John Denton

JohnDenton555@RoundtableIO

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Veteran Cardinals/MLB reporter

John Denton has been a reporter for more than three decades while covering MLB, NBA and the NFL. He's covered four Super Bowls, four NBA Finals and four MLB seasons. Following the bouncing ball has allowed John to cover pro sports in Australia, China, Brazil, England, Mexico and all over the U.S.

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Catch Mariners Pitching Prospect Adam Smith in Arizona Fall Stars Game on Sunday Night

At 26 years old, Seattle Mariners right-hander pitching prospect Adam Smith is one of the oldest players competing in the Arizona Fall League. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Smith, who has been in the Mariners Minor League system since 2021, has shown off his experience by pitching well enough to earn a spot in the Arizona Fall Stars Game on Sunday night. Fans eager to watch some baseball can catch Smith in action on Sunday by tuning in to MLB Network for coverage of the Arizona Fall Stars Game. First pitch is scheduled to come just after 5 PM PT. Smith is one of eight Mariners prospects competing in the Arizona Fall League, a platform used by MLB teams to get better looks at prospects who could soon be pushing for promotions. Smith, who split time between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas in 2026, is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in seven relief appearances so far in AFL action. Not only has he limited foes to .231 hitting so far, he has also racked up 10 strikeouts without a walk in 6 2/3 innings pitched.Nov 6, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Mariners No. 2 Prospect Finally Escaping Kade Anderson's Shadow, Pushing for M's Rotation Spot in 2027

Ryan Sloan, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the Mariners Minor League system, just authored the kind of the 2026 season at Double-A Arkansas that should allow him to finally escape the enormous shadow cast by top pitching prospect Kade Anderson. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Sloan not only posted a 3.73 ERA over 22 starts in the hitter-friendly Texas League, but he also struck out 128 in 101 1/3 innings pitched. His best outing of the season came on Aug. 22 against the Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals when he struck out 11 and allowed just one earned run over five innings of work. Sloan, 20, is showing why the Mariners took him in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft and gave him a $3 million signing bonus. Featuring a four-seam fastball that sits in the 95-96 mph range, Sloan also features a kick change and a two-level slider that keeps hitters off balance. While the 20-year-old Sloan almost assuredly will begin 2027 in the Minor Leagues, could he soon join Anderson in the Mariner rotation?Oct 18, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Is 2026 a Lost Season for Veteran Right-Hander George Kirby?

Just when it looked like veteran right-hander George Kirby was on the path to turning his season around with two strong starts in early August, the bottom appeared to fall out on the Mariners' starter over the last six days. Kirby shut out the Twins over seven innings on Aug. 2 and limited the Rays to just one earned run in five innings of work on Aug. 8. The hope was that the 28-year-old right-hander was regaining the form that made him a dependable starter in 2025 in the AL Division Series win. However, over his past two starts, Kirby closely resembled the pitcher who struggled mightily in two starts in the ALCS against the Blue Jays last October. On Aug. 14 in Houston, the Astros shelled Kirby for five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Then, he was hit hard again on Thursday in Milwaukee when he was knocked out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers reached him for nine hits, two walks and six earned runs. Thursday's poor effort dropped Kirby to a disappointing 8-10 with a 4.18 ERA. If he can't improve down the stretch, he could finish with a worse ERA than the career-high 4.21 he posted in 2025.   Aug 21, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Could a Healthy Brendan Donovan be Key to Playoff Push for Ms?

For much of this season, the Mariners have been unable to see the positive effects that Brendan Donovan can have on a lineup because of the groin injury that cost him half of May and all of June and July. Finally healthy, Donovan is starting to show the impact he can have on a lineup with his contagious energy and gritty style of play. Batting leadoff, Donovan opened Wednesday's 7-5 bounce-back win over the Brewers with a single past Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang. That sparked a rally against right-hander Dustin May where the Mariners scored four times and sent nine men to the plate in the first inning alone. Donovan, who was acquired in February in a deal with the Cardinals, finished 2 for 3 with two walks and two runs scored on Wednesday. He has hits in four of his last five games, and he's gone 6 for 20 of late. Could a run of good health by Donovan propel the Mariners past the five teams ahead of them and into the final Wild Card slot in the American League? If Donovan can stay healthy and continue to spark the offense, it just might happen for a Mariners team that has looked for offensive consistency all season.   Aug 20, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Mariners' Josh Naylor Continues to Surprise Foes with Speed, Savvy on the Basepaths

The word should be out by now about Josh Naylor's prowess as a base stealer, yet the Mariners' first baseman somehow continues to surprise opposing pitcher-catcher batteries with his base-running prowess. His bat coming around after a slow start to the season, Naylor has had more chances to run of late. At 5-foot-10 and a generous 235 pounds, Naylor has already stolen 21 bases in 25 tries this season. At this pace, Naylor could best his career best of 30 set last season while splitting time between the Dbacks and the Ms. He swiped 11 bags in his first 93 games of last season and then kept it going by stealing another 19 bases in 54 games after being traded to Seattle. Naylor's 21 steals this season allowed him to become the first first baseman to steal 20 bases in a season in Mariners’ franchise history. Also, he became just the 19th first baseman with 20 steals in the American League in the Wild Card Era (since 1995). Here's the truly shocking part of Naylor's success on the basepaths over the past two seasons. Over his first five seasons in the big leagues from 2021-25, he stole just 24 bases total.Jul 23, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Randy Arozarena an all-time Mariners player now as a multiple-time All-Star?

A year after Mariners stars played major roles in the MLB All-Star Game, Randy Arozarena with the club's only participant in Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic -- a 4-0 win for the AL over the NL. The two teams combined for just seven hits, 27 strikeouts and just one extra-base hit in a game that featured only one run scored after the first inning. Arozarena, who had a ninth-inning single for a 1 for 2 night at the plate, was making the third All-Star Game appearance of his MLB career. It is the second time he's named to the American League squad as a member of the Mariners. Arozarena joins a prestigious list of Mariners with multiple All-Star selections, including Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez, Félix Hernández, Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Canó, Nelson Cruz and Julio Rodríguez. Do you consider Arozarena in the same category of those all-time legends. Arozarena has hit .286 with a .838 OPS in 89 games this season. He has 11 homers, 21 doubles, a triple and 45 RBI in 2026. He has also shown off his speed by swiping 19 bases thus far. Jul 15, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Is the WBC to Blame for Cal Raleigh's Dismal Start to 2026?

Some of the best hitters in baseball -- Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Alex Bregman, Ronald Acuna Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Will Smith and Pete Crow-Armstrong -- have gotten off to uncharacteristically poor starts so far in 2026. Also, elite pitchers such as Tarik Skubal, Edwin Diaz, Brayan Bello, Yusei Kikuchi and Daniel Palencia have struggled with either performance, injury issues or both early this season. The common bond between those struggling MLB stars: They all played for their home countries in the World Baseball Classic in March. Could that be the reason behind Raleigh's shocking fall from grace in 2026? Could that be driving force behind the 29-year-old catcher going from 60 home runs and a runner-up finish in the American League Most Valuable Player race to 2026 where his batting average has plunged to an almost unthinkable .157 and his homer production is stuck at seven? Coming out of USA Baseball's runner-up finish in the WBC, Raleigh went just 3 for 23 without a homer in March. He seemed to finally find his rhythm in April when he crushed seven home runs -- something that overshadowed his .202 batting aver for the month. However, he does not have a hit in May, going 0 for 28 in the month. Dating to the April 27 game in Minnesota -- when Raleigh had his last hit -- he is in an 0 for 36 skid. Could it be that getting ready to play high-level baseball in March zapped Raleigh, especially after playing all the way to the American League Championship Series in 2025? Raleigh didn't exactly tear the cover off the ball in the WBC, going 0 for nine with five strikeouts and an RBI in the three WBC games he appeared in back in March. But Mariners fans have to be wondering if it was the prep work for the WBC that robbed Raleigh of his rhythm?    May 12, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Will the Return of Bryce Miller Help Mariners Through Trying Time?

In recent years, the Mariners have almost universally been thought to have the best pitching staff in baseball. While that group has shown some cracks early this season, could the imminent return of Bryce Miller lead to the M's having a dominant starting staff again? How they fare over one of their most arduous stretches of the season could be very telling. Miller, who has been out since March 25 with a left oblique strain, is set to make his 2026 debut on Wednesday against the Astros. While Miller mostly struggled in 2025 with a 5.68 ERA over 18 starts, he is just two years removed from a 2024 season where he went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA and 171 strikeouts. Miller's return comes at a good time for the Mariners, who were throttled by the White Sox on Saturday when Luis Castillo was throttled for two homers, five hits and four earned runs over four innings of work.  Seattle is in a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, meaning the club will likely need all the pitching it came get throughout this taxing stretch. Seattle will deploy a six-man rotation as it grinds through this run of games. For the upcoming four-game series against the Astros in Houston, George Kirby (Monday) and Bryan Woo (Tuesday) will start the first two games before Miller slots in on Wednesday. Castillo will look for a strong bounce-back start on Thursday. Emerson Hancock, who has thrived of late and has earned his way into the rotation, will be on the mound on Friday against the Padres. Going into Sunday's games, here is where the Mariners' pitching staff ranks among all American League teams: fourth in ERA, 13th in hits allowed, tied for seventh in homers surrendered, first in walks and 10th in strikeouts.   May 10, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Could Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez be Behind Luke Raley's Power Surge?

An absolute genius as a hitter, Edgar Martinez might have just given the Mariners' struggling offense just the lift it needed yet again. With Luke Raley mired in a month-long slump in April -- and his hot, three-homer start in March a distant memory -- the struggling outfielder sought out the counsel of Seattle's resident Hall of Fame designated hitter, per MLB.com's Jackson Stone. Martinez, the Mariners' senior director of hitting strategy, suggested both mechanical and approach changes to Raley, who saw his OPS lag to .698 in an April where he went deep just twice.   As with most things related to hitting and Martinez, he seemed to be right on the money with his suggestions. Raley smashed a grand slam and a three-run homer on Friday for a career-best seven RBI, easily topping his previous MLB high of three. Raley became the first Mariner to hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the same game since Nelson Cruz in 2016. Whatever it was that Martinez suggested, it seems to have made a world of difference to the 31-year-old Raley. In just five games in May, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound outfielder has drilled three homers -- including a game-changing long ball in Monday's come-from-behind victory -- while driving in 10 runs with a .364 average and 1.599 OPS. After seeing his 2025 season marred by back and oblique injuries, could Raley get back closer to a 2023 version when he hit a career-high 22 homers? He -- and by extension Martinez -- could provide just the spark that the struggling Mariners' offense needs to get break free of the struggles to open the season. May 9, 2026

MarinersRoundtable

Can Brendan Donovan Avoid Struggles that Came After Groin Injury in 2025?

All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan is back for the Mariners, and not a moment too soon for a squad still under .500 and one with a lagging offense that ranks 14th in the American League in batting average and 10th in runs scored. Donovan, 29, endeared himself to Mariners fans early in the season by hitting three homers and smashing three doubles in his first 18 games before being knocked out of action by a left groin strain. Donovan, who was acquired from the Cardinals in a February trade involving three prospects and a draft pick, was out from April 20 to May 7 with the injury before being activated on Friday. Mariners fans have to be hoping they get the caliber of player Donovan was before the injury -- minus the defensive struggles at third base -- and not one who is physically compromised. Donovan suffered a similar injury last season while playing for the Cardinals and he struggled to get back to the All-Star level that he played at early in the season. Ultimately, Donovan needed offseason surgery for a sports hernia that had been tabbed as a groin soreness and tightness most of the 2025 season in St. Louis. In 2025 with the Cardinals, Donovan hit .297 with a .797 OPS with 22 doubles and eight homers before the break for the MLB All-Star Game. Playing injured much of the second half of the 2025 season, Donovan saw his batting average (.259) and OPS (.707) nosedive, and he had just 10 doubles and two homers over his final 29 games with the Cardinals. So, which player will the Mariners get after yet another groin injury for Donovan? To get back above .500 and atop the NL West, Seattle will likely need the Donovan who can play two spots in the infield and two spots in the outfield while hitting to all fields and being a doubles machine in the heart of the lineup.      May 9, 2026

MarinersRoundtable