Mariners Log: 2017 Season Preview Part III – The Infield

When you start to describe the Seattle Mariners’ team strengths, you don’t get too deep into the conversation before you start talking about the infield, specifically Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager. Add in the guy who led the N.L. in base hits and a top prospect (eventually) and you have all the ingredients for a successful campaign.

Here then is Part III of our 2017 Season preview: The Infield.

(2017 Season Preview Part I: The Rotation)

(2017 Season Preview Part II: The Bullpen)

Double-play combo

After two mostly disappointing seasons, all Cano did last year was put up a career high in home runs with 39. Seems like he just needed to get finally, really healthy and he started to mash again.

Cano exhibited an inflated fly ball percentage, which can be good and sustainable, along with a jump in homers per fly ball, which is less so. But his raw power is still real and while scraping 40 homers again might be a stretch, Cano should continue to provide plus pop from his middle infield slot.

Of course, a discussion of Cano can’t go without two caveats: 1) 2016 produced an historic wave of power across the game and Cano’s output in particular was a dramatic shift from the previous two seasons when he combined for 35 homers; and 2) He’ll be 34 at the start of May and power hitting middle infielders age notoriously quickly.

His double-play partner this season is Jean Segura, brought in from Arizona (along with outfielder Mitch Haniger) in the Taijuan Walker trade. Last year for the Diamondbacks, Segura posted career highs in hits (203), average (.319), on-base percentage (.368), doubles (41) and homers (20) in his age 26 season.

In parts of five seasons, he had never posted a .300 average or on-base percentage higher than .329, and his previous homer high was 12 in his first full season in 2013, so there’s going to have to a certain amount of “show me” for Segura.

Segura’s not a power hitter in any sense of the imagination, but he proved to have enough pop to keep pitchers honest. He’s always had good contact rates though and possesses speed to burn and decent defense, though he doesn’t have the deepest range at short for a guy that quick.

At the very least, Segura will pair with Jarrod Dyson to provide an exciting – if not on-base challenged – top of the lineup.

The corners

The other sure thing is at the hot corner. Kyle Seager has quietly become one of the league’s most reliable sluggers. He has gradually increased his home run totals each of the past five seasons while retaining a more-than-respectable average and on-base percentage. He’s coming off a career-best 30-homer, 99-RBI season – which for some reason didn’t earn him a trip to the All-Star Game – but he did rank him 12th in the voting for A.L. MVP.

Seager does this in the relative anonymity of usually being the third guy mentioned in the list of “most feared Mariners’ players,” despite being second only to Mike Trout in the A.L. in WARP in 2016. Even his younger brother, Dodgers shortstop and N.L. rookie of the year Corey, gets way more ink. But Seager keeps on mashing, provides very-good-to-excellent defense, and even re-upped in an honest effort to bring the playoffs back to Seattle.

First base was supposed to manned by top prospect Dan Vogelbach, acquired by the Mariners from the Cubs at last season’s trade deadline for lefty Mike Montgomery. Vogelbach, who is a designated hitter in the making at 6-foot, 250 pounds, is a pure slugger. He hit .292/.417/.505 between Tacoma and the Cubs AAA affiliate Iowa last season and owns a .286/.391/.481 lifetime minor league slash line in 544 games.

But … that defense. It’s just not up to par, which is one of the reasons Vogelbach was sent back down to Tacoma to start the season. The thought is that 150 at-bats at the start of the season in the minors will allow him to work on the specific defensive adjustments the Mariners hope he can make to play passable defense in the bigs later this season.

They don’t really have choice. There’s no place else he can play, since Nelson Cruz is the DH every night of the week, and the M’s really need Vogelbach’s bat in the lineup.

Until Vogelbach makes it up to The Show, Danny Valencia will helm first base. As a backup corner infield guy, Valencia is a pretty good option. As a starter at either third – or particularly, at first – not so much. He has some pop and hits lefties well, but he’s only average in the field and, not that spring training stats mean much, he hit just .222/.300/.317 this spring.

Also, it must be noted that the Mariners are his seventh team in seven seasons, and he was involved in a highly publicized clubhouse fracas last season with the Athletics.

Utility guys

There’s a reason guys like Taylor Motter (and the injured guy he’s replacing for the time being, Shawn O’Malley) become fan favorites, quickly. They don’t break into the bigs until their mid-to-late 20s, play hard all the time, and are willing to play everywhere and anywhere on the diamond – including catch, if need be.

Motter even adds to the likeability factor with his long flaxen locks flowing from underneath his cap.

But there’s also a good reason they haven’t established themselves enough to play everyday at one position.

Motter is a career .272/.349/.428 hitter across six minor league seasons. That doesn’t scream “everyday MLB player.” But utility at the big league level is a skill in and of itself, so Motter earned the job this spring and probably would have made the team even if O’Malley hadn’t needed an appendectomy two weeks before opening day.

Motter, who won’t ever be confused for a power hitter at 6-1, 195, will even be the primary backup at first until Vogelbach makes it up later this spring/summer.

O’Malley, born in Richland, hit .263/.352/.348 over 11 minor league seasons and is a .231 hitter in the big leagues. But, as with Motter, he will do anything asked to keep earning service time and living the MLB dream. That’s all we can ask of these guys with a limited skill set.

D.J. Peterson, the Mariners’ 2013 first-round pick, is also on the 40-man roster. He started as a third baseman, was quickly moved to first, and populated preseason prospect lists in 2014 and 2015 with a monster year between High-A and Double-A in 2014: .297/.360/.552 with 31 homers and 111 RBIs. But he’s never really followed that up and has fallen off the national radar as a prospect, prompting the M’s to trade for Vogelbach last summer.

Now 25, Peterson still has time – but it’s running out quickly. Last year’s nondescript showing between Jackson and Tacoma was uninspiring (.264/.327/.455) and he could be a candidate to lose that 40-man designation should the M’s find themselves in a numbers crunch some time this summer.