By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners: 5 observations from Cactus League opener vs. Padres

A look at what stood out from the beginning of Cactus League play, as the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Friday in Peoria.

The Seattle Mariners couldn’t have asked for more at the Peoria Sports Complex on Friday afternoon, as they opened their Cactus League schedule against the San Diego Padres. It was a glorious day, the place was packed and the M’s won 7-4 versus their fellow complex tenants.

Allowing for the reality it’s way too early to read too much into anything, there was still plenty to like on the day. Here are our five observations from the game:

1) Top Mariners prospect makes tremendous initial impact

Michael Arroyo had appeared in Cactus League games in each of the past three years and although he’s opportunities had been limited — 20 combined at-bats in 16 games — he had yet to hit a home run. This changed on Friday afternoon in his first at-bat during the second inning, when he blasted an opposite-field homer to right-center field to give the Mariners an early 2-0 advantage.

Arroyo won’t be on the Mariners’ opening day roster, but this is an important season for a prospect considered by many as the top right-handed hitter in the farm system. He also wants to make a strong early impression with the M’s before he heads to the World Baseball Classic with Team Columbia and he certainly did that versus the Padres, as he also had a double in his other at-bat.

2) Luke Raley aiming to bounce back

Luke Raley’s first season in Seattle was a resounding success, as he set a number of career-highs including a 3.2 bWAR, 22 home runs, 58 RBI and a 128 OPS+ as a regular in the lineup. Last year was a disaster however, as he suffered a couple of stints on the injured list with a right oblique strain and then back spasm, which severely compromised his productivity.

Looking to bounce back in 2026, the Mariners gave Raley the ideal opportunity to make an early impression by putting him in the lead-off spot on Friday afternoon, and he responded in fine style by going 2-for-2. The left-handed bat does offer value with a career .786 OPs and 126 wRC+ versus righties, and the expectation is that he will mostly be part of a platoon in the right outfield.

3) Cal Raleigh now has validation for not liking ABS

Cal Raleigh has previously made it quite clear he’s sceptical about the Automated Balls and Strikes (ABS) system which will be implemented in the Majors this coming season. This is despite the strong belief it is expected to favor smart catchers such as himself, and with him winning all but one of his challenges during spring training last year.

Raleigh had a rougher time with ABS on Friday as he lost his first challenge, then suffering the added insult of a ball being changed to a called strikeout looking in his second at-bat in the third following a challenge by Padres catcher Luis Campusano. We still expect the 2024 AL Platinum Glove winner to have more success than failure with ABS once the season begins, but it will be something interesting to keep an eye on.

4) Mariners fans do the team proud in Peoria

All week in the lead-up to the Mariners’ Cactus League Opener there had been a buzz around town. As per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, around 1,800 people showed up on Thursday to watch the team run through morning drills in the Peoria Sports Complex back fields, followed by another 1,500 on Friday Morning ahead of the game versus the Padres.

Clearly there’s plenty of excitement surrounding the M’s following a season where they came within eight outs of a first ever World Series berth. The end result of all this anticipation was 9,956 people for the first spring training game, which surpassed the 9,748 in attendance back in 2004, as the largest crowd for a spring home opener in franchise history.

5) Other notes

  • Dominic Canzone made a sensational diving catch to end the first inning, stranding two baserunners and robbing Jake Cronenworth of potential extra bases.
  • Jonny Farmelo stole second base and scored on Josh Naylor’s two-out, RBI single after coming in as a pinch-runner for Raley in the bottom of the third inning.
  • Lazaro Montes came off the bench and singled off Padres pitcher Mason Miller in the bottom of the fifth inning.
  • Connor Joe supplied the go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning to give Seattle a 5-3 lead.

Quote of the day

As much potential as Arroyo has with his bat there’s still uncertainty surrounding his place defensively, with second and third base the main focus for the Mariners, along with the possibility of the outfield. For the 21-year-old himself he will be as flexible as possible, as he said:

“I only have the mentality of improving at every moment. The team decides in what position I play, and I’m willing to play wherever they want me to play.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

One Reply to “Mariners: 5 observations from Cactus League opener vs. Padres”

  1. Pingback: Mariners utility player Miles Mastrobuoni making some early noise

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