At the top of the list is Cal Raleigh, who is pacing to have the best season in history by a catcher in terms of power.<\/p>\n
Next would be All-Star pitcher Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz, who has been the toughest closer in the American League.<\/p>\n
Jorge Polanco\u2019s hot April also grabbed attention, as did a stellar first two months by third-year starter Bryan Woo. And lately, J.P. Crawford has been making noise with a push for his first All-Star nomination.<\/p>\n
But there are a few others whose contributions have perhaps been undersung, whether it\u2019s because their numbers haven\u2019t fully rebounded from slower starts, or because their role isn\u2019t all that showy.<\/p>\n
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto touched on a few such players in a conversation with broadcasters Aaron Goldsmith<\/a> and Gary Hill Jr.<\/a> from the latest edition of Trident Talk, which airs an hour before the M\u2019s pregame show each Sunday on Seattle Sports.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at two of those players \u2013 both pitchers \u2013 and what Dipoto said about them.<\/p>\n 1. Luis Castillo<\/p>\n The three-time All-Star starting pitcher has quietly started putting together another solid season.<\/p>\n Though his ERA was 4.44 after five games, Castillo now has it down to 3.29 following six innings of two-run ball Friday in a Mariners win over Cleveland.<\/p>\n Castillo\u2019s eight quality starts is behind only Bryan Woo (nine) among M\u2019s pitchers this season, which is important considering Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller have all spent extended time on the injured list.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u2022 What Dipoto said: \u201cBetween (Castillo) and Bryan Woo and what they were able to do in getting us across the line, just phenomenal. But the uptick in his physical stuff has been notable. And it\u2019s been every pitch in his arsenal. It\u2019s his strikes, it\u2019s his command. And save for a couple of starts where he really had to battle against Toronto, every other start it seems that he\u2019s made outside of the return to Cincinnati has been a metronome start. And you\u2019re seeing it in ways that \u2018The Rock\u2019 really didn\u2019t do (before). It used to be gaudy strikeout numbers and overpowering at the top of the strike zone, the great changeup. He shows up, he\u2019s got a full arsenal, he\u2019s using all of his pitches, his locations are outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Casey Lawrence<\/p>\n Now we\u2019re really talking undersung.<\/p>\n The 37-year-old Lawrence actually has made plenty of headlines this season, but that\u2019s because he\u2019s been designated for assignment six times this season by two teams: five times by the Mariners, and once by the Toronto Blue Jays. After each of those DFAs except the one when Toronto claimed him off waivers, Lawrence has elected free agency and returned to the Mariners on a minor league contract.<\/p>\n When Lawrence has been with the Mariners, he\u2019s pitched pretty well. He\u2019s appeared in five games for Seattle, logging 15 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He\u2019s also pitched in five games with Triple-A Tacoma, where he owns a 3.86 ERA and has remained stretched out as a starting pitcher with four starts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When the Mariners have had a need in the bullpen for someone to cover innings, Lawrence has answered the call. And that\u2019s big, especially when you consider how the rotation\u2019s injury troubles have resulted in the M\u2019s needing to lean on the relief corps much more than last season when Seattle led the league in innings pitched by starters \u2013 which also meant their bullpen threw the least innings in MLB.<\/p>\n \u2022 What Dipoto said: \u201cWe\u2019re not here if not for the contributions of guys like Casey Lawrence. The amount of time that we have asked him to commute to support us and get us through rough times, we don\u2019t make it through the first two months of our season if he\u2019s not there to kind of pick up the the mantle and go.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Emerson Hancock \u2018flat-out huge\u2019 for banged-up Mariners rotation<\/a>
\u2022 Mariners\u2019 Dipoto on early trade deadline moves: \u2018I think we\u2019ll do that again\u2019<\/a>
\u2022 Touted Mariners prospect sidelined with another injury<\/a>
\u2022 Morosi: Two Mariners trade targets from AL West rival<\/a>
\u2022 Seattle Mariners Injury Updates: When Raley, others could return <\/a><\/p>\n
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