SeaTown Sports Brew: Mariners Stars Heat Up and Seahawks Nab Jadarian Price
Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez ignite the Mariners’ offense, the Seahawks land Jadarian Price in the NFL Draft, and the Storm load up on talent.
The Leadoff — Cal, Julio, and Naylor Are Heating Up
For most of the first three weeks of this Mariners season, the middle of the order has stunk. Cal Raleigh was hitting below .150 for stretches. Julio had one extra-base hit through 14 games. Josh Naylor couldn’t find a hole to save his life.
Things, thankfully, are looking better for the trio.
Against the Athletics, in a three-game set at T-Mobile Park, Raleigh hit .462 in the series with three home runs, three RBIs, and four runs scored. Julio hit .500. Naylor hit .545 — including the walk-off single in the ninth inning on Wednesday that salvaged the finale. Eighteen of the Mariners’ 32 hits in the series came from those three bats alone.
Raleigh’s stretch specifically is the one to circle. He homered in three consecutive games. Wednesday was his first three-hit game of the season. His batting average ticked up to .198 — still brutal on paper, but moving in the right direction for the first time all year.
Julio is hitting .245 with a .339 on-base percentage and a .645 OPS through 26 games. He only has one home run. The good news is that he’s on a 19-game on-base streak. I’m not too worried about the lack of power. It’s still early.
Naylor is hitting .194, but he just had a 3-for-5 day with the game-winning hit. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come for him.
The Mariners are 11-15 which is not great. The rest of the offense — the eight hitters not named Raleigh, Julio, or Naylor — combined for 14 hits in a three-game series, which isn’t ideal. Yet, as Wednesday’s game made clear, if Cal-Julio-Naylor can perform, anything from the rest of the lineup is gravy.
Winners and Losers
Winners — Seattle Seahawks (Draft, Night 1) — The Seahawks stayed at 32 and took Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price — projected as the second-best back in a class whose RB1 (his own Notre Dame teammate Jeremiyah Love) went third overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Price averaged 6.0 yards per carry in college and scored 11 TDs last year. The Seahawks have added a potential playmaker at a position of need. John Schneider has three remaining picks — the fewest in the league (Round 2, No. 64; Round 3, No. 96; Round 6, No. 188).
Winners — Seattle Storm — The Storm left last week’s WNBA Draft looking like a team with a plan. Awa Fam at No. 3 (6’4” center from Spain), Flau’jae Johnson at No. 8 via a trade with Golden State, Taina Mair at No. 14, Grace VanSlooten at No. 39. Pairing Fam with last year’s No. 1 pick Dominique Malonga gives Seattle two young international bigs. Flau’jae is the star power.
Mixed — Danny Sprinkle’s Rebuild — Four transfer portal commits so far — Parker Friedrichsen from Davidson, Steele Venters from Gonzaga, Ryan Beasley from USF, and LeJuan Watts from Texas Tech. This leaves 5 more spots to fill. I expect at least another commitment this weekend.
On-Deck All times Pacific
Friday, Apr. 24 — NFL Draft Rounds 2-3, 4 p.m. (Seahawks at 64 and 96) | Mariners at St. Louis Cardinals, 5:15 p.m. (Kirby vs. Pallante)
Saturday, Apr. 25 — NFL Draft Rounds 4-7, 9 a.m. (Seahawks at 188) | Mariners at Cardinals, 11:15 a.m. (Woo vs. Liberatore)
Sunday, Apr. 26 — Mariners at Cardinals, 11:15 a.m. (Hancock vs. McGreevy)