Seattle Mariners fantasy baseball stats & breakdown – Week 8

The Seattle Mariners had another tough week. After taking 2 of 3 shockingly from the Texas Rangers at home, the Mariners then continued to be swept by the Angels in a 4 game series, also at home.

They scored 21 runs total in their 2-5 week and are hitting the road, starting this week in Arlington to take on the Rangers.

With the weak performance as a team this week, it made this list particularly hard to write. But leave it to me to try and find the positive in most things.

I was able to leave a couple players out of the Who’s Cold category, when in reality we all know the whole team should go there.

Watch me struggle to find decent performances from last week.

Let’s see who makes the list this week.

I had to pick one guy to declare on a hot streak and the only guy who did just a little more than his team mates was Justin Smoak. He has been left off this list several times and jumped straight to the top after flashing a little power. In fact, Smoak is responsible for knocking in one third of the team’s runs this week.

Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?

This week’s state line: 6 for 23 with 2 runs, 7 RBI, 2 home runs, 1 stolen base, 1 walk, 2 strike outs.

*-In comparison to an average team, there was no hot player. Smoak just happened to be the best of the worst last week.

Jesus Montero had an ugly week. He is still not worth dropping a category on this list and is still valuable with the plate appearances he will see all season. His ability to DH and catch make it easier to get others in the game while keeping him in the lineup.

Anybody ready to hop on the Smoakamotive bandwagon yet? Nope? Yeah, me either.

He’s still a good #2 catcher option in leagues, and a good filler when your #1 is off for the day. Once he starts hitting consistently, his value will shoot up.

This week’s stat line: 3 for 19 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 7 strike outs.

Michael Saunders continued to at least stay luke warm this week, but is showing that he is trying hard at the plate. He will remain a starter until he goes completely cold. The Mariners will have many options to replace him if it does come to that.

Saunders is a filler guy in your lineups right now, if he’s not still sitting on your waiver wire.

This week’s stat line: 4 for 19 with 4 runs, 1 RBI, 2 stolen bases, 4 walks, 8 strike outs.

I couldn’t justify leaving Dustin Ackley near the top of this list this week. While he may be the Mariners best hitter, he is going to have some off days. Or weeks, like he did all last week. The day Wedge finally sat him to give him a day off…it was Dustin Ackley Bobblehead Night!

You should be starting Ackley on your fantasy team despite his struggles. Once he finds his groove, your choice of futility now will pay off later.

This week’s stat line: 3 for 22 with 2 runs, 2 RBI, 1 stolen base, 3 walks, 8 strike outs.

Kyle Seager has kept his bat active all season long. Despite putting up average numbers at best, he is actually impressing the people who matter most. It was an off week for Seager who seemed to have a hole in his bat.

Seager is a bench option at best until he sees a set spot on the field. When players bounce around positions like he is right now, it’s usually because he’s swinging a hot bat. If he continues this cool streak, he may find himself joining the donkey on the bench.

This week’s state line: 2 for 20 with 3 runs, 0 RBI, 1 stolen base, 6 walks, 7 strike outs.

Well there’s not much more you can say about Brandon League than to utter an obscenity or six. This guy is doing so poorly right now that he has temporarily lost his closer spot. It’s going to committee now while League is turned into a middle reliever or setup guy. Either way, he blew it again this season as he did last season. His trade value is declining quicker than the Mariners realize.

This season, he has 4 blown saves with losses attached to each one.

Obviously, if you have him like I do in two of my leagues, you have 2 options. Find a spot on your bench for him or try to work him in to reap whatever strike outs he may ring up in the mean time. If you drop him, you will most likely be sorry when he finally gets the closer spot back. Just like last year.

This week’s state line: 1 save, 1 blown save, 1 loss.

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