3 Up
The signing of Justin Upton, I seething as a good thing because of the simple fact is a capable veteran presence, 14yr vet, 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger had success in both the AL and NL. He was also only 19 when the D-Backs went to the NLCS in 2007 and had been to three division series at age 23(Ari), Atl(25). That piece is huge for me, as he was likely brought in for that track record.
Julio is on pace as of 5/23, and 43G played. He sat at 13SB, which put him on pace for 47SB this season; while JK was up, he was on pace through his 30G played for 22SB. As of 5/27, when I checked again, he's on pace for 46SB after 45G played.
Two positive areas in the pitching department, the staff is 5th as of 5/23 in the AL in strikeouts. While this can be spun a couple of ways, the 162WL% for the pitching staff sits right at .500, which shows there is room for improvement. At the same time, the staff is 16 RAR(Runs above replacements. Logan Gilbert is atop with 14, while Penn Murfee is at 6. While guys like Brash and Castillo are -6 or worse in this category. We could use a guy like Swanson back as he was at +5. While Ray +2, Romo +3, and Sewald +4 are bright sports, Sheffield is doing well in 4.2IP with the M's with a 3.57FIP and a 0.00ERA and +2RaR.
3 Down
We have one player on pace for 30+ HR as of 5/27; guess who? Suarez, 9HR, 32HR pace. France is on pace for 25, Julio 21; before the injury to Toro, he was also on pace for 18; JP and Raleigh are on pace for 15HR a piece. Winker is on pace for just 7Hr as of 5/27
To add to my last point, we miss the Hanigers bat; he was on pace through his nine games played for 54HR this season.
The team is 7th in the AL in Errors, with Suarez, Raleigh, and Frazier each having three while JP has 6, yes six as of 5/23 when I had time to put all my stats together this month.
What's ahead for June:
Winker is fringe right now for me, and I feel we need a platoon for him against LHP, as he is a -0.6WAr as of 5/23 and 5/27 -0.5. But he is due to being back atop the line, and he will end up in the +WAR
The Mariners end June +4 games above .500 with their w/l total for June. They play 29 games total; 19-10 is my projection.