ALL DECADE MARINERS

Next up is a team in total rebuild mode in 2019... and one of the few teams that failed to make the playoffs during the previous decade -- the Seattle Mariners! I'm not going to lie, it was difficult filling out the Mariners lineup... they've had a difficult time producing high On-Base guys over the seasons. So, I leaned into it and assembled a powerful squad for Seattle that'll make opposing pitchers pay significantly for giving up charts! The Mariners are the first (but certainly won't be the last) All Decade squad to feature an On Base 7 in the lineup, and they've got two of them. However, Seattle also has the best pitching staff we've featured so far, with four bonafide aces coming at you! Their bullpen is extremely scary too and led by the dominant Edwin Diaz. Overall, while I figured this was a brutal squad while assembling it, the pieces come together to form a nice squad that should be able to put up a STRONG fight in the All Decade Team season!

Felix Hernandez was a STUD in 2010, when he won the Cy Young with a mere 13 wins

LINEUP: Clocking in at 3540 points, the Mariners lineup is shockingly worth ten more points than the Tigers. Moreover, Seattle's lineup - featuring only two 10s and using 2 7s - is actually.... good? It definitely starts out great with Ichiro, who's the ideal leadoff man and brings plenty of speed/defense to the team. He's followed by the extremely solid Mitch Haniger, who's forced to play CF for this team. I think Mitch is going to be surprisingly productive with Ichiro in front and the power bats behind him. Cruz is the ultimate risk and reward player with his OB 10, 17-20 HR but 1-6 K chart. I think the Speed A(18) is huge for making this card a weapon, and he could arguably bat 2nd. I put the lethal Robbie Cano card in the cleanup spot, where he's hoping to replicate the magic of the original A-Rod card. Imagine pairing those two on a Showdown team, sheesh!! My bread and butter, the classic OB 9, HR at 17 firstbasemen is a solid #5 option, as the Mariners didn't use Yonder much in 2017 but did trade for him and, therefore, got his card at season's end. Kyle Seager follows him with a sneaky good OB 8 with lots of XB pop and speed. Then the 7s come, with Zunino providing monster power for a catcher and.... well, it was him or a Russell Branyan with one more HR, but less overall doubles, so I went with KEN GRIFFEY JR (what a stud). I love this card, which reminds me a lot of the original Cal Ripken Jr card in the 00 set. Acting as a second leadoff guy is Segura, who fits better here than in the 7 or 8 hole to me and should reset the lineup with his decent OB 8 and 19 speed.

ROTATION: The Mariners easily have the best rotation we've seen so far, rolling out three Tier 2 and a Tier 1 for a massive 2410 point rotation (averaging over 600 points per pitcher!!!). Their "ace" is 2010 Felix Hernandez, who brings a Control 4, on at 18 with no doubles card with 8 IP. He's got a massive strikeout range and should be an absolute tank. He's followed by Tier 1 Iwakuma, who will likely be the starter people are most wary of throwing out there despite his Control 6, on at 17 chart due to the unfortunate two doubles. I'm not as concerned as most managers about it and think he'll be a reliable/stud starter, even against good lineups. Due to how mediocre the lineup is, I *had* to put in my favorite Pennant Run card I've made -- 2010 Cliff Lee! Lee had a 2.34 ERA and sub 1.00 WHIP, averaging 7.92 IP per start to earn the 8 IP. Plus I'm playing these games and love the card, so deal with it ;) The rotation is rounded out by Tier 2 James Paxton, who also brings out a Control 3, on at 19 card for the final Tier 2. This is the first rotation to have the tiers of the starters add to less than 8!

(No HR given up off his chart either, no great images of this card available)

BULLPEN: The great pitching does not stop at the rotation!! With a 930 point bullpen, the Mariners are rolling out a Tier 1 and three Tier 2 relievers, plus a super solid Wilhelmsen (thank you to Colby) with his no doubles, control 4 card. Edwin Diaz is absolutely incredible and shuts teams down. He's supported by a pair of Tier 2 closers who don't surrender doubles, including the sure to be fan favorite Control 6 Fernando Rodney. If that wasn't strong enough, their last two slots are Control 5 and Control 4 (no doubles), on at 17 pitchers that you can always rely on. This deep and mighty bullpen can bail out any of the starters if they start getting into trouble with their high control and great charts. 

Overall, the Mariners come in at 6880 Points, easily the most we've seen so far. The lineup is better than it appears at first glance, but the strength of this team is the pitching. In fact, the rotation and bullpen are so loaded that the Mariners need to be considered a real threat in the All Decade league!! Honestly, I still think they'd go down to either of the previously made teams... which just goes to show that when all the teams are over 6700 points, everyone is loaded! Here's where the teams point totals come in so far:

1.   Mariners   6880 points
2.   Marlins     6750 points
3.   Tigers        6710 points