3. Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners have been absolutely tearing the cover off the ball through their first six games, hitting 15 home runs and scoring 48 runs. The M’s have also thrown on seven stolen bases for a well-rounded attack that shows very little weakness in the early going. Pitching, however, does not look as solid for Seattle.
For all the runs the Mariners will put up this year, keeping them off the board will be a tough ask for a staff that features Marco Gonzales and Mike Leake at the top. Shipping out James Paxton at his peak value was probably a smart idea for the Mariners, but it left a massive void at the top of the rotation.
Predicting Seattle’s spending ability remains tricky as usual. They are spending over $150 million on their Opening Day roster, which is probably close to maxed out. That being said, how much pressure is management under to get the team back to the postseason for the first time since 2001.
Jerry Dipoto has cobbled together a dynamic lineup that can score with the best of them. He has not had nearly as much luck with his revolving door of starting pitchers. Can the Mariners find another $20-25 million to offer Dallas Keuchel a sweetheart one-year deal? He has pitched well at T-Mobile (R.I.P. Safeco Field) Park in his career and is familiar with the AL West. We’ll wrap this page up with a friendly reminder that your friendly neighborhood MLB owner can afford any player he wants — it just comes down to how badly he wants to win.