Josh

Naylor

Naylor catapulted Seattle ahead for good with a no-doubter to right field off Orioles reliever Anthony Nunez with two outs in the fifth inning. It was his seventh round-tripper of the season and second time he’s gone deep in six contests since the start of June. He’s hitting a robust .333 (8-for-24) with six RBI during that span.

Naylor smacked a go-ahead RBI double off of Jack Flaherty in the sixth inning. He then came around to score as Colt Emerson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The 28-year-old slugger also singled and was caught stealing in the eighth inning. With his two-hit attack, he’s now slashing .257/.321/.361 with six homers, 26 RBI and 12 stolen bases on the season.

Naylor returns to first base and hitting third following a one-game absence due to back spasms earlier this week. The 28-year-old power/speed combo threat is hitting .254/.317/.357 with six homers, 25 RBI and 12 steals in 57 games this season.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Naylor is available off the bench, if needed. Patrick Wisdom draws the start at the cold corner in his place. The 28-year-old slugging first baseman’s back tightened up on him while crushing a game-tying home run during the seventh inning of Monday’s series opener at T-Mobile Park. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but back issues can be complicated matters, so Seattle doesn’t want to take any chances. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale.

Naylor departed just after hitting a solo homer in the seventh, with Patrick Wisdom replacing him at first base. The Mariners could use Luke Raley at first and Victor Robles in right if Naylor can’t go Tuesday.

Naylor will get a rare day off with left-hander Noah Cameron toeing the slab for the Royals. The 28-year-old slugger has picked up the pace offensively after a sluggish start and is now hitting .250/.317/.356 on the season with five homers, 22 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Patrick Wisdom will start in his place at the cold corner on Friday night and will bat fifth for the M’s.

After stealing no bases until April 20, Naylor now has a 40-stolen base pace. And he’s done it as one of the slowest players in the league. Remarkable. The 28-year-old has started swinging the stick at a quality rate as of late, too, and he’s been much better than his .260/.325/.370 slash indicates.

Naylor got off to a slow start this year, but he’s 14-for-36 (.389) to begin May. His bat speed is down so far, but his track record warrants patience in all formats. He’s also running at the same rate as he did between Arizona and Seattle last year, already at seven thefts entering mid-May.

Naylor did caught stealing twice; his first times being caught since joining the Mariners in 25 attempts. The 28-year-old drove in the tying run with an RBI single in the sixth, and put the game away with a three-run shot two innings later. After an awful start to the season, Naylor appears to be back in a groove, and he’s been much better the last few weeks than that .220/.295/.349 slash indicates.

Naylor is back at first base and hitting cleanup following a brief one-game absence due to a quad contusion. The 28-year-old power/speed combo threat has seemingly turned things around after an ice-cold start to the season, hitting .480 (12-for-25) with one homer and four steals over his last seven games.