Dustin Ackley

[Logicallylethal]

Ackley is hitting .327 (19 for 58) so far post all star break. It's a small sample size but if he can continue to hit for a solid avg...maybe add an ability to steal some bases...and continue to be an above average center fielder with very good range...I will take him as our starting outfielder

I always hear about Ackley's great speed...and we see him put it on display every now and then when he has to track a ball in the outfield...but why he doesn't use it to steal some bases is beyond me...

 

[dude82]

Ackley is hitting .327 (19 for 58) so far post all star break. It's a small sample size but if he can continue to hit for a solid avg...maybe add an ability to steal some bases...and continue to be an above average center fielder with very good range...I will take him as our starting outfielder

I always hear about Ackley's great speed...and we see him put it on display every now and then when he has to track a ball in the outfield...but why he doesn't use it to steal some bases is beyond me...

The lack of stolen bases is a team-wide thing. Nobody is running and I'm sure if they were getting the green light and just not taking advantage of it, we'd be hearing about it in the media. They just don't seem to be getting the go-ahead to run and I don't get why that is, because we have some fast guys and good base-runners and running, or at least the threat of running, would open up so much for this offense and help solve our issue of not scoring enough runs when we aren't hitting homers.

 

[octagondd]

We are hitting alot of homers. 3rd in the AL, 4th in the MLB, but 11th in the AL in runs scored. Unfortunately, many HRs are solos, so some better OBP guys at the top of the order would be better. Miller and Franklin are helping here, although Franklin is either slumping or they have figured him out and he hasn't made the adjustment yet. Smoak has a good eye and decent OBP for a bigger guy. I wouldn't mind seeing him move up a bit, but he is doing so well hitting in the 6 or 7 spot it would seem silly mess with that.

Maybe Wedge put the kaibosh on base stealing due to the youngsters not making good decisions or having a good enough read on the pitchers yet.

 

[cezero]

yes, it's a small sample size.

i'd be somewhat convinced that he might have figured out something if he managed the herculean feat of staying above .250 for 3-4 months.

i want him to do well, but it will take a lot before i'm convinced his recent success is anything but an anomaly.

 

[blstoker]

We are hitting alot of homers. 3rd in the AL, 4th in the MLB, but 11th in the AL in runs scored. Unfortunately, many HRs are solos, so some better OBP guys at the top of the order would be better. Miller and Franklin are helping here, although Franklin is either slumping or they have figured him out and he hasn't made the adjustment yet. Smoak has a good eye and decent OBP for a bigger guy. I wouldn't mind seeing him move up a bit, but he is doing so well hitting in the 6 or 7 spot it would seem silly mess with that.

People are focusing on the solo HRs too much. The Mariners are ranked 3rd in the AL in HR (141), and they are tied for 3rd in the AL in solo HRs (84), but they are only ranked 10th in the AL in % of HR that are solo (59.57%). The biggest problem with the offense is that they don't score enough when the ball doesn't leave the park. The Mariners have the highest percentage of there runs from the longball (47.36%) and in direct corolation, they have scored the fewest runs in the AL without HRs (249). Only Baltimore has a winning percentage over .500 with higher than 40% of their runs coming from HRs. Until the Mariners can score consistently without having the ball leave the park, their offense will be mediocre.

On a side note, if the M's scored just the league average of runs without HRs (322), with their power numbers they would be ranked 5th in the AL in runs scored (224+322=546).