Matt Calkins: Mariners have star power, but it's their role players doing the heavy lifting

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on Apr 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — They take the field regularly at T-Mobile Park … but would they be recognized at a random T-Mobile store?

They share a clubhouse with All-Stars and MVP contenders … but what if these nonstars are the reason the Seattle Mariners are contending?

Most folks around here know Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor, Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo and Andrés Muñoz. But the more casual fans in this town might not be able to identify Cole Young, Emerson Hancock, Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash, Dominic Canzone or Brendan Donovan.

Still, while fans wear the jerseys of the main guys on their backs, it’s the other guys that have been carrying the Mariners (16-16) on theirs.

Exhibit A for this case is Young — the 22-year-old who’s been the clear MVP for the M’s so far this season. The second baseman slapped a two-run single in the ninth inning Wednesday to give the Mariners a one-run lead over the Twins, who they ended up beating 5-3.

Young — who went 2 for 4 with three RBI — is making heroism a habit. Not only did Wednesday mark his third multi-hit game in his last four outings, but it is almost sure to improve upon his team-leading 1.9 WAR — which was tied for fifth in MLB heading into hump day.

But he isn’t alone. Brash — the reliever who was forced to exit after two pitches due to an injury Wednesday — has not allowed a run over his 11 1/3 innings pitched this season. Bazardo, a fellow reliever, has a 1.29 ERA over his 14 innings.

Hancock, the starting pitcher who was seen as a stand-in for Bryce Miller when the season began, has seemingly solidified his spot in the rotation. Hard to remove a guy who has a 2.86 ERA and 0.981 WHIP over 34 2/3 innings. Emerson’s 0.8 WAR is the second-best among pitchers for the M’s, trailing only George Kirby.

Then, of course, you have third baseman Donovan and his .954 OPS — making him perhaps the team’s top offensive contributor before a groin injury put him on the injured list. Right fielder Dominic Canzone, meanwhile, has managed a .837 OPS over his 25 games this season — and his ninth-inning single before Young’s go-ahead swing Wednesday is a key reason the Mariners were able to take the lead.

It took nearly a month for Raleigh — who has five home runs in his past eight games — to find his groove in the batter’s box. Rodríguez, who had four multi-hit games in his past eight contests, also suffered from what has become his signature slow start. Naylor entered Wednesday’s game with a -0.3 WAR and ended up going 0 for 4.

Past All-Stars such as Logan Gilbert (4.03 ERA) and Woo (3.86) have been solid, but well short of spectacular. As for Muñoz? He got the save with a scoreless, two-strikeout ninth on Wednesday, but he still has a 6.00 ERA on the year. And Castillo? Well, his ERA is at 6.55.

This all could be interpreted as good news for the Mariners. They are sitting at .500, a half a game out of first place in the American League West, despite their most well-established players performing below expectations. Conventional wisdom suggests most of the aforementioned names will bounce back toward the mean. For now, the M’s will gladly accept the “other guys” being otherworldly.

“Momentum” is a hard thing to carry over from game-to-game in any sport, but this is particularly true in baseball — where a new guy is on the mound for every contest. So the idea of a series or victory “spring boarding” a team to future success is dubious.

But let’s play that game for a second and assume that momentum is real. In that case, this past road trip might have been exactly what the M’s needed. They swept St. Louis in a series that featured two one-run wins and a down-by-three comeback. They took two out of three from Minnesota in a series punctuated by another ninth-inning rally. Some of the team’s titans had their moments, no doubt — but the supporting cast is why they now have as many wins as losses.

Of course, if one is to assume that the stars will bounce back, it’s probably a safe bet to say some of these surprises will regress. Other than Young, they all have track records indicating what their stats will look like by season’s end.

For now, though, the role players have the Mariners rolling. Give them their credit. It’s way past due.

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