06-07-2025
Tough June Sends Seattle Mariners Down In MLB Power Rankings
Tough June Sends Seattle Mariners Down In MLB Power Rankings originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Heading into the summer months, the Seattle Mariners looked to be in good position to put a hammerlock on the American League West Division. Now? The Mariners see themselves out of the lead.
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There have been some mitigating circumstances around Seattle's drop from No. 13 to No. 15 in the latest MLB Power Rankings from The Athletic. That's not to say tuning in to a Mariners game to see if MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh can't connect again isn't a worthy reason to watch.
Raleigh, who has 33 home runs this season entering Tuesday's play on July 1, 2025, has been the "Big Dumper" in a big way. His offense has been the catalyst around Seattle, at least, staying in chatter for a possible AL wild card spot.
Yet the overall play of the Mariners has been suspect coming out of June.
Seattle Mariners weren't able to keep their lead in AL West Division from red-hot Astros
"The Mariners began June in first place, with a 31-26 record. Ten games into the month, they stood at 33-34 and four games out," Drew Brisbee of The Athletic wrote.
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"The skid has stopped, and they've cobbled together a winning record since then, but they're still losing ground to the absurdly hot (Houston) Astros," Brisbee wrote. "So the Mariners don't have a June trend, per se, as much as they have an understanding that baseball, like life, can come at you quickly.
"The franchise has been aware of this particular quirk of the sport for about 50 years now, so no one can feign surprise," Brisbee wrote. "So far, it's all added up to a very Mariners season, yet again."
Seattle needs better efforts from its starting pitchers like George Kirby. Center fielder Julio Rodriguez needs to pick up the pace, too. Mariners hitters besides Raleigh must step up and help the Seattle offense stay hot.
The Astros, even with a depleted 40-man roster due to injuries to their pitching staff and on-field players, are putting a stranglehold on the AL West lead. Seattle might just have to focus on getting an AL wild card position if it cannot wrestle the lead away from the Astros at all.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
