Right now, without a doubt, the Seattle Mariners are baseball’s hottest team. They have Cal Raleigh just going on, making records and breaking some. And they have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. However, on Thursday in Baltimore, all that momentum has come to a standstill because of nothing other than bad weather!

And it seems like rain gods are not in the Mariners’ favor because it is not the first time they have had their day ruined by rain. This is the second day in a row that rain has been a story at Oriole Park. Wednesday’s game was delayed for two hours before the first pitch. And the Thursday game just got going when the skies opened up in the top of the sixth inning.

The Mariners were trailing 5-0, with one out, and Julio Rodriguez was at the plate facing Tomoyuki Sugano. This is when the rain poured, the tarps came out, and the game was suspended. But then things got messy, quite literally.

Announcers on the broadcast didn’t hold back, “I don’t think they anticipated this kind of rain. It almost looks like the players decided to stop the game because they had no choice. Looks like Dorothy is going to be flying over any moment. One of the ground crew members got caught up in the tarp.” Well, a ground crew member did get tangled on the tarp, and it does bring out questions about the safety standards and preparedness of the team. Now initially, the ground crew did try to dry the field, but with more thunderstorms and lightning in the area, the tarp went back.

AccuWeather predicted that heavier rain is to come by 4 pm ET, with only a small chance to resume play before 5 pm. Now, if the game doesn’t restart, it is officially getting over in five innings. The bad news and what would be the frustrating thing for the Seattle Mariners is the fact that they are riding high and hoping to carry that wave of highs for longer. Instead, here they are stuck, wondering when or if they will get a chance to resume the play. For sure, Dan Wilson and the Mariners staff will be hoping that the weather clears soon.

Did the Seattle Mariners crack the code on developing young hitters?

If you have been following the Mariners or are a fan, you know that there is a common fact between Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Cole Young. Yes, it’s the fact that they are all homegrown talents and developed right in the Seattle system, and look how they are anchoring the big league right now. And this is a rare sight in the Mariners’ history, especially since moving from the Kingdome to T-Mobile Park.

There has been a highlight player here or there (think Kyle Seager) but there were plenty of prospects who never reached the pinnacle. Some names of “what could have been names” are like Dustin Ackley, Jarred Kelenic, Mike Zunino, and Evan White. Now, if you ask why prospects didn’t always get hype, it’s because T-Mobile Park has not been kind to hitters. Young prospects come with expectations and get very little protection.

But with Cole Young, the Mariners took a different approach, and it paid off. Instead of throwing him into the spotlight, Young came up quietly as the team’s No. 2 prospect. He was put at the bottom of the order and simply asked to do his job at second base. Now, after a rough 1-for-19start, he has found his groove, and he is hitting. 274 with a .747 OPS over his last 48 games. Even Jeff Passan sees this quality as a turning point for the franchise. And that says something. For now, when it comes to young prospects, it seems like the Mariners have cracked the code.

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