First Aaron Judge, now Mookie Betts. Mariners get close up look at the best right fielders

Continuing Monday at Safeco Field, the right field spot light.

In back-to-back series, the Mariners are facing arguably the top two right fielders in the American League — rookie Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, and now Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox.

The one that just left town — Judge — displays prodigious power and leads the majors wtih 32 home runs. He nearly hit one out of the Mariners’ ballpark Friday night, smashing a 440-foot homer that felt like it went a lot further. Judge is a massive human being, too, standing at 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds.

Betts, the issue for Mariners pitchers for three games, is much smaller (5-9, 180), but no less dangerous. He is second in the majors in doubles with 31 and has a slash line of .277/.354/.481 with 17 homers, 61 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

“One guy is the Jolly Green Giant,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “The other one is the average guy walking own the street.

“It works. That is what is awesome about baseball.”

As contrasting as their styles and stature is their paths to the big leagues.

At 25, and six months older than Betts, Judge could have played a number of sports coming out of Linden High School in California. He received NCAA Division I offers for football. Instead, he played three seasons of college baseball at Fresno State where he was voted an all-conference outfielder all three seasons.

The Yankees then selected him in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft.

Betts, too, played other sports — basketball and bowling (all state). But when it came down to signing with Boston or going off to the University of Tennessee in 2011, the Red Sox’s fifth-round pick signed right out of high school.

Seattle reliever Steve Cishek said the one thing that is very similar between the two players is how they attack inside pitches.

“Obviously with Judge, you cannot make a mistake to him. On (Saturday), I missed up and in on him, and that is his wheel house,” Cishek said.

The right-hander has also given up a home run to Betts in his career.

“He has some of the quickest hands in the league,” Cishek said of Betts. “On our scouting reports, it is stay away from middle to middle-in on him, because that is where he likes to do his damage.

”Basically you want to stay away with both of those guys.”

Judge is having a breakout season. In addition to leading in home runs, he’s in the top three in RBI (73) and on-base percentage (.434).

Betts has more of a power-speed game and statistically has the best range for any corner outfielder.

And in the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) category, Judge is tops among right fielders with a 5.3 WAR; Betts is second at 5.1.

Who is the more dangerous player?

”They are both really good players,” Mariners left-hander James Paxton said. “There is a lot of attention around Judge right now, especially with the home runs. ... But with (Betts), he covers so much of the plate. He is a very good hitter, and tough to get out. There are not a lot of holes there to go to. You have to go right at him, and hope he hits it at somebody.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "First Aaron Judge, now Mookie Betts. Mariners get close up look at the best right fielders."