Seattle Mariners News: Will Kyle Seager Come Around?
By Todd Pheifer
Mar 31, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners Kyle Seager singles to right to score a run but teammate Logan Morrison was out at home trying to score from first during seventh inning action of an opening day baseball game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Seattle Mariners have started out on the right track in 2014, sweeping the Los Angeles Angels and losing a close game in extra innings to the Oakland A’s. In the Angels series especially, the Mariners broke out the lumber.
Robinson Cano (.375), Justin Smoak (.353) and Dustin Ackley (.313) are leading the charge thus far. Abraham Almonte (.294) and Mike Zunino (.286) have also been solid contributors.
Kyle Seager? The historically productive third baseman has started the year in a 1-for-11 slump. For those of you without calculators, that is a .094 batting average.
Yikes.
Should we be worried? Is it better for Seager to get slumps out of his system in April?
No one is panicking just yet, particularly since so many other players are swinging good bats. However, there has to be some reason for concern.
The problem is that Kyle Seager has been struggling at the plate since the beginning of spring training. While Cano and Brad Miller were hitting over .400 at Peoria, Seager was hitting .191 and striking out 15 times in 68 at-bats.
Something is not quite right with young, Mr. Seager. He was expected to be a key offensive contributor on a team that needed a player or two to step up and provide protection for Mr. Cano.
So far, Smoak has provided ample protection but it should not be assumed that the Smoakamotive will keep steaming forward at this pace. If the Mariners are going to succeed this season, they will need Kyle Seager’s bat.
Perhaps this is just a slow start. A couple of 2-for-4 or 3-for-4 nights may get him right back on track. Until that happens, there will be some cause for concern.