the division wrapped up. The pathway is there for Seattle to be playing baseball in October. We've said that before. Hopefully, they break through this time.