Rivalry Review: Ranking the AL West Lineups Heading Into the 2023 Season

Division Series - Houston Astros v Seattle Mariners - Game Three
Division Series - Houston Astros v Seattle Mariners - Game Three / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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Julio Rodriguez
Division Series - Houston Astros v Seattle Mariners - Game Three / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

2) Seattle Mariners

Projected lineup:

1) CF Julio Rodriguez
2) 1B Ty France
3) 3B Eugenio Suárez
4) RF Teoscar Hernández
5) Kolten Wong
6) C Cal Raleigh
7) SS J.P. Crawford
8) DH AJ Pollock
9) LF Jarred Kelenic

In my opinion, the Mariners were the second-best team in the AL last season, and provided Houston the toughest test they faced in October. They went through some growing pains, but those should be in the rearview for 2023.

Anytime a team can pencil Julio Rodriguez into the top of their lineup, they've got to feel good about themselves. The two-time Silver Slugger Hernández was a big get for them via trade. He cost them a premium and is on a one-year contract, but he brings 73 home runs and an .852 OPS over the last three seasons to a lineup that desperately needed pop.

Ty France is a solid talent, and strikeout prone or not, Suarez blasted 31 big flies last season. Questions still abound about a piece like Kellenic, but the addition of pieces like Hernández and Wong solidifies Seattle as the second best lineup in the division.