Looking For Potential Breakout Stars On The 2015 Seattle Mariners
Sep 24, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners left fielder Dustin Ackley (13) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Ackley’s career, by wRC+: 117, 75, 87, 97. As a prospect, Ackley was said to be able to roll out of bed and hit .300, or something close to that. His career average is .245, and he’s been a below-average hitter over 2,013 major league trips to the plate. But it doesn’t have to be like that forever. It doesn’t even have to be like that in 2015.
The good thing about those offensive numbers: they’re trending up. The bad news is that after his rookie season drop-off he’s since been unable to hit better than league average, but one does note that 97 is damn close to 100. He was almost average last year. Next year he could be even better, especially since he’s still young and has that ridiculous draft pedigree.
Oh yeah, and he’s gotten past his rubbery throwing arm and is now a pretty good defensive outfielder, too. Last year he was worth 2.1 wins as an offensively-challenged left fielder. Imagine how valuable he’d be if he hit the ball with some authority. We might be close to finding out for ourselves.