One of the biggest elements of this season for the Mariners is the development of young centerpiece position players Kyle Lewis and Evan White, former first-round Draft picks now beginning their Major League careers.

In the case of Lewis, that’s been an overwhelming success, as the 25-year-old center fielder is in prime position for the American League Rookie of the Year Award heading into the final week of the season. But White? He's been more of a mixed bag.

The 24-year-old first baseman has been outstanding defensively, is a legitimate AL Gold Glove Award contender and is currently tied for first in MLB in defensive runs saved at his position, per Sports Info Solutions.

At the plate, he’s shown impressive power, as reminded again by a 403-foot blast off the upper deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building beyond the left-field stands at Petco Park in Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Padres.

Though he’s been overshadowed by Lewis, White’s six home runs are tied for the fifth most by a rookie in MLB and his 21 RBIs are tied for fourth. But White is hitting just .173 and has struck out 66 times in 168 plate appearances, while Lewis is batting .287 with 57 strikeouts in 209 plate appearances.

A deeper look, however, doesn’t make White’s situation look quite so dire. While his low average and high strikeout rate are issues, when he’s making contact, the quality is very good. Per Statcast, White’s 54.1% hard-hit rate is second on the team behind only the recently added Luis Torrens (61.5%) and well above Lewis (35%), and it ranks in the top 4% of MLB.

• Mariners' Statcast hitting ranks

White's 92.5 mph average exit velocity trails only Torrens’ small sample of 94.1, with Lewis at 88.4. White’s percentage of barreled balls paces the team, at 12.9%, another indication that he’s making very good contact when he does connect.

Some of White’s low average is just bad luck as his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is just .253, despite the fact he runs well, well below Lewis' exceptional .363 BABIP.

It’s also worth noting that Lewis had a 38.7% strikeout rate in 18 games as a September callup last season, when he made the jump from Double-A Arkansas, but he's lowered that to 27.3% this year. White has a 39.3% strikeout rate -- second highest in baseball -- but he wasn’t a big strikeout guy in the Minors. He went 2-for-3 with an infield single and his booming home run on Friday, breaking an 0-for-11 slump, and he'd love to finish the season on an positive note at the plate.

“It definitely felt good,” he said. “I haven’t felt good for a while in the box. I’ve been talking to the hitting coach and the biggest thing is I need to stay athletic in the box and give myself a shot to help the ballclub win any way I can. This is a step in the right direction, and hopefully I can build off that.”

Mariners manager Scott Servais noted that batting average “doesn’t often tell the whole story,” but the club expects to see more consistency from White as he develops.

“We’ll see him get in a good stretch for 8-10 days where he’s seeing the ball really good and his strike zone awareness is awesome,” Servais said. “Then he’ll get in a little funk and start chasing some balls that aren’t the best pitches for him to swing at.

“I think it’s been very common in what young players typically go through. Kyle Lewis has been a little bit more consistent than Evan, but I think at the end of the year, Evan will look back and say, ‘OK, here’s what I learned and here’s the adjustments I need to make to prepare me to be more consistent next year.'”

Injury updates
• Catcher Tom Murphy, sidelined all season by a broken bone in his left foot, has been shut down and sent home to his offseason home in New York to continue rehabbing there, Servais said.

• Outfielder Mitch Haniger continues working out at a private facility in Seattle as he recovers from surgery on a herniated disk and has “really picked up his lifting and workouts,” according to Servais, but Haniger still isn’t doing any baseball activity.

• Utility player Sam Haggerty is rehabbing a strained left forearm at the alternate training site in Tacoma, but he's now been ruled out from returning by season's end.

• Second baseman Shed Long Jr. continues looking into options on how to treat a stress fracture in his right shin, but he hasn’t determined yet if that will require surgery.