2021 Seattle Mariners Predictions and Odds to Win the World Series

by Chris Vasile - 3/23/2021

I can’t be the only one to think that the only good thing to come out of Seattle was Ken Griffey Jr. and the baseball video game he produced for Super Nintendo. I mean, since the Mariners became a franchise back in 1977, they’ve managed to make the playoffs just four times. However, they did win a playoff series in three of those four years. Baby steps, right?

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The only good accomplishments the Mariners have as a franchise is staking claim to Randy Johnson’s Cy Young award in 1995, Griffey’s MVP award in 1997, and Felix Hernandez’s Cy Young in 2010. However, more recently, the team just captured the ROY award with Kyle Lewis winning the award despite the team finishing with a record of 27-33 and below .500 for the third time in the last four years.

The Mariners will open the regular season on April 1 with a six-game homestand that will see the San Francisco Giants come to town for a three-game set, followed by the Chicago White Sox for three. From there, the Mariners hit the road for seven games with a stop in Minnesota for three and Baltimore for four. The Mariners come into this season as long shots to win the World Series, checking in at +8000. They are +850 to win the AL Pennant and +6000 to win the AL West. Their win total has been set at 72.5.

Mariners 2021 Projected Lineup

One quick look at the Mariners batting order and you’ll quickly see why the team continues to sputter along season after season. Their projected lineup for opening day looks like this:

Mitch Haniger
Dylan Moore
Kyle Lewis
Kyle Seager
Ty France
Tom Murphy
Taylor Trammell
Evan White
J.P. Crawford

Speaking of video games, the Mariners roster looks like it’s a bunch of made-up people occupying these nine Major League spots. Perhaps the biggest name on the roster is that of Lewis because he was the ROY winner last season. Lewis finished last year with very respectable stats for a 24-year-old rookie. He appeared in 58 games and hit 11 homeruns, scored 37 runs and drove in 28 to go with five stolen bases. He hit .262 on the season with a .437 slugging percentage and a 1.6 WAR. It’ll be interesting to see if Lewis can continue to progress at a steady rate, especially since this year is a full 162-game season.

Behind Lewis is another Kyle. Kyle Seager is perhaps best known for being Corey Seager’s (LAD) brother. Seager had an OK season last year, posing just nine home runs, 35 runs and 40 RBIs while stealing five bases. He needs to find a way to get his batting average up from .241 if he’s going to provide the support the Mariners need in behind the first three hitters.

As a team, the Mariners are projected to struggle to produce any sort of consistent offense. The projections have them with just four guys hitting over 20 homeruns, with Seager leading the way with 25. Leadoff man Haniger is slated to knock out 24 with six stolen bases, and Evan White, who will bat eighth and play first base, is slated for 24 as well.

Mariners 2021 Projected Rotation & Closer

The Mariners’ pitching staff will be the biggest question mark for this season. They are expected to work with four of the five guys from last year’s rotation, with two new additions fighting for the final spot in the rotation.

Marcos Gonzales had a tremendous season for the M’s last season, pitching to a 7-2 record in 11 starts, with a 3.10 ERA. He’s the undoubted ‘ace’ of the staff, and it will be up to him to continue the winning streaks or stop the bleeding should it come to that.

Beyond him, Yusei Kikuchi, James Paxton, Justus Sheffield, Chris Flexen, and Justin Dunn are all pitchers looking to make a name for themselves in the rotation. Paxton came over from the Yankees in the free agency window, but he’s coming off a year where he posted a 6.64 ERA and won just one game last season. Flexen is the other new addition, but he comes out of the KBO, where he won eight games and lost four in 21 starts while keeping his ERA at 3.01 and striking out 9.27 batters per nine innings of work. The KBO and MLB are two completely different beasts. However, we’ve seen players come from there and have success, so I won’t be quick dismiss him.

As for the bullpen, it remains unchanged from last year. Rafael Montero will do the closing and is projected to close around 24 games this season while keeping his ERA to 3.79. His set-up men will be Kendall Graveman and Anthony Misiewicz. Other than that, the M’s bullpen is a work in progress.

Mariners 2021 Predictions

FanGraphs projects the Mariners to finish with a record of 74-88, which would put them fourth in the AL West and have them miss the playoffs yet again. The win total is relatively low for this team, and I see why. The batting lineup lacks any luster, and the pitching rotation is a coin-flip at best on if they can stay healthy and be productive over this marathon season. I guess as the saying goes “when it rains it pours”. And it’s always raining in Seattle. Give me the under.

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Start:	September 21, 2023 @ 11:59 PM
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2021 Seattle Mariners Predictions and Odds to Win the World Series

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