Mariners winning streak

In a year where the Seattle Seahawks won on the NFL’s biggest stage, few people are showing any attention to the Seattle Mariners. Well, now the Mariners are showing plenty of reason for people to pay attention to what they are doing.
In the standings, the Mariners, as of June 5th, hold the second wild card spot for the American League. That means that if the MLB season ended today, the Mariners would be in the playoffs. This is a major improvement over years past. The Mariners have not made the playoffs in a number of years so even being in contention this far into the season is a big improvement from past years.
The improvement can be attributed to any number of things. The Mariners were projected to finish 4th in the A.L. West division behind the A’s, Rangers and Angels while only finishing ahead of the Astros who are regarded to be the worst team in the MLB. Since then, the Rangers have fallen short due to major injuries to big players like Prince Fielder who suffered a herniated disk in his neck causing him to have season-ending surgery.
One of the big impacts to the Mariners this season was the addition of Robinson Cano. Cano, who joined the ball club during the off-season in what was considered the biggest free agency move of the year, has been living up to his name with the bat. While his power numbers have fallen extremely short by only hitting two home runs this late into the season, he leads the team in batting average and is one of the league leaders in that category. Cano has also been a leader to the young players on the club which helps the younger players mature into true ballplayers. Cano has been one of the biggest impacts on the team and is one of the major reasons why the Mariners are in contention right now.
There have been other impact players on the club whom nobody expected would make a splash on the team. One such player is young outfielder James Jones. Jones had a small stint on the team early in the season but was sent back down to AAA quickly. He then was brought back up later and showed that he had what it takes to stay on the big league roster. His amazing speed, bat control and winning attitude stole the everyday leadoff spot. Starting pitcher Roenis Elias finished spring training by earning a starting role on the team making a jump from AA to the big leagues. He has done nothing but amaze in his starts so far this season. His best pitch is a curve ball that can only be described as lethal. One of the biggest surprises this year has been the veteran free agent starting pitcher Chris Young. Young was signed to a small contract as a possible replacement starter while rookies Taijuan Walker and James Paxton were injured. He has pitched his way into the hearts of the fans by pitching extremely well in Safeco Field and maintaining a high level of play.
Regardless of the reason why, the Mariners have been opening eyes this season with their playoff push. While it is still fairly early in the season, this ball club is putting themselves in a good position to make a playoff run