Blue Jays: A preview of their Wild Card opponent in the Mariners

The Blue Jays have drawn the Mariners in the first round of the playoffs. For those that haven’t followed them, what does the Mariners lineup look like these days?

We don’t know exactly how Scott Servais is going to fill out their lineup card, but we can still make a pretty educated guess based on their recent lineups, and the health of their roster. One thing we do know is that Luis Castillo will start in Game 1 against Alek Manoah, and Robbie Ray will be their Game 2 starter. If necessary it sounds like Logan Gilbert will get the ball for Game 3, but hopefully the Jays can take care of business early and not even let the young right-hander take the mound.

As for the lineup, the Mariners will look a little bit different since they last played the Blue Jays. The two teams last saw each other in July when the Mariners swept a four-game series in Seattle, but this time they’ll have to square off north of the border at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The biggest difference with the Mariners roster these days would be the addition of Castillo, who was acquired from the Reds prior to the trade deadline. Having a second experienced ace to pair with Ray is a big deal for a team that hopes to make a deep postseason run, and it was a major deal to get it done. Secondly though would be the fact that Mitch Haniger is back and producing in the middle of their lineup, which is good because they’ll enter the Wild Card round without an injured Jesse Winker, who had really scuffled in the second half anyway.

If I had to take my best guess at what kind of line the Mariners might trot out, this is it. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who doesn’t follow the team on a daily basis.

1- Julio Rodriguez (CF)
2- Ty France (1B)
3- Mitch Haniger (RF)
4- Eugenio Suarez (3B)
5- Carlos Santana (DH)
6- Cal Raleigh (C)
7- Adam Frazier (2B)
8- Jarred Kelenic (LF)
9- JP Crawford (SS)

Like I said, I’m far from certain that this is the lineup they’ll go with, but it may give some of you a general idea of what Alek Manoah could be facing on Friday afternoon. Don’t be surprised if utility-man Dylan Moore factors into the equation somewhere, maybe even in the starting lineup, and we could also see others like Taylor Trammel or even Abraham Toro.

As for the core of this lineup, which mostly listed above, there is plenty to worry about for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff. Rodriguez is one of the most exciting young players in the world leading things off with power and speed, and there are a lot of professional hitters with a ton of pop that follow him. Ty France had a career year as he continues to blossom into an All-Star calibre player, Haniger and Suarez are healthy, and Santana has been a great under the radar pickup for this group.

In my admittedly bias opinion, I feel like the Blue Jays have the stronger group of hitters in this series, and that their rotations stack up pretty well. If there’s an area that I worry the Mariners may have the edge it would be the bullpen, but the relief corps for the Blue Jays has been really strong lately again, and quite good overall in the second half.

Of course, all the matchups and lineup analysis in the world can go out the window pretty quickly in a short three-game series. While there’s no doubt that they’re playing a dangerous team in the Mariners this weekend, I believe that the Blue Jays are the stronger team on paper. Now it’s just time for them to go out there and prove me right.