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The Seattle Mariners had a strong showing in the MLB Draft last week, adding quality depth to what has been a depleted farm system. Their first round pick, No. 11 overall, was considered a steal by many as the M’s selected Mercer outfielder and College Baseball Player of the Year Kyle Lewis. While Lewis is considered one of the top talents in this draft by many, the question remains when he’ll make his debut with the big-league club. Thanks to the struggles of current left fielder Nori Aoki, the answer may be sooner rather than later.
Aoki was signed as a free agent this offseason to act as a top-of-the-order, high-contact hitter who would steal some bases and play adequate defense. The 34-year-old outfielder has made a living off filling that role for teams, posting no worse than a .285 batting average in his four seasons as a big-league outfielder (back in 2014 with the Kansas City Royals) prior to 2016. So far this season, however, he’s posting career-lows with a .239 batting average, .319 on-base percentage, and .312 slugging percentage.
On top of that, Aoki’s skills as a base thief have seemingly diminished. So far this season, Aoki has succeeded in just 4 of 11 stolen base attempts, a success rate of just 36 percent. While his stolen base numbers have dropped each season he’s been in MLB, that success rate is a far cry from his career 71 percent success rate that he came into this season with.
So if Aoki is struggling with all the tools that made him an attractive free-agent signing this offseason, Seattle could look for other options. As we saw while the team dealt with the DL-stint of outfielder Leonys Martin, the Mariners lack depth in the outfield, particularly with MLB-ready outfield help at the Triple-A level. Aoki struggled at times to cover for Martin when he played in center field for him and the defense as a whole struggled.
Enter Lewis, a 6-foot-4 center fielder for Mercer University who has enjoyed tremendous success at the collegiate level. He’s a rangy fielder with plus defense who can transition to the corner outfield to play next to Martin if needed and offers serious pop at the plate. After hitting .395/.535/.731 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI this year with Mercer, Lewis looks ready to continue his phenomenal development at the pro level.
If Lewis can transition quickly to the pro game in the minors, Seattle will be tempted to move him up through the farm system quickly. While there’s still time for Aoki to turn things around after a slow start, his continued struggles could open the door for an accelerated debut for one of the newest Mariners, Kyle Lewis.
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