Mariners Stat of the Week: Platoon Advantage

The Mariners have scored the second-most runs in the American League mostly due to their depth and star power. How has their platoon advantage contributed to their offensive success?

Before I get into platoon advantages, I need to report a critical stat here that I neglected to mention in previous articles outlining the success of the Mariners: The Mariners have a run differential of +53 on the season. That’s what happens when you have the best pitching staff ERA in the American League and have scored the second-most runs.

Let’s dig into how the Mariners have produced those runs. As I mentioned in another article, the Mariners have been mostly adept at both hitting home runs and manufacturing runs. How much of their offensive success can be attributed to Scott Servais‘ batting righties against lefties and vice versa? (Editor’s note: these numbers are current as of before the Mariners thumping of the Padres this afternoon)

So far this season, the average major league team has taken a hitting platoon advantage (when a right-handed hitter makes a plate appearance against a left-handed pitcher and vice versa) in 52% of their plate appearances, according to Baseball Reference. The Mariners are second in the American League in hitting platoon advantage at 69%, just behind the New York Yankees, who are at 71%.

Having a platoon advantage in most of your plate appearances doesn’t guarantee success, however. The switch hitters and platoon players facing opposite-handed pitchers have to be able to handle the pitchers they are supposed to.

The Mariners have four primary platoon players who see action on a regular basis. General Manager Jerry Dipoto brought in Adam Lind to pair with Dae-Ho Lee, who won a job in Spring Training. Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez share right field and platoon duties. Since most pitchers (and humans) are right handed, you’ll see Lind and Smith in most lineups for Servais. Let’s examine these four platoon mates and see how well they have done hitting pitchers they’re supposed to hit:

Adam Lind: 137 total PAs. 88% platoon advantage .246/.275/.386 against RHPs

Dae-Ho Lee: 79 total PAs. 59% platoon advantage .250/.298/.455 against LHPs

Franklin Gutierrez: 82 total PAs. 70% platoon advantage .271/.368/.500 against LHPs

Seth Smith: 152 total PAs. 92% platoon advantage .267/.386/.405 against RHPs

May 29, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Franklin Gutierrez (21) rounds third after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field. The Twins won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

Gutierrez, surprisingly, has been the most effective platoon hitter against pitchers he’s supposed to hit this year. Lind, who has a career .291/.351/.505 slash against right-handed pitching, hasn’t made as much of his 88% platoon advantage this season. He had a slow start to the season but has recently shown signs of life, going 8-of-14 with two home runs in the past week.

Seth Smith has also been effective with a platoon advantage, making Servais look smart whenever he starts against a right-handed pitcher.

Expect Lind to improve his slash this year against righties as the season goes on. Lee is the wild-card here. I don’t have advanced stats for his KBO and JPPL career. So far this season, Lee has hit four of his seven home runs against righties to go along with a .290/.313/.677 against them this season. The dude just wants to hit.