Dominic Canzone been the most explosive threat in the Mariners lineup this season and will no longer be limited to a platoon role.
When Dominic Canzone first arrived in Seattle he was already in negative equity, purely because he was part of the return package for sending the hugely popular Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks. However, he also didn’t do himself any favors by carrying himself as if he’d already made it in the majors, but not having the productivity to match it.
Now, things couldn’t be any more different for Canzone, with him proving to be the most explosive member of the Mariners lineup, and at a time when they’ve needed it most. He leads the team with a .538 slugging percentage, .880 OPS and 149 OPS+, while also being tied for the lead with 14 home runs.
As a result, the Mariners have removed him from a platoon position and now made him a full-time member of the lineup. What sealed his promotion is his success whenever he’s actually been given the opportunity to hit lefties, highlighted by a .994 OPS this season in 29 plate appearances.
Mariners hope Dominic Canzone can improve their productivity against southpaws
Certainly, this is an area where the Mariners desperately need to improve, with them ranking last in the majors versus left-handed pitching, with a team .210 batting average and .626 OPS. As per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said:
“He’s always been capable versus lefties, but never really had a lot of runway with opportunity. We gave him some last year, and this year he just got into such a good groove and a hot spell, and we were so banged up that it gave him a few extra reps against lefties, and he did something with it.”
Interestingly, the foundation for the plan seemed to be put in motion recently, when Canzone spoke to manager Dan Wilson about getting more at-bats versus lefties. Discussing the conversation, he said:
“If the opportunity were to come, maybe the first five or 10 at-bats off lefties might not be the greatest, right? So just trying to stick with it and not abandon ship right away. And that’s definitely comforting, knowing it’s OK to fail and you’re going to get your opportunities.”
Mariners now have one of the top DH’s in the majors
Overall, Canzone has become so consistently productive, that he’s now arguably one of the best designated hitters in the American League, with his 1.6 bWAR ranking third behind only Yordan Alvarez and Yandy Diaz. As if to highlight his progress, his bWAR has already equalled last year’s career-high, with just under half of the regular season still to go.
It really is impressive just how good Canzone has been this season, with his Baseball Savant littered with numbers in the top two deciles. Among other things, this includes ranking in the 96th percentile for xSLG, as well as the 94th percentile for Barrel% and Avg Exit Velo.
The Mariners were understandably unsure how good Canzone could be when he arrived at the end of July in 2023. As productive as he was whenever he played in Triple-A Tacoma, he struggled to replicate this in the majors.
Jerry Dipoto says Dominic Canzone has earned his promotion to a full-time position
However, last season the switch finally flipped and Canzone started to find that productivity with the Mariners, to match the way he carried himself with so much confidence. As Dipoto said:
“Dom, for the last calendar year, has been about as good as any left-handed hitter in the league, and better than almost all of them when matched up versus righties.”
Now of course, it’s a case of Canzone justifying the Mariners’ faith in him and continuing to hit as well as he has done all season, no matter whether he’s facing a lefty or righty. Finally, he’s in the position he always believed he should be in, and we’ll happily acknowledge that he deserves it.
Photos courtesy of Tim Rogers Photography
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