While the last two weeks have not been ideal, the Seattle Mariners’ entire performance over the first quarter of the season has the team well positioned for an extended playoff push this year.
The Mariners enter Friday with a 23-19 record, leading the American League West, ranking fifth in the American League, and 11th in MLB. With how weak the American League is this year, it is a strong foundation to build on with the remaining 120 games of the campaign.
Seattle last made the postseason in 2022, with their most recent trip before that one coming in 2001. They have famously never won a playoff series in their 49-year existence, but the M’s have a strong chance of changing that this year.
Good morning. According to Fangraphs, the Seattle Mariners hold the highest odds of making the playoffs in the American League. pic.twitter.com/SxXL5JZhsc
— Anders Jorstad (@AndersJorstad) May 4, 2025
A recent article from Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report took a look at the playoff chances of all 30 teams through the first quarter of the season and ranked them from most to least likely. The M’s are sitting pretty with their 87.2% chance, and Miller ranked them sixth.
“Seattle feels a bit high as the third-most likely playoff team out of the American League,” Miller wrote, “but perhaps that’s just the nagging memory of the M’s blowing what was a 10-game lead in the AL West in mid-June of last season. They’re hitting much better than last year, even with Julio Rodríguez’s OPS continuing to hover in the .700 range. And even with George Kirby yet to make his 2025 debut, they’ve managed to more than tread water and should be in excellent shape when both he and Logan Gilbert return, hopefully by the end of the month.”
Rodriguez’s offensive struggles throughout his career have certainly been an issue, but he still provides strong defense in the outfield and can turn the power on at any given moment.
Julio Rodríguez, home-run robbery. Wow. pic.twitter.com/0NsdsPc3v6
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) May 14, 2025
The first quarter of the season has come and gone, and “only” 120 games remain. The base has been poured, and now it is time for Seattle to build on their strong start to the year in its push for the playoffs.