Mariners set for new-age lineup construction involving Brendan Donovan, Cal Raleigh
Seattle is doing things differently.
Mariners set for new-age lineup construction involving Brendan Donovan, Cal Raleigh originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Seattle Mariners seem likely to put out a lineup this season that isn't anything like what old-school baseball minds would've done.
But this is 2026, and so Brendan Donovan, Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez all find themselves in new-age spots in the lineup. To be clear: It all makes a lot of sense. It's just fascinating to consider through the lens of long-time baseball thinking about who goes where in a lineup.
This is how the Fangraphs Roster Resource page projects the Mariners to line up to begin the season (with J. P. Crawford held out of this lineup construction against a right-handed pitcher due to injury): Brendan Donovan 3B Cal Raleigh C Julio Rodriguez CF Josh Naylor 1B Randy Arozarena LF Luke Raley RF Dominic Canzone DH Leo Rivas SS Cole Young 2B MORE: Cal Raleigh was supposed to play for the Braves Donovan isn't fast, which used to be a prerequisite for the top of the lineup.
He's simply a pure hitter who gets on base. Fangraphs projects him to be 19% better than a league average hitter (by wRC+) in 2026. Raleigh would've never hit second in the old days, not as a catcher coming off a 60-HR season.