Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Julio Rodríguez Had a Very Strange Sophomore Season + Mariners Outfield Grades

Episode Date: October 19, 2023

Colby and Ty hand out 2023 grades to Mariners outfielders Julio Rodríguez, Teoscar Hernández, Cade Marlowe, and Dominic Canzone.Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @danegnzlz | @CPat11Giveaway terms and conditions!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Jase MedicalSave more than $360 by getting these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical plus an additional $20 off by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.  eBay MotorsKeep your ride-or-die alive at ebay.com/motors. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelMake Every Moment More.Make Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.SleeperDownload the Sleeper app and use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details. Currently operational in over 30 states. Check out Sleeper today!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's time to hand out grades to Julio, Teo, and the rest of the Mariners outfield here on the Locked On Marrars podcast. Colby, hit it. You are Locked on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ahoy, Sailors. It is Thursday, October 19th, 2023. This is tighting as Alas and Colby Vanow for the Out for the Lockdown Marrists podcast brought to you by Sleeper.

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and leave a five-star review on your preferred podcast platform if you like what you hear. And if you're part of the crew and rock with us every single day, let us know in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you. And if you want to hear from us even more, please consider signing up for. Patreon. You can now get a free seven-day trial to check out the show. The link as well as our social accounts is in the description of this episode. And on yesterday's episode of CTZ, we discuss a reality where the Mariners actually signed Shohei Otani and talked about what else

the Mariners would have to do in order to build a ball club capable of winning a World Series, when a division, et cetera, et cetera, after signing Shohei Otani. It's a lot more complicated than you would think. So if that's a lot of that's a lot. sounds interesting to you head on over to the patreon sign up you can get that episode for free if you sign up for the free trial all right on the show today we're handing out 2023 grades to julio rodriguez to oscar hernandez dom canzone and kate marlowe now we did jerry kelnick yesterday so if you want to hear our thoughts on his season check that episode out and be sure to stick around during this episode so you find out how you can win some dope autographed mariner's

cards colby's collection uh but first colby Let's start at the top with our grades. Let's talk about Julio. Obviously, a great season when you look at just the overall numbers, 275, 333, 485, 126 WRC plus, 5.9F4, 32 home runs, 103 RBI, 37 stolen bases, 24 and a half percent K rate, 6.6% walk rate. He's breaking records. He's doing things that very few people have done in the 100-plus year history of Major League Baseball. but there's a lot of context to sift through here when we're talking about Julio's second season in the big so how did you feel about his year?

I'm giving him like F minus no I'm not going to get that much hate but I will get some hate for this I think it's a B B plus somewhere in that range yeah Julio took some steps forward this year probably not quite as many as we would like but you know, the strikeout rate did go down some. His defense in center field did get significantly better. You know, the home run and the stolen base numbers did, you know, go up. He was good. Like, there's no way around it.

Julio was good with the exception of the last two weeks of the year. And in those last two weeks, we saw Julio get chance after chance to get his big hit, to kind of put the team on his back. And he never really did. Not in September. That was more JP's schick. Now, we did see Julio put the team on his back a little bit in August,

which is, was an incredible month, one of the best months in Mariners history. Certainly. One of the best months in baseball history, quite frankly, yeah, with 17 hits in four games or whatever,

broke the record. Yeah, August was insane, but one month doesn't completely outdo what was a, you know, Me, first half. He was pretty, he was okay in April and May. He was really bad in June.

And July, he was pretty good. August, he was incredible. And then September, the last two weeks, he just, he went back to those, those bad Julio at-bats where he was chasing everything and he was swinging out of his shoes. And he's trying to hit the nine run homer and all that stuff. And it just, it was a disaster. Julio was probably, you know, your worst hitter in those last, you know, 10 to 12 games. he didn't really contribute much at all in that last stretch.

And that does weigh, you know, he is only 22. So, like, obviously, it's not like he'll never be that guy who steps up and, you know, carries the team in those big, you know, playoff type situations. Definitely can still happen for him. And I'm trying not to be too harsh on the guy because, again, he is just 22 years old. But you're the star man. You're the franchise player. Like, you get graded more harsh. than other guys do.

You get graded more harshly than JP does because you're the guy. You're the one that they're building this entire franchise around, rightfully so. And so when you don't come through in those big moments, as often as Julio didn't, that you have to wear that. That has to weigh down on what your overall value to the club was. So,

Julio, great year, you know, set some records, uh, had an August that we'll never forget. And certainly show that there's even more, uh,

still left in the 10th. tank. He's probably going to finish top five in the MVP voting. Like it's really hard to look at this and go like, oh, well, you know, he, he disappointed because I don't think he did. But the reality of the situation is, is that in the last two weeks or so of the year, he fell flat on his face when the team needed him the most. And that is a negative mark on his on his report card. It has to be. So I'll go, you know, B, B plus. And I'm, I'm pretty confident that at some point in the future, he will be that guy who when the game is

tight and when the team needs somebody to carry them in the playoffs or in the playoff like situations, that he'll be the guy. Yeah. But for now he fell flat. He did at the end of the year and that greatly impacts is great in my opinion. Yeah, it's hard not

to have those last 10 games and especially that last game against the Astros really stick in the back of your mind here when thinking about Julio's season as a whole. You know, the month of August, again, just an incredible month, one of the best months you'll ever see in baseball. 429, 474, 724, that's a 232 WRC plus. Like, seriously, that's ridiculous.

Seven home runs, 30 RBI, 11 steals, 13 multi-hit games. He only went hitless and three games. Are you serious? Just a ridiculous month. But when you take that month out of his overall numbers, the overall numbers don't look that great. Like March through July, he had a 107 WRC plus. In September, he had a 103 WRC plus. His 2023 as a whole, his slash line over the course of the full season,

minus August, 246, 311, 439. So 105 WRC plus. Players with similar slash lines this year, Josh Bell, Brent Rucker, Vinnie Pasquitino, Carlos Santana, every player with a 105 WRC plus this year, Alec Baum. Eloy Jimenez, Edward Oliveris, Charlie Blackman,

Josh Bell, Teoscar Hernandez. Those guys are good players. They help, but that's not really the company that you want the face of your franchise to be in. Right? So, again,

like the overall numbers are great for Julio, but that month of August is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. Because without that month of August, Julio was essentially like 5 to 7% better than league average. And that frankly isn't good enough. Like good player.

That is a good player, especially when you factor in his impact on the base pass, his defense. Like he's still going to get a B plus for me because he might very well exit this season with another silver slugger and a gold glove. Like he was very good in a lot of different areas for this ball club. But when you talk about his struggles in the clutch, and I know that. that overall his bases loaded numbers are pretty good and you know the the high leverage numbers are pretty good but when you think about specific moments the biggest moments of this season when he had a chance to either win the game tie the game bring the mirrors back in the game there's only a few times where he actually came through you know you think about the grand slam in

kansas city uh you think about the home run in minnesota um there's a couple other moments right but that Houston series, and specifically that last game against Houston after Hector Neris went after, that was arguably the worst game of Julio's career. Honestly, I don't think it's even arguable. Like, I think that was definitively Julio's worst game of his career.

And that was just kind of a culmination of everything that I've had issue with, with Julio this year. Like, I have been very outspoken about Julio's struggles this year. and I don't necessarily blame it all on Julio. I think it's just the circumstance of the situation is like, yeah, he's very young, and that's totally fine.

And I get that he's going to have bumps in the road because of that. But he is because of the roster build, the star of this team. He has to be the engine. And he just wasn't at times for long periods of time. And you just really didn't know, except for the month of August, which Julio you were going to get on a night's night basis. and so I can't give them an A because of that. I can't.

And again, when you look at the overall numbers minus August, I just, that's not good enough for your star player. That's not good enough for the best, for the guy that's supposed to be the best player on your roster. All right. So to Oscar Hernandez is the next Mariners outfielder will be grading in just a moment, but first,

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Thank you again for making us your first listen. So before we get into our grades for Tay Oscar Hernandez and the rest of the Mariners outfield in 2023, quick reminder. Talked about this the last couple of shows, but a quick reminder once again that we are running another giveaway. Colby's giving away some of his cards. Colby, quick reminder of week. which cards are given away.

Yeah, so up this time, we have this Matt Brash, which is up first autograph card. We have a Brian Wu autograph card. If you're watching on YouTube, they're on the screen right now. We have this Bryce Miller autograph card. And then I guess kind of the grand prizes, we have this Harry Ford autograph card. So Brash Wu-Miller Ford, it's a pretty good lineup.

And all those cards can be yours. and Ty will tell you how. Yes, all you have to do is subscribe to the Lockdown Mariners YouTube channel. If you're already subscribed, great. All you have to do after that point, so leave a comment in the comment section of one of our videos posted in between this Tuesday and October 30th. And then you'll be entered to win.

We'll be picking one winner per card. And in order for us to give away these cards, we have to hit certain subscriber goals. So at 9,750 subscribers were given away the Matt Brash card, 10,000 subscribers were given away the Bryce Miller card. At 10,250 subscribers, we're given away the Brian Wu card. And at 10,500 subscribers, we're given away the Harry Ford card. Terms and conditions in the description of this episode.

So, Colby, I pounded the table for Tay Oscar Hernandez last offseason. I was very, very, very excited when they actually wound up trading for him. and then it did not go according to plan. Like he was still an above league average hitter by WRC Plus. He was a 105 WRC plus. He slashed 258 305-435 with 26 home runs, 93 RBI. That's great. But then 31.1% K rate.

He had 211 strikeouts this year, which is the third most in Major League Baseball. Now, obviously some of that is helped by the fact that he played a lot more games than most people in Major League Baseball. So naturally, you know, those cumulative stats are going to be a lot higher than some. But still, 211 strikeouts, third most in MLB right behind a Eugenio Suarez's teammate. That's a big reason, not the only reason, but a big reason for some of the mayor's offensive struggles this year. 5.6% walk rate, which is a hell of a lot better than he started with. He was hovering around 1.4% for a good chunk of the season to start the year.

I remember that very vividly. So, yeah, very disappointing season for Tayasca and it is. What are you given him grade-wise? C. That might be generous. It was acceptable, but like it met the bare minimum of expectations. So I guess C-minus. Like, it's very mediocre.

It doesn't stand out. You know, unlike Julio, he didn't have like the God month, but he did have a couple of stretches where he was, you know, a really good hitter. You know, he still finished 105 WRC Plus. So it's hard for me to go lower than a C minus just from that alone. But the defense was started out looking like a nice bonus. But of course, we remember the big play, the big air, the missed grounder or whatever. that turned into a triple and kind of turned the tide of that entire game against Houston. So yeah, to Oscar C-minus, I wasn't impressed.

I'm not, I'm not, you know, necessarily sad that he's leaving, probably, leaving. I'm not, you know, pounding the table for the Mariners to re-sign him. So, yeah, I think that's a C-minus. The strikeouts were ridiculous. The defense got worse as the year went on. And he was just kind of. of mediocre with the bat for large chunks of the season. So yeah,

based on what you needed him to be and what he actually gave you, C minus. I'm going to go D plus because I was, I was hurt. I was scorned. I stake his reputation. I was scorned by Teoscaraneda. And now, again, he was slightly above league average by WRC plus standards.

He did have the 26 home runs. He did drive in 93 runs. That's great. That's awesome. but the high strikeout rates the amount of games that I watch where he looked completely lost at the plate I lost count of how many times

he just looked almost disinterested yeah just looked completely utterly lost at the plate it was incredibly frustrating he was a very frustrating watch most nights and then you know the defense was great for like the first two months of the season

it was like wow he's actually taking a step forward defensively and that's kind of made up for some of the offensive struggles but then he started to fall back down to earth and the defense became very quickly below average well below average in right field and so he wasn't even making up for the lack of offense in that regard

and so for the most part he was mediocre player he wasn't the protection for Julio and JP that he was supposed to be right and not even for JP right like JP was kind of a bonus this year what he was able to do So it was really, like, you brought in Teo to be that second guy, to be the two and the one two punch with Julio. He was supposed to be the Robin to Julio's Batman. And he wasn't.

By month, his WRC Plus, 84 in March and April, 82 in May, 160 in June, 46 in July, 191 in August, and then 76 in September and October. we never got like just a you know an average teo this year like we just got one extreme or the other he was either really really bad for a month long period or he was one of the best hitters in baseball for a month long period and now in august like everyone on the mirrors was hitting so it's like how much stock am i even really putting into that this teo season was so disciplined man i it's and when Jerry like you know and his end of year press conference

goes up there and says you know we want to cut down on the strikeouts and all that I think he's specifically talking about Tay Oscar Hernandez in that situation like Teo's not coming back and that's sad because like I like Teo the person I think he's a great fit for the clubhouse like he's great

vibes guy right but if he's producing like this and then he's going to ask for you know 15 to $20 million a year I'm sorry man I'm gonna have to pass because it's not that hard for me to find that kind of production out of a corner outfielder with probably less strikeouts

a league average bad in the corner outfield you can do that with the right platoon partner with Jared Kalnick like yeah it's yeah Tosker was was bad like there's just he was bad point eight after he was he wasn't even like technically an everyday player like by two is usually the the cutoff there for sure for everyday players fringy everyday guy and that's how he looked a lot of the time so yeah

yeah uh disaster of a season relative to expectations and the second one second year in a row where teosker has slid from you know the year before so yeah this this could just be you know safe co or team mobile field curse or whatever you know the losers who don't want to examine things carefully whatever they want to call it marine layer uh yeah there you go just the Marine layer. That's, that's all it. It's just the Marine layer.

Maybe it's just the Marine layer, but, uh, it also could be a very good podcast, but it's, it's a thing, but not to like the extent that like, a lot of people think it is.

Because you know who never had a problem with the Marine layer? Nelson Cruz. So yeah, don't tell me the Marine layer affects every righty when Nelson Cruz is hitting line drive, pimp jobs. Like, nope, sorry.

Try again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just not good he's regressing like i think we just call that he got he's 31 now i it looks like he's regressing strikeouts are going up walks are going down wrc plus has gone down each of the last two years he just do better teosker gets a c minus d plus for me again i was scorned by uh by teo yeah origin story stuff we'll always have the walk off against the blue jays though we'll always have

that always hold that near and dear to my heart. All right, let's talk about Dom Canzone and Cade Marlow, a couple of young guys that came up and helped a little bit. We'll talk about them in just a moment. But first, a reminder of this episode of the Lockdown Marys podcast is brought to you by Jace Medical. Modern medical care and treatment are important, but our global supply chains are fragile. Things like pandemics, natural disasters, and foreign travel may cut you off from the treatment you need. Jace Medical is your solution for that. Just fill out our online form and one of our board certified physicians will review it determine whether medications are safe and appropriate.

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And you're listening to the Lockdown Mariners podcast. Thank you again for making us your first listen. So we're going to continue our outfield grades here for the 2023 Mariners. And we're going to start here with Dominic Canzone, who of course was one of the three pieces heading back from Arizona and the Paul Seawall deal. Canzone immediately slotted into the Mariners 26 man roster in hopes of adding some offensive. production when they really, really needed it. And Canzon had a mixed bag in his two-ish months, we'll say, in Seattle. He ends up finishing with a 79 WRC plus, just slash 215, 248, 407, 17% K rate, 4.3% walk rate.

He had 11 doubles, 5 home runs. He's had a pretty good month of August and start of September. but then as we got into about the second week of September onward he was pretty much useless at the plate and then the mariner started playing him less and less and yeah it also became abundantly clear that he was essentially a platoon bat he had really no hope against most lefties uh so yeah how do you feel about can zones cup of coffee essentially with the mariners see like it was pretty mediocre and the idea that like oh the mariners did upgrade their lineup at the deadline because they got tom can zone nope nope nope nope he wasn't the upgrade to your lineup like you were hoping he was he was bad um you know had some moments sure uh i still like the the player overall long term and i still think that he can definitely help you as soon as next year but for what he was this year he mediocre at best you know and not a great defender he made some some some great

great plays, but if you actually know anything about playing a little bit of outfield, those were great plays out of necessity because he made a bad play. Out of recovery. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. You know, Canzone is a guy that Mariner fans love and like a lot of them are ready to just give him the full time left field job for some reason and all that. I don't see it personally.

I don't think he should enter 24 with a good shot to make the major league roster. I'm sure he will, but I think that's a mistake. I think he should be in AAA for a good chunk of the year. But, you know, he was okay. Like I said, I think C is the highest you can reasonably go. I just 26-year-old rookie or whatever and comes up and he's 22% below league average at the plate. And that's kind of like his only tool is his hit tool. Like, C.

Yeah, yeah. I'll give him a C. I'll give the idea behind him a D because like this wasn't it we said that at the time of the deadline and it pretty much played out that way I mean again he was fairly productive

during the month of August and into the early stages of September but once things got very real for the Mariners and look a lot of guys struggled it wasn't just Canzone so I'm not putting a ton on him here but he was

was really bad for the last like three weeks of the season he didn't help you at all and uh you know when you add guys at the deadline they're supposed to help you down the stretch they're supposed to help you get into the postseason go to the world series hopefully all right cade marlow he uh he got the call up in um what early august i believe and obviously made his presence felt almost immediately with the grand slam against the angels how did you uh feel about Marlowe's season, Colby. Marlowe was pretty mediocre. He definitely helped keep you afloat early in the Jared Kellnick injury time,

but when the league made their adjustment to him, he had no shot, which is why he never saw the big leagues for the rest of the year. But, you know, did it come up with some big hits, made some nice plays defensively. I'll go C-plus. because yeah there was a time where he was you know one of your your better players and you know he showed some stuff and he had some big at-bats but yeah they just you know I don't feel great about him going into next year but I think he's a good AAA stash so C plus I would give him a B plus I mean like I know he got exposed there over the last couple weeks of you know of him being on the roster but like he gave you something when you were expecting really anything out of him. So, I mean, he helped you win a couple of games this year, undoubtedly. Like, that, that to me, like, it bumps up his grade quite a bit. But yeah, in terms of, like,

do I think there's a future for him in Seattle? I don't really know. I don't have high hopes for that. But overall, I mean, when at a time when you needed help, he gave you that. And, you know, eventually that ran its course. But overall, I thought it was a pretty good year for Cade Marr. I would consider that a success overall for Marlo. So yeah, B plus for me. I won't give them an A, but I'll give them a B plus. All right, that's going to do it for our show. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Marrars podcast.

For Colby Patnode, I'm Tadine Gis. I'm Taddenk, sure to give us a follow on Twitter and L-O-U-U-N-Z. You can follow me at Dan G-N-ZL-Z and Colby at C-Pat-11. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. And thank you again for making us your first listen. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day. We'll see you next time. Peace.