MLB SHOWDOWN 2019 SET -- Seattle Mariners

A very tough 2019 season for the Seattle Mariners but worse for the fans. If you follow me on twitter you see tons of interaction during the season watching games and highlights. Early on in the season a few Seattle followers and I were interacting a lot as they were playing great baseball and winnings games. They started the season off at a hot 13-2 and the Seattle faithful were buzzing. Sadly after that they went 55-92 finishing last in the AL West with a record of 68-94. A few fun times for the team as Ichiro got to play in Japan to start the season before retiring, and King Felix hanging it up at the end of the regular season. Aside from those highlights I personally don't know of any others from the season, and by the looks of this team, sadly there weren't many in showdown form either.

Lets start this off on a good note, and look at Bobs beautiful 1996 Edgar Matinez

Lineup: For my lineup for the Mariners I led off with the 24!! speed Mallex Smith, and while his card isn't outstanding like last years, I still am a fan as a third drafted outfielder to potentially hit 8th or 9th for your team. The out through 6 makes him a tough leadoff hitter but if he gets his chart and rolls a 7 or higher it is time to get running. Second is Mitch Haniger, I know back to back 7s what am I doing, another downgrade from last seasons card but he atleast bring some good pop to the lineup. Third we have Daniel Vogelbach in an 8 on base that moves a one third the speed on Mallex Smith. Clean up I chose Kyle Seager and I think he is a sneaky steal in a draft. He is very affordable, out through 2, hits for tons of power and has some good defense to go with it. Navarrez is the only other 8 in the line up bringing slow speed and not a lot of extra base hit chances. Dominog Santana feels like another value player you would take late in a draft to fill point needs and can plug into the 7th or 8th spot in a batting order. I am a fan of this J.P Crawford card as well. The feeling with this Seattle team is that most of the players in this lineup are drafted for late value to fill a specific role or need. Beckham is the DH and yikes to have him as a DH and finally Dee Gordon rounds out the lineup, and if all goes right you could get Gordon and Mallex on base at the same time to give outfielders fits. 

Rotation: Let me start this part off by apologizing to Seattle fans about this rotation, even though they should be the ones apologizing. As you will see as the rotation and bullpen are posted they used alot of starters and a few of them in relief roles. Marco Gonzales is a serviceable starter that I would prefer a card like this as the last starter in my rotation, but he leads the way for this crew. Farewell King Felix, we will remember you for your early 2010s cards and not this last season charts. Kikuchi had a rough beginning to his MLB career this season. Hopefully a year of adjustment he will show why he was coveted to come over to the States and play. Finally Justus Sheffield ends the rotation and at least he doesn't give up a home run right??

Bullpen: Now for the bullpen I am going to start with the extended rotation, and if youre playing as Seattle it is nice to have these guys there for when the starters are getting shelled, not that they will make a huge difference as well. LeBlanc can get you 5 innings, but has a home run on his chart, and Milone while having that 5 control to help has two doubles and a home run making if difficult to trust him in key situations. The bullpen after that is pretty solid. Anthony Bass has a 6 control out through 14 and no doubles, and Brennan and Magill are also serviceable out of the bullpen.

All in all this team is rough, hard to look at, and should be sold for spare parts. Seattle has always been one of my favorite teams because of growing up while Griffey was there it sucks to see them like this. Hopefully they can find some nice young pieces and turn it around so we can see some teal in the playoffs. The Seattle Mariners have 18 players and come in at 3170 points or 176 points per player. Sadly that is good for 2nd last so far in the teams released.

 Astros - 300

 Nationals - 295

 Twins - 293

 Rays - 285

 Cubs - 278

 Red Sox - 269

 Brewers - 268

 Indians - 259

 Braves - 256

 Athletics - 248

 Cardinals - 245

 Reds - 238

 D-Backs - 236

 Padres - 233

 Phillies - 213

 White Sox - 185

 Mariners - 176 

 Blue Jays - 167