HOUSTON — Breaking down the position matchups in the American League Division Series between the Mariners and Astros, which starts Tuesday in Houston.
Position-by-position comparison
First base
Ty France
After a blazing start to the season — a .316/.390/.476 slash line his first 70 games — that saw him make the AL All-Star team, France cooled off significantly, dropping his overall numbers to .276/.340/.437 with 27 doubles, 20 homers and 94 RBI in 140 games this season. He’s slowly finding his approach, which is key for Seattle.
Yuli Gurriel
After posting a .319/.383/.462 slash line with 31 doubles, 15 homers and 81 RBI in 2021, the 38-year-old started showing signs of his age this season. Gurriel slumped to a .242/.288/.360 slash line with 40 doubles, eight homers and 53 RBI. After winning a Gold Glove in 2021, he’s still a high-level defensive first baseman.
Edge: Seattle
Second base
Adam Frazier
After his Game 2 heroics in Toronto, Frazier will get the start in Games 1 and 3 with right-handers Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers expected to start for Houston. Dylan Moore could get the start when lefty Framber Valdez is expected to take the mound, likely in Game 2 Thursday.
Jose Altuve
There might not be a player disliked more by Mariners fans than the diminutive second baseman. But there might not be a better second baseman in baseball. Per FanGraphs, Altuve leads all MLB at the position with a 6.6 wins above replacement (fWAR), including a .300/.387/.533 slash line with 39 doubles, 28 homers, 57 RBI and 103 runs scored. He’s going to swing early. The Mariners know this by now. Can they slow him down?
Edge: Astros
Third base
Eugenio Suarez
Playing with a broken index finger on his throwing hand, Suarez racked up four hits in the two postseason games, driving in two runs and scoring three runs. He’s been a major contributor to the Mariners success this season. In 150 games, he’s posted a .236/.332/.459 slash line with 24 doubles, two triples, a team-high 31 homers, 87 RBI, 73 walks and 196 strikeouts and 4.1 fWAR.
Alex Bregman
If Altuve is the most disliked player by Mariners fans, Bregman is a close second. The confident third baseman has put up a pull-happy .259/.366/.454 slash line with 38 doubles, 23 homers, 93 RBI, 87 walks and only 77 strikeouts with a 5.5 fWAR. He will work counts and try to pull homers into the short Crawford Boxes.
Edge: Push
Shortstop
J.P. Crawford
After a blazing first month of the season, Crawford has struggled to find consistent production. While his slash line of .243/.339/.336 to go with 24 doubles, three triples, six homers, 42 RBI, 68 walks and 80 strikeouts isn’t ideal, he still delivered the biggest hit of the postseason — a three-run double in Saturday’s win. The Mariners still need more from their team leader.
Jeremy Pena
For the first two months of the season, Pena was seen as a candidate to compete with Julio Rodriguez for the American League Rookie of the Year. But while Rodriguez started to get better, Pena hit the rookie wall and finished with a .253/.289/.426 slash line with 20 doubles, two triples, 22 homers, 63 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 22 walks and 135 strikeouts. But he still posted better overall numbers than Crawford on offense and defense this season.
Edge: Astros
Catcher
Cal Raleigh
The Big Dumper has also been a big thumper this season, with 27 homers in the regular season and one in the postseason, despite an aching left thumb that bothers him when he catches certain pitches and bats right-handed has kept him out of the lineup against his wishes. He won’t allow anyone else to start in the division series.
Martin Maldonado
The veteran catcher, whose got his own unique nickname, “Machete,” is not much of a hitter, though he seems to find ways to come up with big hits against Seattle this season. He has just seven hits in 48 plate appearances, but two were doubles and two were homers. What Maldonado does well is shut down opponent’s running games. It won’t be easy for the Mariners to steal bases on him.
Edge: Mariners
Left field
Jarred Kelenic
Recalled in the final weeks, Kelenic’s numbers over his final 14 games of the regular season, weren’t great — a .180/.293/.420 slash line with three doubles, three homers, five RBI, seven walks and 14 strikeouts in 58 plate appearances. He also went hitless in the wild-card series with a sac fly. The Mariners could opt to sit him in Game 2 if Framber Valdez is on the mound.
Yordan Alvarez
Alvarez’s best position is hitter, certainly not left field, though the short porch with the Crawford Boxes in left field makes it far easier. He knows any ball hit behind him will be off the wall or in the seats. But he’s one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. He posted a .306/.406/.613 slash line with 27 doubles, two triples, 37 homers and 97 RBI in only 135 games. In 15 games vs. Seattle this season, Alvarez has two doubles, five homers and 13 RBI.
Edge: Astros
Center field
Julio Rodriguez
The expected rookie of the year has put together a monster season despite missing 30 games due to various injuries. Rodriguez posted a .284/.345/.509 slash line with 25 doubles, three triples, 28 homers, 75 RBI, 25 stolen bases, 40 walks and 145 strikeouts. Rodriguez had just one hit in the two postseason games but was also hit by a pair of pitches.
Chas McCormick
With a stacked lineup, he’s out there for defensive purposes more than his production at the plate. He’s posted a .245/.332/.407 slashline with 12 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 44 RBI with 46 walks and 106 strikeouts.
Edge: Mariners
Right field
Mitch Haniger
Injured for much of the season, Haniger started to turn it on in the final week of the season. He has 13 hits, including two doubles, four homers and 10 RBI in his last nine games. He had two hits in the postseason. His defense in right field and his strong throwing arm will prove useful in these games.
Kyle Tucker
Making his first All-Star team in 2022, Tucker posted a .257/.330/.478 slash line with 28 doubles, a triple, 30 homers, 107 RBI with 25 walks and 59 strikeouts. He has the second highest fWAR of AL right fielders at 4.7. He’s got a .275/.359/.491 slash line with 20 doubles, 17 homers and 60 RBI vs. right-handed pitchers.
Edge: Astros
Starting rotation
Mariners
- Logan Gilbert
- Luis Castillo
- George Kirby
- Robbie Ray
With Gilbert starting Game 1, it means he will be available to pitch twice in the five-game series. Because of the weird off day Wednesday, Luis Castillo, who will likely start Game 2, would be pitching on short rest in a potential Game 5. The big question is whether Robbie Ray starts Saturday night at T-Mobile Park in the first postseason game since 2001. The Astros have abused Ray this year, scoring 14 runs (13 earned) in 10 2/3 innings on a whopping 23 hits with six homers, seven walks and seven strikeouts. Would the Mariners have Kirby start Game 3 instead and come back with Gilbert for a potential Game 4?
Astros
- Justin Verlander
- Framber Valdez
- Lance McCullers
- Luis Garcia
Verlander is expected to be the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young Award — the third of his career — at age 39 and a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He posted an 18-4 record with a 1.75 ERA in 34 starts with 185 strikeouts and 29 walks in 175 innings pitched. Valdez will likely finish in the top five after posting a 17-6 record with a 2.82 ERA in 201 1/3 innings with three complete games and no-hitter.
Edge: Push
Bullpen
Mariners
The extra day of rest will be good for the Mariners bullpen, specifically Andres Munoz, who was used on back-to-back days in high-leverage situations. The Mariners bullpen has produced a 4.1 wins above replacement this season, which was seventh best in the AL. The relievers combined for a 9.70 strikeouts per nine innings in the regular season, which is the third highest, while their 2.99 walks per nine innings is the second lowest.
Astros
Houston’s bullpen produced a 7.6 fWAR this season, which was the best in the American League, and also led the AL in ERA (2.80) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.45). The Astros top three relievers Ryan Pressly (33 saves, 2.98 ERA), former Mariner Rafael Montero (5-2, 2.37 ERA) and Ryne Stanek (1.15 ERA) are tough in the later innings. They also have lefty Will Smith, who was the Braves closer on the World Series team in 2021.
Edge: Astros by slim margin
Bench
Seattle will carry two extra catchers along with utility players Moore and Abraham Toro. Veteran switch hitter Carlos Santana is expected to serve as the designated hitter for all three games. He had a big homer vs. the Blue Jays but also dealt with some hamstring cramps. The Mariners could add another pitcher to their roster, cutting their bench short by a player — perhaps Taylor Trammell.
The Astros will have slugging left-hander Trey Mancini, who they acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline, serve as their primary designated hitter. They have also have versatile Aledmys Diaz and Mauricio Dubon to play multiple roles. Speedy outfielder Jake Meyers will be a late-inning defensive replacement and solid catcher Christian Vazquez as the backup.
Edge: Push