After an overachieving 2018 season, many thought that the Mariners would take a step back and rebuild. But after starting 13-8, many people are starting to have some hope for this season. It will be tough to make the playoffs in the amazing American League West, but the Mariners could make some noise this season.

The main reason the Mariners have started so well is due to their dangerous lineup. Top to bottom everyone in the lineup can hit for average and they can hit the ball out of the ballpark having Home runs in every game this season. The Mariners also have quite a bit of speed in their lineup with Mallex smith, Dee Gordon and Tim Beckham. Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto is no stranger to making moves and he didn’t disappoint with a couple additions this year. Some key additions to the ball club have been Domingo Santana and Edwin Encarnacion. These guys are providing great pop to the lineup and giving starting pitchers nightmares facing them.

The Mariners weaknesses are without a doubt starting pitching and their bullpen. While they do have solid starters in Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, and Mike Leake if they want to be a playoff team they are going to need more. They need a clear face that can go out there and win 70 percent of their starts. And when it comes to the bullpen they are going to need to establish some players for the set up and closer roles because right now it is anybody’s job. With Hunter Strickland on the Injured list the Mariners don’t have a true closer yet.

     The Mariners with this offense alone  can be a .500 team, it’s just a matter of if we can make the necessary moves to make a legitimate playoff push. The main question mark for the Mariners is going to be if their bullpen can hold up and close out games.