4 important Seattle Mariners developments for stretch run

Throughout the baseball season, we often make reference to what will matter “down the stretch.” Well, the Seattle Mariners have reached it.

Mariners’ starting pitchers set for interesting test in next series

In fact, if we stick with the horse racing metaphor, the stretch makes up about 15-20% of the race (depending on the track). Heading into their final trip out east that starts Friday in Cleveland, the Mariners have 28 games left. That 18% is roughly the equivalent of the home stretch at Del Mar.

We’ve reached the point of the season where all of the trials and errors, and the marathon mindsets, evolve into the finished product we expect to compete at the highest level. And yet, it still feels like there are a few undiscovered and undetermined elements to this team. It still feels like there are a few key pieces that need to fall into place to make this team whole.

I know it feels like we should be watching the complete and final team by now, but somehow it hasn’t worked that way. Fortunately, the final few adjustments are right on the horizon and could set the Mariners up for the postseason run everyone is clamoring to see.

We saw four examples on the recent homestand.

1. Victor Robles is back (at least for now).

With Robles on the roster, the Mariners finally have the right-handed right fielder they have lacked for most of the season. Leody Taveras and Dylan Moore tried but ultimately failed to fill that role. Dominic Canzone has performed better than expected, but neither he nor Luke Raley are optimal choices against left-handed pitching.

Robles brings chaos to every game he plays. He is fast and uses his speed well. He slashes the ball to all fields and can make you pay for a mistake with sneaky power. His defense shows up as a clear upgrade, especially from Canzone. And unlike the opening day lineup which asked him to shoulder a large load as the leadoff hitter, the upgrades over the course of the season allow him to do all of that from the bottom of the lineup.

Oh, and he gives manager Dan Wilson a real option off the bench late in games that he doesn’t start. It’ll be tough when he inevitably misses a week due to the suspension he is currently appealing, but we saw on the homestand how much he helps complete this roster.

2. Emerson Hancock fixes – or at least supplements – the bullpen.

We have yet to see Hancock pitch in the big leagues as a short-inning reliever, but that time is coming sooner than later.

As the team was securing the series win over San Diego on Wednesday, he was warming up in the ninth inning. No, he wasn’t going to come in to save a two-run game – that’s still the responsibility of Andrés Muñoz. But if they had scored and extra run or two in the eighth? It sure looked like Hancock could have been used in a key spot.

It’s no secret that the Mariners wanted to acquire another leverage arm at the trade deadline. Muñoz, Matt Brash and Gabe Speier are all great options, but not nearly enough to get the team where it wants to go. But could Hancock fill that role?

More: Why Hancock can add a ‘huge value’ to Mariners’ bullpen

His fastball was up a few ticks in his two minor league relief appearances, eventually hitting 99 mph. That extra velocity, combined with limiting his breaking pitches to whichever one he feels is best, should make him an excellent option out of the ‘pen.

The only problem with the theory is that it’s just that: a theory! Until we see him in leverage spots against top-tier major league hitting, we won’t know if he can do it. While it’s not ideal to start this experiment at this point in the season, it’s the best option available to them and I expect to see it on this road trip.

3. Eduard Bazardo, leverage arm?

Whether it was by necessity or choice, that is exactly what we saw on Wednesday. Bazardo came into the eighth inning of a rubber match against a top-tier opponent to protect a one-run lead against the middle of the order. That sure sounds like a leverage situation to me.

And, like he has more most of this season, he crushed it. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Bazardo has, improbably, been one of the best relievers in the league this season. In fact, Baseball Savant says he is the top 9% (with a 91st percentile pitching run value).

Bazardo has had the benefit of throwing mostly in lower-leverage situations, often against pockets of the lineup that are more favorable. But the results speak for themselves, and it’s time to start letting him tackle the bigger spots he might be needed for in the playoffs.

4. Eugenio Suárez is heating up.

We all know he is streaky, but when Geno gets hot, it can be a sight to behold. He has four home runs in his last seven games, including a pair of three-run shots in the last two. And in his last eight games, he is running a .308 batting average along with a slugging percentage of .856 and an OPS over 1.200. He’s also driven in 10 runs.

With Geno locked in, this lineup gets pretty insane in a hurry. In fact, we have yet to see what it will look like with the second best power hitting actually in a groove. Can he keep that up for the next few weeks? If so, it only adds to what this team can accomplish.

Twenty-eight games to play… and down the stretch they come!

4 important Seattle Mariners developments for stretch run

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