40 in 40: Robert Dugger

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

It is a period of impending doom. The Seattle Mariners, in first place

in the AL West on June 2, 2016, stumbling as the Rangers start to

soar, cannot seem to string together more than

two wins back-to-back.

During the month, Jerry Dipoto, in his first season at the helm

of the Mariners’ front office, had drafted a robust class of amateurs,

whom he and the fans hoped would carry the team to salvation,

and the playoffs.

Pursued by relentless pressure from ownership and fans,

GM Dipoto selects a plethora of young players, (including Robert Dugger!)

custodian of the future plans that can save his job

and restore October baseball to Seattle.

***

Among the many things the last year has reinforced, it’s a) be kind to people and b) wash your hands.

I don’t know if Robert Dugger is a good handwasher. I hope he is. It’s easy to be a good handwasher.

I also don’t really know if he’s a good pitcher. His 45 major league innings, with a collective 20 walks, 54 hits and 5 HBPS would seem to say no. It’s hard to be a good MLB pitcher. Hard to be a good pitcher, period.

Much like my approach to the 2021 Mariners as a whole, expectations for Dugger are low (like, really low). Anything beyond physical catastrophe - the entire bullpen contracting COVID, Kyle Lewis colliding with INSERT LEFT FIELDER HERE, Marco trying to fix his garbage disposal and losing four fingers - for this team is a shrug; a few serviceable innings from Dugger are a win.

So, that’s all I’ll say on this Mariner-turned-Marlin-turned Mariner: A weird waiver wire pick, with peripherals that did little to boost a shaky profile, but another kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk in the bucket of Jerry Dipoto’s Reclaimed Castaways.