Vince Grippi: Last year’s have-nots improving while Mariners decline

May is melting away. It will soon be June, with the dog days of summer quick on its heels.

And yet we don’t know what type of Mariner team we have.

The quick response is, after 51 games, 29 of them losses, a poor one. But that’s too quick – and too easy.

We haven’t had the chance to see the “real” Mariner team we expected in April and May. Not with the injuries, especially to the starting rotation.

So we really don’t know what type of team the Mariners can be, when their starters are healthy and the lineup is at full strength.

It might be good enough to actually contend, if it’s not too late in the season when we reach that El Dorado.

But we do know what type of team the Mariners are not.

They are not the same type as the Colorado Rockies (the opponent the next four days) or the Minnesota Twins (on the schedule in a week) or the Arizona Diamondbacks or the Milwaukee Brewers.

You see, the M’s had hopes and dreams and, yes, expectations, heading into the 2017 season. An 86-76 finish last year kick-started them.

Those other teams? Their expectations were low. Last season they were anywhere from 44 games under .500 (Minnesota) to 12 games under (Rockies). And they were not expected to improve much.

But they have.

The Twins, who won 59 games in 2016, are 26-20 right now and atop the American League Central. Any of you see that coming in March?

The Rockies have the best record in the National League and are doing it with, sit down before you read this, pitching. Yeah, the Mile High team with seemingly no chance of winning unless it is 10-9 or 12-11, is fifth in the N.L. in team ERA.

Arizona, which lost 93 games last season, is 31-21 and has even better pitching than Colorado.

And the Brewers? They are just doing it with mirrors. Their pitching is middle of the road, their hitting a bit better. And their record is 27-23 (first place in the N.L. Central), a mark the M’s would love to be taking into Memorial Day.

But the Mariners just don’t seem to have the young talent to make the next jump.

Instead guys like the Diamondbacks’ Jake Lamb, who is from Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet High and UW, is third in the National League with 14 home runs and second with 43 RBI.

He hit 29 homers last year and, at 26 years old, is just coming into his prime. Wouldn’t he look nice in a Mariners uniform?

Instead they passed him over seven times in the 2012 draft.

You remember that one, right? When the first pick was Mike Zunino (not good) and the third was Edwin Diaz (good).

The third baseman the M’s took in that draft? Patrick Kivlehan. Their fourth-round pick that year is with the Reds now and has fewer career RBIs than Lamb has home runs this season.

Young guys blossoming are a big part of why the Diamondbacks, Rockies and Twins are doing so well. Take Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela for example.

The rookie starting pitcher, 22 years old, is 7-1 with a 3.19 ERA and 1.145 WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched). Heck, he’s 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA at home in a ballpark that has ruined more careers than the split finger.

It’s not like the M’s don’t have talent. The offseason pickup, Jean Segura, is leading the American League in hitting (.339). And Nelson Cruz has a league-best 41 RBIs.

Those guys, along with Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager – the one homegrown protostar – were what Jerry Dipoto built around. He added a mix of veterans and youngsters, including Mitch Haniger, who is hurt, and Ben Gamel, who isn’t.

But the team hasn’t gotten a boost from its farm system. You know, the lifeblood of good organizations.

Mainly because their isn’t any lifeblood coursing through the M’s minor league teams.

No Charlie Blackmon or Miguel Sano or Lamb have emerged. All of those guys are having strong years and helping their teams exceed expectations.

The M’s? They have Seager and Zunino and Dan Altavilla and James Paxton and that’s about it from their system helping – or hurting – this season.

It’s proving to be not enough.