When Jorge Polanco posted a wRC+ of 239 over the month of April, everyone knew the 32-year-old was unlikely to continue outhitting Aaron Judge over the remainder of the season. Regression seemed inevitable, but few predicted the depth of the hitting recession that would plague Polanco over the next two months. His May wRC+ of 22 was his lowest in a full month of play in his professional career, to the point where some speculated his injury woes of 2024 had returned; he improved somewhat in June, but still posted one of the lowest wRC+ marks of his career at just 72. Meanwhile, as Polanco went, so went the Mariners, scuffling to identical 13-14 records over those two months.
Since June drew to a close, however, Polanco has been on a steady upswing. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where his improvement has come from, as even during his struggle months, he wasn’t striking out much and taking his walks. The biggest difference: as the weather warmed up, so did his bat: balls that previously were caught found themselves going over the fence instead. Polanco’s scorching April was undergirded by nine home runs—as many as he hit on the road all of last season, and tying a career-best set in 2021—but he hit a homer drought after that. After a two-homer game on April 29th against the Angels, Polo wouldn’t hit another dinger until May 12th; after that, he wouldn’t hit another until June 13th, over a month later.
But as the All-Star Break approached, Polanco started playing like he was angling for a trip to Atlanta along with several of his teammates. The homers returned in force without Polanco sacrificing any of his excellent plate discipline. In September, his homer pace has cooled somewhat, but his bat remains hot as ever, as he’s simply traded the homers for doubles. Over the past 10 games, Polanco is hitting .395 with 15 hits. Of those 15 hits, a shocking 11 are doubles, resulting in a SLG of .7623 despite just one homer over that span.
Once again, as Polanco has gone, so the Mariners have gone, posting winning records for each month where Polanco has an above-average wRC+. Polanco specifically has been one of the team’s best players in the clutch, slashing .333/.402/.559 with runners in scoring position; for as good as he’s been in low and medium-leverage situations (wRC+ marks of 111 and 126, respectively), he’s been excellent in high-leverage situations: a positively Judgian wRC+ of 246.
A major driver of this success in the clutch is due to Polanco’s solid two-strike approach, something manager Dan Wilson has praised him for all season. For example, in Friday’s win, Polanco was the one to get the Mariners on the board first in the fourth inning, coming up with a clutch two-out double in a two-strike count where he fell behind Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi 0-2 but then battled back, refusing to chase after the same back-foot slider he’d swung at earlier in the at-bat and fouling off pitches until he got a fastball on the inner edge of the plate he could turn around for a double.
“He’s been locked in, his at-bats have been so good,” said Dan Wilson of Polanco’s recent hot stretch. “You can’t beat him in, you can’t beat him away. He’s just in a really good spot. He’s a professional hitter, and when he’s seeing the ball well like he is, hits are going to come.”
The Mariners need Polanco to continue producing from the middle of the lineup, especially as other bats in the lineup scuffle through their own cold stretches. Batting after the big boppers but before the on-base threats at the bottom of the lineup, Polanco is the lineup’s overlooked linchpin, capable of both driving in the big boys ahead of him or getting on base for the on-base merchants behind him, lengthening the lineup. Thankfully for the Mariners, he’s rounding back into form just in time to do exactly that, sandwiching his season with two career-best months. Hip, hip, Jorge, indeed.