Seattle Mariners Report Card: Grading Their 2nd Half Position by Position

Carrying a six-game losing streak into the second half of the MLB season, the Mariners continued their pitiful output with another twelve losses. It’s hard to think of a team in MLB history that has followed the All-Star game with such poor play, and it hardly got better by the end of the regular season.

Since the All-Star break, the Mariners record was just 24-47, one of the worst in all of baseball. It’s hard to find positives, but several players did play decent baseball during the Mariners' slump.

Pitching: C+

The pitching greatly disappointed me in the second half of the regular season. It has been very apparent for a long time that the M’s have terrible batting support, but the pitching has been what has kept them in games.

Before the All-Star break, the Mariners pitching unit had a 3.23 ERA, one of the best in the entire league. After the break, the Mariners’ unit ERA jumped to 4.77.

The one player with significant improvement was closer Brandon League, whose ERA dropped from 3.44 to 1.82.

Catcher: C

Olivo’s 2011 season offensive is definitely one to forget. In the second half of the season, Olivo’s batting average was just .226 with a .382 slugging percentage and 22 RBIs.

Olivo’s batting average for 2011 is the third lowest of his nine-year career. I think it’s safe to assume 2012 won’t be as low for the Mariners catcher.

1st Base: B

Offensively, Mike Carp has been the second most efficient Mariner since the All-Star break, behind one Ichiro Suzuki. In the second half of the MLB regular season, Carp batted .286 in 255 at bats with 46 RBIs and 27 runs scored.

Carp also led the team in the same time period with 15 home runs. Carp has a whole lot ahead of him and his young career.

Now with three years' experience, Carp will be heavily leaned upon for years to come.

2nd Base: B-

Seattle’s sensational rookie, Dustin Ackley, took a substantial drop-off in the second half of the season after a hot start, fresh out of the minors. With that said, Ackley still put up decent numbers for the M’s, batting .265 in 264 at bats with a team-leading 33 walks, nearly three times as many as the next Mariner (13).

This is just Ackley’s first year in the bigs. Expect huge numbers next season.

3rd Base: C+

Adam Kennedy and Kyle Seager both had decent seasons in 2011.

In the second half of play, Seager had the fourth highest batting average for the M’s, hitting .271 in 170 at bats.

Kennedy’s production in the second half of the season greatly dropped off, as he only batted .190, with a .218 on-base percentage and a .285 slugging percentage.

Seager is a key to the future of the Seattle Mariners.

Shortstop: C-

After the Jack Wilson trade, Seattle's already weak offensive production got even worse.

Brendan Ryan had a bad second half of the season, only averaging .190 after the All-Star break.

Ryan is much better than the numbers imply, and I expect a huge increase in production next season.

Left Field: D

The left-field position is, if not the weakest, one of the weakest positions on the Mariners roster.

You have Casper Wells and rookie Trayvon Robinson splitting time for one of the big gaps in the offensive lineup.

In the second half of the season, Robinson batted .210 with Wells just above him at .216.

With the inexperience of both players, it is reasonable to expect both to only improve.

Center Field: C+

Franklin Gutierrez had a decent second half of the season, batting .256 with a .297 OBP and a .314 slugging percentage.

Gutierrez’s numbers greatly increased from the first half of the season when he was batting .187, .218 and .227 in the aforementioned categories.

I have little doubt that Gutierrez won’t continue his production into the next season.

Right Field: B

While Ichiro’s age has definitely begun to show, there’s no doubt that Ichiro is still the most important position player for the Mariners.

In the second half of the season, Ichiro batted .274 with a .301 OBP and a .350 slugging percentage.

Ichiro can still play great defense. Until proven otherwise, he is the best hitter for the Mariners.

Team: C-

As I mentioned in the introduction slide, the second half of the season for the Mariners was one of the worst in the majors. A 24-47 record is not reflective of the capabilities of this team, and the future of this franchise.

The Mariners have one the best collection of pitchers with Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda and Justin Vargas with Brandon League in to close things out. For position players, the M’s have a collection of young talent that will hopefully being an era of success to the Emerald city.