The Seattle Mariners had an eventful “first half” of the season, putting themselves firmly in playoff contention coming out of the All-Star break while Cal Raleigh does incredible things at the plate.
With 66 games remaining, though, the Mariners still have plenty to play for.
There’s reason to expect plenty of fireworks when the season resumes, from Raleigh chasing records to trade deadline drama and more.
Here are four bold predictions for the Mariners the rest of this season:
Cal Raleigh sets 3 home run records
It feels like every time Raleigh swung the bat in the first half, he was setting some kind of home run record. He ended up with 38 homers before the All-Star break, second-most ever behind only Barry Bonds.
Some of the records Raleigh has already set were more convoluted than others. But in the second half, we’re predicting that he’ll set three very sturdy marks.
The first: Home runs by a catcher in a single season. Kansas City’s Salvador Perez holds this at 48. It’ll be easy to break, potentially by mid-or-late August.
The second: Home runs by a switch-hitter in a season. Mickey Mantle set this for the Yankees in 1961 with 54. That, too, appears well within Raleigh’s reach.
The third will be the toughest: Home runs by an American League player in one season. This is Aaron Judge’s mark, at 62, having broken Roger Maris’ famed 61 a couple of seasons ago.
Raleigh is on pace to end the season with 64 homers if he hits them at exactly the rate he did in the first half. He could truly end up with all three of those crowns.
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A trade deadline reunion in Seattle
A video clip at All-Star Weekend showed Raleigh embracing Eugenio Suarez in a hug.
Suarez spent two seasons in Seattle before being traded to Arizona in November 2023.
Now, the power-hitting third baseman is one of the hottest names on the trade market before the deadline at the end of the month.
Bigger markets have been thrown out as his destination, but this prediction is that Suarez and his 31 homers will come back to Seattle.
The Mariners have more top-100 prospects than any team in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. And they need an upgrade on Ben Williamson at third base.
Suarez is the perfect fit.
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Bryan Woo keeps his streak alive
The All-Star right-hander is 18 for 18 so far: He has gone at least six innings in every one of his starts while not allowing more than two walks in any of them.
Woo pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout at the Midsummer Classic.
He’s due for a slip-up, right?
Wrong.
Woo is going to go the whole second half with his incredible consistency intact. He’s likely due for something like 13 more starts.
He’s already made it this far, so why not keep it up the rest of the way?
MORE: Bryan Woo makes Mariners history at the All-Star Game
Mariners win the AL West
This could’ve just been that Seattle makes the playoffs, but that wouldn’t be bold. They hold a wild-card spot to start the second half.
But their deficit to the Houston Astros in the division is five games. That’s a lot of work.
For this bold prediction to come true, it’d probably require at least the Suarez deal at the deadline, and potentially another strong bat added to the lineup, too.
Houston has dealt with injury troubles, and those may not go away. They’re vulnerable to getting caught if the Mariners get hot enough.
Might as well chase them down.
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