Daniel Vogelbach’s emergence as a dependable middle-of-the-order hitter has been one of the best developments of this rebuilding season for the Mariners. He leads the club in home runs (14), on-base percentage (.393), slugging percentage (.629) and Wins Above Replacement (1.6, per Fangraphs).
This is the breakthrough the Mariners have been waiting for from the burly 26-year-old slugger.
Of course, Vogelbach’s journey through the minor leagues was hardly a straight shot to the Hit It Here Café.
He had 2,714 minor-league at-bats over parts of eight seasons and yo-yo’d back and forth from Triple-A Tacoma to Seattle eight times over the past three seasons — getting recalled to the majors and then optioned back down five times in 2018 alone.