Subscribe now
Seattle Mariners

Mariners Noon Number: Ben Gamel’s production may entice M’s to deal, but they should be wary

Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners' Ben Gamel follows through on an two-RBI single off of New York Yankees starting pitcher Caleb Smith, left, in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 23, 2017, in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)
By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com(509) 459-5441

Seattle Mariners outfielder Ben Gamel has been a revelation for the team this season, batting .324 following a 2-for-4 performance on Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox, in which he extended his most recent hitting streak to 13 games.

Most guys would be happy with that, but it’s his second-longest streak this year, still behind his 15 gamer from June 9-23.

During the current streak, Gamel is hitting.327 (18 for 55) with 10 runs, three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and six RBIs.

For good marks, the 13-game streak is the second-longest active streak in MLB, behind Bryce Harper and Jose Altuve at 17 games.

Gamel has four multi-hit games in his last six games since July 21.

All of this is a bit of a surprise. Actually, it’s quite a bit.

Gamel, 25, made his big league debut last season, totalling 57 plate appearances between the New York Yankees (six games, 10 plate appearances) and the Mariners. In total last season, Gamel hit .188/.278/.292 with one homer and five RBIs.

In eight seasons, 679 games and nearly 3,000 plate appearances in the minors Gamel has hit .288/.347/.403 with 27 home runs. His single-season high was in 2016, hitting .308/.365/.420 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He hit six homers and stole 19 of 27 bases.

Gamel could be a late bloomer. It’s happened before. He’s had a remarkable season and there’s no taking away what he’s accomplished thus far.

But there’s no evidence in Gamel’s history to suggest that he’s a .325 hitter in the big leagues.

The M’s have already traded away their top slugging prospect in the search for controllable pitching. With rumors bouncing around social media that GM Jerry Dipoto has serious intentions of making a run at Oakland’s Sonny Gray at the MLB Trade Deadline, that’s going to require a package of young, controllable players.

Looking at it from an analytical standpoint, it wouldn’t make sense for the M’s to empty their cupboard of prospects (Kyle Lewis, specifically) with the intent of depending upon Gamel to be something he’s never been before in his pro career.