Cade Marlowe, Dominic Canzone provide left handed element for Seattle lineup
Cade Marlowe, Dominic Canzone provide left handed element for Seattle lineup
Cade Marlowe and Dominic Canzone have added a much needed lefty presence to the Seattle lineup. Check out my scouting report and analysis on both players here at Sea Level!
For the better part of two months now, the Mariners lineup has been an above average group. In fact, the team now owns a 107 wRC+, good enough for seventh in all of baseball.
Seattle’s offense struggled mightily throughout May and June, looking like one of the easiest lineups in all of baseball to pitch to. The lineup was comprised of tons of right handed hitters, each with very similar attack plans and weaknesses. The team was easy to pitch to, causing me to start looking at left handed hitters they could acquire.
For those of you that looked at my Mariners trade guide, the best fits I gave tended to be higher contact left handed hitters. Seattle needed to add balance to this lineup, diversifying and protecting their right handed hitters.
On July 25, just a week before the trade deadline, Seattle lost one of their only productive left handed hitters. Jarred Kelenic hit the injured list after kicking a water cooler in frustration, sending a team with marginal playoff hopes into a tough situation in their outfield.
The Mariners called up prospect Cade Marlowe and then just a few days later traded Paul Sewald to Arizona for Ryan Bliss and two more left handed hitters. Josh Rojas and Dominic Canzone slotted into this lineup immediately, joining Marlowe in a group of surging left handed hitters.
Rojas has been fine as a Mariner thus far, and I expect a lot of his value to come in the years to come. Canzone and Marlowe are the two players I want to focus on here, two young left handed hitters that we should be excited about.
Cade Marlowe
Let’s start things off with Marlowe. A six foot one inch 210 pound outfielder, the 26 year old has all the tools. He runs well and has some power, and was one of the only minor league players over the last few seasons with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases back to back years.
A 20th round selection by Seattle out of a small Division II school in Georgia, Marlowe has made an impact in the system immediately. You can read about his journey here.
Marlowe owns an impressive career minor league slash line of .279/.365/.498. Despite considerable tools and minor league production, he wasn’t highly regarded on prospect lists or expected to be an everyday player.
He projected easily as a fourth outfielder because of swing and miss concerns. Mechanically his swing is a little on the funkier side, one that I have heard compared to Hunter Pence.
Despite all of this the 26 year old garnered system wide honors for his performances at the plate in both 2021 and 2022, and found himself on the taxi squad for the 2022 playoffs.
I was a bigger fan of Cade’s than most after getting to see him up close in Peoria. His size and speed and knack for putting the barrel on the ball was impossible to ignore.
His call-up came as the replacement to Jarred Kelenic who hit the IL with a broken foot. Since his addition to the roster the Mariners are 19-5, and Marlowe is a big reason why.
His ninth inning grand slam off Carlos Estevez may have effectively ended the Angels season, and conversely sparked Seattle’s. The left handed outfielder has shown a consistent mental approach and an ability to get on base, and has consistently showed the ability to hit good pitching.
His single off Felix Bautista and the grand slam off Estevez were two examples of Marlowe delivering against velocity, and elite pitching. This mental approach was developed over COVID, and is showing up big time in his first go of major league baseball.
His 134 wRC+ and decent contact numbers from the left side have added a new element to the bottom of this lineup. His defense has been huge, and his play in the Houston outfield this weekend was about as impressive as it gets.
Overall I am very bullish on Marlowe and his chances to be in this outfield long term. His tools, mental makeup, and performance suggest there is more in the tank here. He reminds me of exactly the type of player Seattle would like to trade for in another system, an older minor league producer. I love Cade Marlowe’s game and look forward to what he can be.
Dominic Canzone
I talked about the Diamondbacks slightly in my Mariners trade guide, but overall didn’t love the upside of a lot of players that would fit for Seattle. Canzone was a player who interested me, but didn’t move the needle a ton for me when the move was initially made.
I was in favor of an Alek Thomas or even a Dominic Fletcher, but the more I looked into Canzone the more intrigued I became. The Ohio State product hit his entire minor league journey, to the tune of a .310/.377/.556 clip.
Canzone controls the zone and always has. He also possesses pull-side power, something he hasn’t yet demonstrated at the big league level.
As a professional baseball player, the left handed slugger owns just a 17 percent strikeout rate. High contact skills and average to plus power make his potential and his fit on this team tantalizing.
While he is probably an average to above average athlete, it doesn’t really show up on the defensive side. He is an average corner outfielder similar to Mitch Haniger from the last few seasons. Canzone can also play first base if needed.
In fact, Mitch Haniger is a really good comp for Canzone. Both former Diamondbacks were minor league producers that were older at the time of their call up, but possessed above average pull side pop and good hit tool. I think there is a chance Canzone can be produce at a level somewhat close to Haniger’s, at least offensively.
One thing I have talked about on the Sea Level Podcast was a shift I saw in Canzone just last week. Over his first 60 or so major league plate appearances we saw almost no ability to drive the ball.
His take in the ninth inning with two outs on that Sunday against Baltimore was as on time and aggressive as I have seen him, and he followed it up with a bomb off the windows of the Hit It Here Cafe. After a four hit day yesterday, Canzone said staying on the fastball was the key for his success.
We are starting to see him learn how to control his at bats and get on time for fastballs, which will ultimately allow for more power and ability to drive the ball. He currently owns a 93 wRC+, but I expect that number to be higher to end the season.
It’s hard not to be excited for what the future can hold for Dom Canzone and this Seattle outfield surrounding Julio Rodríguez.
