The Mariners are on a run of playing the AL West, facing Anaheim, Texas, and Houston in a row over the next two weeks. They got off to a bad start against what should be the soft part of that schedule, dropping the weekend series to the Angels as the bats continue to scuffle; they’ll now face an uphill task in Texas, facing the three-headed monster of Texas’s rotation: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and the Rangers’ newest and shiniest acquisition, Mackenzie Gore.
The Mariners aren’t off to the start
they’d like, but the Rangers aren’t exactly in clover either, fresh off a sweep by the Reds after a hot 4-1 start. Unlike the Mariners, where the pitching has been top-5 in baseball and the offense bottom-third, there’s no real culprit to point to with Texas, although the bullpen continues to be a liability, especially as their starters have had trouble getting deeper into games.
The Rangers brought in Brandon Nimmo this off-season and so far he’s proved a valuable pickup, providing thump and on-base for the Rangers out of the leadoff spot. Wyatt Langford, hitting out of the two-hole, has been slower to get it going, but you know that, like with some of the Mariners’ own struggling stars, it’s just a matter of time. Corey Seager, batting third, has continued to be Corey Seager, and Jake Burger, with two homers on the year already (aka the same number Cole Young has), bats cleanup. The Nimmo-Langford-Seager-Burger set gives the Rangers, who are pretty evenly balanced handedness-wise (Must Be Nice), a nice L-R-L-R punch at the top of the lineup.
Beyond that things get a little murky: Evan Carter is off to a strong start, but buried in the bottom of the lineup for some reason. The two Joshes (Jung and Smith) and Ezequiel Duran are in a time-share among the non-Seager infield positions. Joc Pederson continues to exist to make Rangers fans Mad Online. So far, this is looking similar to Rangers teams of the past, but Nimmo at the top of the lineup is an x-factor, much like Donovan is for the Mariners. Hopefully the Mariners will be getting their x-factor back for this series.
Probable Pitchers
Last year, Jacob deGrom made 30 starts for the first time since 2019 and crossed the 150 IP threshold for just the fifth time in his career. That health was the result of a conscious effort to pitch with a little less intensity. His fastball velocity was down about a tick from where it was at his peak, though it still averaged 97.5 mph. From a results standpoint, he ran his lowest strikeout rate since 2016 and the highest FIP of his career. Even in his diminished form, he was still one of the better pitchers in baseball, and as they say, the best ability is availability.
Nathan Eovaldi has also been forced to figure out how to do more with less (fastball velocity). Last year, he dropped the usage of his four-seam fastball by nearly 15 points, added a sinker to his repertoire, and increased the usage of his cutter and curveball. The result was a pitch mix that was a lot less predictable and a lot less dependent on his deteriorating velocity. Unfortunately, elbow and shoulder injuries derailed the success he was seeing with his new approach, and he spent most of the second half of the season on the shelf.
MacKenzie Gore was the Rangers’ big offseason acquisition in January. After being included in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade (the first one from Washington to San Diego), Gore has established himself as a solid frontline starter over the last few years. His secondary weapons are all fantastic — he’s the only pitcher in baseball to feature four pitches with whiff rates north of 35% — but he’s often let down by an inconsistent fastball. When he’s locating his heater well, it can give opposing batters fits. But too often — and particularly during the second half of the season when he’s worn down significantly — his locations will leak into the middle of the zone and batters will punish the pitch.
The Big Picture:
Do yourself a favor and do not look at this table. I haven’t and I’m writing the article. There’s really no benefit in it for you. Instead I invite you to look at some of my favorite works of art, one for every team in the AL West:
- Joseph Cornell’s Setting for a Fairy Tale
- Emily Carr’s Untitled (Seascape)
- Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne
- Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie
- Jean-Honore Fragonard The Swing
