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The last several hundred at bats have been encouraging, that is for sure. But he has burned the Mariners before. Wherever he is put in the batting order, it would be nice if there was a high OBP guy in front of him. It might be my imagination but opposing teams seem to shift most dramatically with Smoak. Having a guy in front of him that is one base 38 or 40% of the time sure would help him combat that shift. I would like to see him hit behind Franklin, but that doesn't seem to work because I don't think Smoak should hit third, and I don't think Franklin should hit lower than 6th.
Maybe during the offseason the Mariners could actually acquire a high OBP outfielder that would fit in the lineup right in front of Smoak. It sure would be nice to take the (hopeful) gains of the second half of the year and build on them instead of hoping and dreaming that every one of our prospects and discarded veterans perform to their upper expectations.