At the major league level, the Seattle Mariners enter play on Thursday at 83-69 and just 0.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West. They are attempting to win the division for the first time since 2001 and to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

Well, down on the farm things look pretty good too, as the Tacoma Rainiers just clinched the Pacific Coast League's second-half title. They'll play the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics) for the PCL championship with hopes of winning the entire Triple-A championship at the end of this month.

And third baseman Ben Williamson has been a big part of Tacoma's success this second half. Demoted to Triple-A following the Mariners' acquisition of Eugenio Suarez, Williamson is hitting .336 in 34 additional games with eight doubles, five home runs and 37 RBIs.

With the Mariners, Williamson was a contact-only hitter who presented the team with little-to-no power. The 24-year-old hit a solid enough .253, but he had just one home run, 13 doubles and a paltry .310 slugging percentage. He had an OPS+ of 77, suggesting he was a well below-average offensive player.

With the Rainiers, we've seen him unlock more of that power and ability to do damage. Five home runs, eight doubles and two triples show that. His OPS in the minors this year, which includes the 14 games in March and April before his major league call-up, is a robust .864.

We spoke to Tacoma hitting coach Shawn O'Malley on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast in August, and here's what he said about Williamson's changes:

Suarez is a free agent at the end of this season, leaving the Mariners with an opening at third base moving forward. Of course, the team could look to bring him back, but given that he's hitting just .185 with a 91 OPS+ in 43 games with the Mariners, the team could elect to look elsewhere, like turning back to Williamson.

Already an excellent defender, Williamson comes with an affordable contract and team control for several years, so he's appealing on those fronts. Perhaps he's showing enough with the bat for the M's to think he's the guy in 2026 as well, and that they can save their money for other positions, like potentially signing Josh Naylor at first base.

As an outside thought: If the Mariners don't want to commit to him as the starting third baseman, could they potentially utilize him in the Dylan Moore super utility role? He's a great defender at third, but could he work at short or second well enough to fill that role? It remains to be seen.

The Mariners will play the Royals on Thursday at 11:10 a.m. PT. The Rainiers will play Las Vegas beginning Sept. 23.