Seattle Mariners Nori Aoki: Fantasy Relevant in 2016?

By Brad Kelly | Dec 2, 2015

Thanks in large part to the non-tender deadline today, there were a bevy of players moving around or being traded. Amongst the countless moves, one of the more intriguing acquisitions was the Mariners snagging Nori Aoki with a one year deal.

Aoki has been in the league for four years now, and came over to the U.S. relatively late in his professional career. He has shown to be a solid major leaguer since he debuted with the Brewers and for fantasy owners he has been a sneaky late round gem thanks to his 20 steal ability and solid AVG.

Entering into the offseason the Mariners outfield seemed to be a work in progress. One of their first moves was to bring in Leonys Martin to patrol center, allowing Martin to join at that time an OF group of Nelson Cruz, Mark Trumbo, Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez. Now clearly Trumbo and Cruz are more of DH types of players, but the outfield picture was clouded nonetheless.

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They managed to flip Trumbo to the Orioles freeing up the DH spot for Cruz to slide back into it full time and opening up a starting corner outfield spot. Thus making the signing of Aoki today, appear as just the move to fill this opening.

Aoki’s 2015 season with the Giants was slowed greatly by injuries, most notably a concussion. Even though he only managed only played in 99 games, his stat line remained true to the skillset he has always shown. He posted a, .287/5 HR/26 RBI/14 SB/..353 OBP line, which does not scream optimism, but one that reassures us that Aoki can still produce.

When looking at his fit with the Mariners he should slot in either left or right field and bat at the top of the order. Last season both Ketel Marte and Austin Jackson both batted leadoff 50+ times and it is safe to say that Aoki is a much better fit to take a hold of that leadoff spot thanks to is on base ability and consistency.

As of right now I do not see Aoki being a part of a platoon either as his splits against lefties were better than righties last season (.270 AVG RHP vs. .333 AVG LHP). Aoki has never batted below .285 during his career either, so combine that with his OBP ability and what you have is a guy that could rebound nicely in 2016.

If he can secure the leadoff spot in the order he will also have the benefit of having Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz help build up his counting stats which can help boost Aoki’s overall line since he does not excel at any one specific stat.

The Mariners desperately needed a speed element on the team as well, so Aoki should be able to get his steal total back comfortably into the 20+ mark and with new management hopefully they will give their players more of a green light on the base paths. By no means is an Aoki selection going to wow you nor the draft room, but he is a sneaky addition to round out your OF 4 or 5 spots.

2016 Early Projections: .286/7 HR/40 RBI/25 SB/80 R

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