Justin Smoak

[seahawksfan234]

I know a bunch of you guys are from the ESPN boards but the other half of us from the CBS boards would use Justin Smoak basically as our punching bag.

I've got to say I've been impressed with how much he has improved this year.

I believe he has the highest OBP on the team currently and is creeping closer to a .270 average.

What does everyone else think? Figure he could earn another year on the team?

 

[Cloud]

I mentioned over at the ESPN board that I've been impressed with his performance after he was re-called and I still say true to that. Smoak has always been a patient hitter, even when he was struggling, he still managed to draw a lot of walks. Now that he's able to get in some good timely hitting, hopefully this is a continuing process where he continue to get better.


And this is not just Smoak, but the entire team in general. I admit, I didn't watch many games (just follow the box score) before the young guys were being called up. All of these guys has been fun to watch as of late. Bring the young guys like Franklin, Zunino, and Miller up in addition to the improvement of Smoak and Seager being Seager definitely been a good thing. I'm looking forward to more games after the all-star break.

-21 consecutive games with an HR.
-Excluding tonight's HR from Smoak so far, the M's are 3rd in the majors in HR this season!

 

[seahawksfan234]

-Excluding tonight's HR from Smoak so far, the M's are 3rd in the majors in HR this season!

Yes but sadly I believe we are still in the bottom third of baseball in runs scored.

 

[RegentDenali]

I still had a lot of faith in him. It's been frustrating at times because of his potential, but I think he's getting better.

 

[SeattleCoug]

Smoak has proven to be pretty streaky during his career. He usually has 1 or 2 good months and then is medicore the rest of the year. Is this just a good month? or has he turned a corner? I am rooting for him because he does look like a different player since his DL stint.

 

[cezero]

Smoak has done this several times before, and then collapsed back into sub-mediocrity.

I'd love to see him really turn it around, but I'm not quite set to believe his recent hot hitting is real.

 

[dude82]

I think as long as he keeps hitting the ball hard, he deserves and is going to keep getting playing time, even if the hits aren't always there. His issue when he's struggled, if I remember correctly, has been strikeouts and a lot of popups. Ackley is a popup machine, too, when he struggles. A hitter who hits the ball hard, even if the results aren't always there, is a hitter who isn't going to slump for very long.

 

[TheDman875]

I just hope they don't allow Smoak to bat from the right side anymore if he wants to keep his numbers climbing. I bet he could at least post at least a .240 clip against Lefties batting from the left.

Left .298 / .402 OBP / .503 SLG / .905 OPS

Right .191 / .276 OBP / .235 SLG / .511 OPS

 

[ida one]

Smoak has 8 HR's since coming off the DL.. That shows me that he has come out to play ball this time around. Just hope it continues after the break.

 

[mcnabb7542]

And this is not just Smoak, but the entire team in general. I admit, I didn't watch many games (just follow the box score) before the young guys were being called up. All of these guys has been fun to watch as of late. Bring the young guys like Franklin, Zunino, and Miller up in addition to the improvement of Smoak and Seager being Seager definitely been a good thing. I'm looking forward to more games after the all-star break.

The bottomline is fans are gonna need to be a little more patient, ( I know we've been waiting 12 yrs now) they need to be in the lineup every day and need to see as many pitches as they can for this thing to work. Yes it sucks we have to wait for next season, (lets face it they dont have the pitching staff) but this a prime example as when you add good veterans in with young guys they can learn and produce...

 

[Banned 10x]

Smoak has done this several times before, and then collapsed back into sub-mediocrity.

I'd love to see him really turn it around, but I'm not quite set to believe his recent hot hitting is real.

I'm with you, not buying into Smoak just yet... but cautiously optimistic

 

[seahawksfan234]

I'm with you, not buying into Smoak just yet... but cautiously optimistic

I just see more hope now than I ever did before in his career as a Mariner. He just looks like a much better hitter at the plate and the numbers are showing it so far.

 

[Cloud]

Yes but sadly I believe we are still in the bottom third of baseball in runs scored.

They were, but let's not forget they've only begun smashing the ball in just this month only. They are tied with the Yankees in runs scored for 5th worst and behind Texas. Last month, they were near last with the White Sox.

 

[Cloud]

The bottomline is fans are gonna need to be a little more patient, ( I know we've been waiting 12 yrs now) they need to be in the lineup every day and need to see as many pitches as they can for this thing to work. Yes it sucks we have to wait for next season, (lets face it they dont have the pitching staff) but this a prime example as when you add good veterans in with young guys they can learn and produce...

I 100% agree and the fact the M's continued to trot out lineups that makes you sick to your stomach, so we already know the result is going to be bad on a nightly basis. I'm glad they finally turned away from the defense first mentality and put the young kids out there to prove themselves.

 

[seattlefan75]

Im not jumping on the smoak bandwagon by any means, yes he is improving and I think a big reason compared to last year is that he is surrounded by veterans and other pretty good hitters that really takes off the pressure unlike last year where he was batting like 4th expected to hit. I think he is batting like 6 or 7th. Im glad that he is doing better because with him doing well that would pretty much make our infield solid and moving forward we can put work into the outfield.

 

[dude82]

Smoak is probably going to have to hit well consistently for the rest of the season before most people will give him the benefit of the doubt again, but he does seem more comfortable and relaxed up there lately. I agree with the sentiment that the younger players are benefiting from the veteran presence in the clubhouse and in the lineup (namely Ibanez and Morales), but the offense didn't really start to take off until guys like Franklin and Miller came up, bringing energy and an aggressive approach with them from Tacoma, to complement those veterans in the lineup. Right now, having Miller, Franklin, Ibanez, Morales, Seager and Smoak hitting 1-6 in some order has been the best 1-6 we've had all season and will hopefully mean less lineup juggling from Wedge in the second half.

I'm starting to think that maybe Zduriencik will keep that core intact through the trade deadline and take his chances on re-signing Morales in the off-season. The offense is rolling right now and there's no sense in removing a big piece or two unless you're getting something significant in return.

 

[cezero]

Im not jumping on the smoak bandwagon by any means, yes he is improving and I think a big reason compared to last year is that he is surrounded by veterans and other pretty good hitters that really takes off the pressure unlike last year where he was batting like 4th expected to hit. I think he is batting like 6 or 7th. Im glad that he is doing better because with him doing well that would pretty much make our infield solid and moving forward we can put work into the outfield.

Yeah, I agree.

I've said for a long time that the kids needed good vets in the clubhouse. You won't find a good, young team full of home grown talent that succeeds without 1 or 2 excellent veteran/mentors.

Look at what Griffey and ARod had in their clubhouses. The names, goodness. All our kids have had until this year was the likes of Ichiro (who is not a mentor type, and really just wanted to leave) and the amazing Olivo and Ryan.

I'd like to see the M's hold onto 2 of the 3 good vets...hopefully all 3. Would love Ibanez to finish his career her and retire a Mariner.

 

[dude82]

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that Franklin seems to have a good feel for the strike zone for a rookie and that was evident just looking at his OBP in Tacoma. He already has as many walks as Ackley does and an OBP 60 points higher than Ackley has, and he's played in 18 fewer games. He's aggressively patient if that makes any sense.

 

[TheDman875]

He's aggressively patient if that makes any sense.

Makes perfect sense. He waits for his pitch and turns on it hard...almost like a Gary Sheffield but with a good eye.

 

[blstoker]

Smoak has done this several times before, and then collapsed back into sub-mediocrity.

I'd love to see him really turn it around, but I'm not quite set to believe his recent hot hitting is real.

I agree that he has been streaky in his career, but not only is this the longest streak of hitting he's had, he's batting .307 over what amounts to the last 3 months (april 22-July 15). Also, Smoak has historically had his best month in Sept (Oct) where he bats .327 for his career.

This is the Smoak I thought we were getting when we traded for him. A guy who could hit .300, had 20-25 HR power that could also hit the gaps and get himself 30-35 doubles. If he keeps his current trend up he could end the season with a high .280s or low .290s average with 17-20 HRs. Not bad a year for a guy who has missed a few games.

The best thing about his streak right now is that he has managed to not go more than 2 games without a hit that entire time. Of the 3 times he has been held hitless in back to back games, only once did he have more than one plate appearance in both games (May 21-22 when the M's lost both games to the Angels by a combined score of 19-1).

I have always been a big fan of Smoak's, and thought that 2 years ago he had put it all together when he was batting .287/.403/.530 a month and a half into the season. Unfortunately, he struggled (like most M's) the next year and a half. I am truly hoping this is more indicative of what is in store for this young man.