The Seattle Mariners are entering the third year of their rebuild, but they are still expected to finish toward the bottom of the American League West. The Mariners finished 27-33 in 2020, but will most likely have a worse winning percentage over 162 games.
I do not think the Mariners will be as bad as people believe in the American League West. Nobody is great in the AL West, so I think Seattle has a chance to surprise some online sports betting fans.
On BetUS Sportsbook, the Mariners’ regular-season wins total is listed at 72½. The over and under are both listed at -115.
The Mariners front office and coaching staff have stated that they are more focused on development than the wins column, which is concerning if you want to take them over.
I think the Mariners narrowly sneak by 72½ wins. The over is a safer bet than the under, in my opinion, for Seattle.
Mariners’ Lineup
The Mariners are loaded with average talent, but many young players on the team have high ceilings. Nobody will jump off the roster when it comes to power, but Seattle has four players that should hit between 20 and 30 home runs.
They have a couple of weak spots in the lineup with outfielder Taylor Trammell and catcher Tom Murphy. Despite this fact, there are very few MLB teams that have complete lineups from top to bottom.
In the AL West, there are teams with bigger holes than the Mariners. The main difference is that these teams have more prominent stars to fill the void for their weak spots.
I expect Kyle Seager to have a substantial year at the plate. This should help the Mariners push up their win total. If J.P Crawford, Mitch Haniger, and Kyle Lewis can have decent years, it will help protect Seager in the cleanup spot.
This lineup is going to have to hit as a team for it to have success. I think the Mariners will have this opportunity in the AL West in 2021.
Pitching Staff
Marco Gonzales and James Paxton lead the Mariners pitchers. Both of these pitchers will have ERAs from a high three to a low four number. Both of these pitchers have been relatively consistent in their time in the show.
Consistency is vital when you are in a rebuilding process because there are many highs and lows along the way. If Gonzales and Paxton pitch as they should, it will set the rest of the rotation up for success.
The bullpen is going to play a significant role for the Mariners this season. Rafael Montero, Anthony Misiewicz, and Kendall Graveman.
These pitchers should carry the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen, which will be valuable for this team. All three pitchers have solid strikeout abilities, so look for them to have a big season.
American League West
The AL West is not the best division in baseball, but it’s not the worst. The Mariners will be challenged, but there is not a team that Seattle cannot compete with on paper.
The Astros should give them a little trouble, but the Angels and Athletics are average teams. These two squads rely on a couple of players, so Seattle could win a good number of games against Los Angeles and Oakland.
The team that Seattle needs to beat consistently is the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are rebuilding, but they are behind Seattle. If Seattle can win most of the 19 games played between the two teams, I like its chances to go over 72½ wins.
The Mariners win total is a pick ’em, but I am riding with the over in 2021. When doing your MLB betting, take Seattle over 72½ wins.
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