Recommendation: He is hitting .256 over his last 10 games but has four home runs over his last seven. He has finally cut down on his strikeout rate, but it has eaten into his average a little. Why a team such as the Mariners, with one of the worst records in baseball, has a 24-year-old learning how to hit at Triple-A is baffling. Why not have him start on the long road toward learning how to hit major league pitching while the stakes are low? Whose playing time are they worrying about?