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After narrowly missing out on beating Aaron Judge for the American League Most Valuable Player Award last season, Cal Raleigh is competing for the polar opposite this year.
The Seattle Mariners catcher became just the seventh player in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a season in 2025, and while getting to that point would have been a challenge this year, every plate appearance is a struggle right now.
Raleigh went 0-for-4 Monday night in the Mariners’ 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros, continuing a streak in which he is now hitless in his last 36 at-bats.
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Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners reacts after striking out during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on May 5, 2026. (Jack Compton/Getty Images)
Before this slump, Raleigh was already struggling at the plate, hitting .205 with a .707 OPS in his first 30 games. But now, his average has dropped to .157, second-worst in baseball, and his OPS has dropped to .559, 10th-worst.
As a lefty, he’s hitting .167/.256/.370, and on the right side, those numbers have dropped to .133/.196/.200.
The last time he was hit was on April 27.
There’s also not much under the hood to say that Raleigh is going to turn things around. Sure, such a poor stretch can’t come without some bad luck, but after ranking in the 85th percentile in hard hit percentage (exit velocity of at least 95 mph), he’s now in the 10th percentile in that category this season. His barrel percentage and average exit velocity are also overwhelmingly worse than last year.
Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners reacts to bat during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on May 6, 2026. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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A big problem for Raleigh has been the fastball: after hitting .230 against it with a .594 slugging percentage last year, they’re now down to .093 and .222 this year. He has swung and missed on 36.0% of his fastballs, compared to 26.3% last year. He hit more than half of his four-seamers at 95 mph or faster last year, but only 23.3% this year.
Coming into the season, the Mariners were right in the conversation to compete for the American League pennant. They are currently 20-22 and will likely turn things around when Raleigh does. They are two games away from the American League West title, behind only the A’s, and have a lot of season left in them.
Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners reacts after striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of Game 6 of the American League Championship Series in Toronto on Oct. 19, 2025. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
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But the season may be slowing down for the switch-hitting catcher who less than a year ago was chasing Judge for the Most Valuable Player award.
