This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- With the results he’s delivering, might Jose Caballero be the Mariners’ second baseman of the future? Without getting too far ahead, he’s certainly taken a firm grasp of the position for now. 

Caballero stole three bases and crushed his first big league homer on Sunday in Atlanta, making him the Mariners’ most impactful player on a day when their offensive struggles were glaring. He followed it up with another homer on Monday against Oakland. 

His slash line entering Seattle’s 10-game homestand that began Monday was .278/.379/.389 (.768 OPS) in 66 plate appearances across 23 games, with his on-base percentage trailing only J.P. Crawford’s .385 for the team lead since his MLB debut on April 15. Caballero’s 123 wRC+ (league average is 100) and 0.9 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, are behind only Cal Raleigh (130 and 1.0) in that stretch. 

“In the offseason, I prepared myself. I wanted the opportunity,” Caballero said. “And I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to show myself in Spring Training. ... Now, I'm just trying to be out there trying to play every day to try to help the team win.”

Couple Caballero’s impressive -- and unexpected -- breakout with the struggles from Kolten Wong, and the microscope on second base is more magnified.

Asked about the position last week, managerScott Servais said: “We’ll see, you’re trying to put guys out there that are going well. Certainly, Kolten has a long track record of being a really productive player in this league. But it’s a do-good league. It is a results-driven league.” 

Entering Monday, Caballero had started each of Seattle’s past four games as the Mariners have shifted from an exclusive platoon between him and Wong, who’s hitting .105/.191/.158 (.348 OPS) after a 6-for-15 stretch. Making the situation more complicated is that backup middle infielder Dylan Moore is on a Minor League rehab assignment, and if all goes well, will return from the injured list by June 6 and need a roster spot. 

“I'm just trying to figure out my role on this team,” Wong said. “It's kind of been where I'm at right now, just trying to figure out what's going on, how I'm going to be used, and I think we kind of got an idea, so now I'm in a better spot.”

Before acquiring Wong in a December trade, the 10-year veteran for years was a target of Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. Because of his track record, he’s earned a longer leash. He’s also earning $10 million this year, not a small number with which to cut ties.

Meanwhile, it’s not just that Caballero has produced; he’s been a spark plug. A few examples:

He’s mastered the art of the pitch timer and delaying his eye contact with the pitcher all the way to the eight-second mark. It’s annoyed teams, even prompting a benches-clearing incident with Houston.

He’s a pesky baserunner and is now 6-for-6 in steal attempts, and also ranks in the 93rd percentile with an average sprint speed of 28.9 feet per second, well above the 27.0 league average.

He’s turned flashy double plays, including one that sealed Saturday’s win. Caballero just cleared the minimum playing time to qualify for Statcast’s outs above average metric, and he ranks in the 92nd percentile. Wong is in the 27th.

He had a 12-pitch at-bat on Monday that, despite resulting in an out, helped balloon the opposing starter’s pitch count.

“From the day he showed up here, he was not in awe of anything,” Servais said of Caballero. “He even made the comment: ‘All the little things that I do get noticed here at the big league level -- stealing bases, turning a double play, just getting on base and doing the little things.'

“Oftentimes you get overlooked as you’re trying to climb your way through the Minor League ladder when you maybe you don’t put up gaudy numbers. Maybe you don’t hit a ton of home runs, but you’re a good baseball player. That’s what’s really stood out for me. He understands how to play and he doesn’t back off.”

Caballero plays without fear, though he had plenty to be anxious about as recently as last offseason, when he was still feeling the effects of a broken hamate bone and a right hand fracture, the latest issue in a career that’s been full of them. Health has been a big factor in stalling his development, which is why he’s only now in the Majors at age 26. When he arrived at Spring Training, not many -- even Servais -- knew much about him.

Will playing every day expose him? Maybe. But for a team that needs impact from its position players, Caballero is making it.