Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hits a home run against the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 5 at Oakland Coliseum. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

FanGraphs Predicts Cal Raleigh to Have Another Solid Year For Seattle Mariners in 2025

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Teren Kowatsch | Last updated Nov 27, 2024 1:30 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners entered the offseason with a lot of questions about its lineup heading into 2025.

The general perception was that the Mariners needed to upgrade at second and third base while finding another first baseman/designated hitter to pair with Luke Raley.

Those needs only became amplified when Seattle declined second baseman Jorge Polanco's club option and non-tendered third baseman Josh Rojas.

One thing that isn't in doubt is that the Mariners are set at catcher, and that they boast one of the best in the league in the position — Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh's fourth major league season (2024) was the best of his career. He caught more innings than any other catcher (1,122) for one of the best starting rotations in baseball. He also set the MLB record for the most home runs by a catcher through their first four years in the league (93).

He set the franchise's single-season records for home runs (34) and RBIs (100) by a catcher.

Raleigh was recognized across the league for the season he had by winning Gold Glove and Platinum Glove honors and he was named a finalist for a Silver Slugger.

Cal Raleigh hits his 93rd career home run, most all-time among catchers through their first four seasons! pic.twitter.com/iSC0lfDbSE
— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2024

It's been a successful 2024 for Raleigh. And FanGraphs' ZiPS projections has Raleigh repeating his success in 2025.

FanGraphs projections predicts Raleigh finishing with the second-highest fWAR (FanGraphs WAR) on the team in 2025 at 4.9. That is just about one fWAR off from franchise star Julio Rodriguez's projections.

FanGraphs has Raleigh finishing with a .230 batting average to go with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs in 2025.

Based on the projections, Raleigh will be slightly more effective as an overall hitter while keeping similar power numbers. Despite having 34 home runs and 100 RBIs, he hit just .220 in 2024.

FanGraphs was favorable to Seattle's lineup as a whole. But if the ZiPS projections hold true, then Raleigh and Rodriguez will likely be the highlights of the offense in 2025.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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