Gold Glove catcher Cal Raleigh got the Seattle Mariners on the board early against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. Raleigh hit a three-run bomb off Jack Jochanowicz in the first inning. It was his 25th home run of the season. He then went yard again late in the game.
Raleigh extended his major league home run lead by blasting his second shot of the contest off closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning. The fifth-year pro crushed a 93 mph sinker 427 feet to right center for his 26th homer of the season, which elicited boos from Angels fans, per MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer on X.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh keeps crushing baseballs
Raleigh is putting together an MVP-caliber season for the Mariners. While New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge still is favored to win his third American League Most Valuable Player Award this year, Raleigh has made it a conversation.
The 28-year-old backstop is slashing .272/.380/.655 with 26 home runs, 53 RBI, 44 runs scored, an OPS+ of 194 and 3.8 bWAR in 63 games for the Mariners. Now widely considered the best catcher in baseball, Raleigh presents an almost unfair advantage with elite defense and prolific offensive production.
Unfortunately, Raleigh’s significant contributions haven’t helped the Mariners in the win column of late. Despite his two-homer, four-RBI output against the Angels Saturday, Seattle lost 8-6.
The team has now lost five straight games and eight of the last 10. The Mariners are 32-31 on the season and 3.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West.
Making matters worse, center fielder Julio Rodriguez was forced to leave the game with an injury. He was hit by a Randy Arozarena grounder while attempting to steal third base. The ball caught Rodriguez flush and he appeared to be in a great deal of pain before exiting the matchup. The team listed Rodriguez as day-to-day following the injury.
Seattle signed Raleigh to a six-year, $105 million extension prior to the 2025 season. That deal now looks like a bargain considering the incredible campaign Raleigh is having. Now the Mariners must decide if they want to go all in on this season by adding at the trade deadline or if they’ll hold firm and play things out with their current roster.
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