The beginning of this season was a tough time for the Seattle Mariners and their fans. There were many struggles to start the year, mostly coming from the offense. The starting rotation kept the team in a lot of the games, but the lineup couldn’t quite put it together. Key players struggled to get on base, and then injuries kept putting the team in tough spots. Since the early rough patch, however, there has been a large difference in productivity on this team, both some large improvements and some slight disappointments.
Mariners Seeing Both Improvements and Disappointments Early This Season
Improvements
Since the beginning of the season, there have been a tremendous number of improvements on this Mariners roster. The biggest of all is that the offense is finally coming together. The big three in Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor, and Julio Rodríguez have really started to reach top form at the plate. Raleigh now leads the team in home runs and RBI. Rodríguez is now second in hits on the team, and his bat speed has increased since the start of the season. Naylor is now top five on the team in hits and continues to be a threat on the basepaths. Wins are starting to come along for the Mariners, and the bottom of the order continues to keep contributing immensely.
Cal dumps No. 7️⃣. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/rYKe0YE3AS
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 28, 2026
Disappointments
With the good, there is always some bad. Since they have been so good for so long, everyone expects the starting rotation to dominate. Over the last couple of weeks, the Mariners’ rotation has had some blowup games. This does not seem like something that will last, but it has been tough to see them struggle when they are the backbone of this team. Another disappointment is losing third baseman Brendan Donovan to the injured list. This is not the fault of anyone, but injuries are always a disappointment for the Mariners or any other team. But a disappointment that no one really accounted for was the bullpen. They have not been terrible by any means. There have just been some outings that got away from them, and games have been lost.
Still the Same
With the good and bad, there are still some things that haven’t changed since the beginning of the season. Both breakout star Cole Young and veteran Randy Arozarena are still doing great offensively, which is fantastic to see. Young has been a defensive wizard over at second base. There was some question of him being the Mariners’ starting second baseman to start the season, so seeing him flash the leather is a big positive. Although Raleigh has improved a lot and gotten back on track, he is still striking out a lot, currently leading the team, which is something that will need to change.
The biggest positive overall is that the Mariners are starting to win more often. There will always be something to critique and complain about in this sport, but the best mindset is to focus on what is improving. There is always something that can be done better, but all in all, the Mariners are not in the same rut they were to start the season. As of right now, the positives outweigh the negatives, and this team is trending upwards. The question is, will the Mariners stay consistent?
Main Photo Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
