Your Seattle Mariners hot takes, ranked and rated

Q: What are some hot takes about the Seattle Mariners in 2026?

Fans shared various takes, including Randy Arozarena's productivity and Cole Young's potential as a top second baseman.

Q: Who rated the Mariners' hot takes and how?

The takes were rated by a ranking system from Blake Beaven (1 star) to Cliff Lee (5 stars) based on their boldness and impact.

Q: What was the hottest take about Cole Young's performance?

One fan claimed Cole Young proves he is the best Mariners second baseman since the 90s, earning a 5-star rating.

Q: How did fans rate Randy Arozarena's contributions to the Mariners?

Randy Arozarena's contributions were rated as a tepid take, suggesting he is a good player but not always at full effort.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 19: Randy Arozarena #56 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his two run home run with Julio Rodríguez #44 during the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on April 19, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images Last week, I dropped a request in the FEED for all y’all’s hottest Mariners takes and you definitely served up some HEAT. Here is a handy ranking system: Blake Beaven = 1 star – a fine yet fairly tepid take Chris Bosio = 2 stars – workmanlike, solid, but not earth-shattering Hisashi Iwakuma = 3 stars – an above replacement level hot take, boundary-pushing but not absurd Matt Brash = 4 stars – a very hot and BRASH take, will upset people, will get the people going Cliff Lee = 5 stars – nuclear, scorched earth-level take Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here. We’ll start tepid and work our way up. **Poster Donguelard says: “People give Randy Arozarena way too much shit for for how productive he is.** Rating: Blake Beaven I mean, I obviously agree with this. Randy is a good ballplayer. He definitely turns it up and turns it down as the situation requires. He is not a 100% hustle up the line every time player. He’s conserving his ammo for when he needs it, and as a 42-year-old who still tries to play sports, I respect that. He’s a couple hot streaks away or flashy catches away from being everyone’s favorite player again. Randy gonna Randy. **Poster Chris From Bothell says: “Dan’s devotion to doing lefty-righty matchups is going to directly cost the M’s at least 3 wins by the end of the season. The Padres finale on April 16 was one of those.”** Rating: Chris Bosio I’m putting this on the tepid side of things, but still very respectable in terms of a take. Costing 3 wins can definitely mean the difference between the postseason or golf season, but I think this take would be much hotter if we were talking about Dan’s decisions costing the team 5-6 wins. Now we’re getting spicy. **MarinersFanInAZ says: “ will be the second-best starter this year.** Rating: Hisashi Iwakuma Oooh baby, we’re cookin’ now. This is definitely a hot take, but certainly not impossible from the small sample size we’ve seen so far from the Mariners starters. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that takes the top honors, and then we’ve got newcomer Hancock in second, so then how far behind are Gilbert, Kirby, Castillo, and even Miller once he’s back? If they’re all relatively close behind Hancock, then hello playoffs. If there’s big drop off, then yikes! This is a good and spicy one, well done. **Poster Nichos9 says: “ is coming for ’s job not for Emerson Hancock’s.”** Rating: Matt Brash Woooo, boy, this is BRASH as hell. I respect it, but definitely disagree for two reasons. 1. I think Castillo’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. He’s fine and he is a crafty veteran at this point and will figure out how to keep winning games for as long as his arm stays healthy. 2. This take assumes that Bryce Miller is going to come back and really put it all together again. Sadly, I have my doubts. I want it to happen because I love Cowboy Bryce and he’s fun to watch when he is on his game, but I will believe it when I see it. Still, this is steaming hot take because of how sneakily divisive it is. Well played! **Poster YesItsRyan says: “ proves he is the best Mariners 2nd baseman since the 90’s.”** Rating: CLIFF LEE (sirens, fire alarms, Chernobyl klaxons) Hoooo YEAH, head for the hills! We’ve got a winner right here. Let’s take a look at the highest single season bWAR totals by Mariners second basemen since 1990