Florida State Professional Athletes

Cal Raleigh had been one of baseball's most confounding mysteries in 2026 — a catcher coming off a massive contract extension, a proven power bat, and a season-long slump that had Mariners fans checking their watches. Then Monday night happened.

The Florida State alum went scorched-earth on the Philadelphia Phillies on August 25, launching three home runs — the first three-homer game of his career — to pace Seattle to a 9-2 rout. Raleigh went 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored, single-handedly flipping the narrative on a season that had grown increasingly uncomfortable.

The breakout wasn't a one-night fluke. The very next night, Raleigh homered again in his first at-bat against the Phillies, tying a Mariners franchise record with home runs in four consecutive at-bats. A player who entered the week hitting .159 suddenly looked like the cleanup force Seattle signed him to be.

The timing matters. According to CBS Sports, Seattle owns the easiest remaining schedule in all of Major League Baseball — and a resurgent Raleigh makes that favorable slate genuinely dangerous. FanSided's data breakdown argued the breakout has underlying merit, not just a variance spike, pointing to underlying indicators that suggest the waking of "Big Dumper" may be the real thing. Entering the final week of August, Raleigh was sitting at a .169 average — still well below expectations — but the power surge signals the kind of inflection point that can define a postseason run.

The Supporting Cast

Raleigh wasn't the only 'Nole making noise this week.

Parker Messick continued to quietly build one of the more impressive résumés among FSU's MLB pitching corps. The Cleveland Guardians left-hander delivered six innings of one-run ball against the Los Angeles Angels on August 25, striking out four and factoring into a 4-2 Cleveland win. At a 2.50 ERA on the season, Messick is giving the Guardians exactly what they need from a mid-rotation arm down the stretch.

Shane Drohan made two starts for the Milwaukee Brewers during the period, logging five innings in each outing. He gave up two earned runs in a Sunday start against Atlanta and one earned run Saturday against Texas, finishing the week with his ERA sitting at 3.75. The Brewers, one of baseball's best teams, continue to find use for the FSU southpaw.

Taylor Walls provided some quiet contributions for Tampa Bay, going 2-for-X with an RBI on Friday against San Diego and adding two more hits Saturday. The Rays shortstop is hitting .221 on the year — steady if unspectacular.

CJ Van Eyk was recalled by the Blue Jays ahead of their weekend series against Seattle and tossed a clean inning of relief Friday against the Mariners — a full-circle moment given he was facing Raleigh's squad just days after Raleigh's historic stretch.

The Bottom Line

The Florida State pipeline continues to run deep through MLB rosters, but this week belonged entirely to Raleigh. For a player carrying the weight of a massive deal and a brutal season, four home runs in four at-bats is more than a hot streak — it's a statement. Whether it holds will go a long way toward determining whether Seattle is a postseason team in 2026.

The Raleigh Problem Is Now an MLB Story

Cal Raleigh is making history. Not the kind that earns a plaque.

The Florida State alum and Mariners catcher is in the midst of what multiple outlets are calling one of the most severe year-to-year offensive collapses in MLB history — a drop-off so extreme that Fox Sports went looking through the record books to find a comparable precedent and came up short. Raleigh, who was an All-Star, is hitting just .157 through the week, a stunning regression that has become the defining story of Seattle's increasingly dire season.

The numbers on their own are bad enough. But the fallout is spreading. The Sporting News reported that Raleigh's own comments — including a candid admission that he "simply needs it to be the offseason" — may have effectively handed manager Dan Wilson his pink slip. Raleigh's struggles have been cited as a primary driver in speculation that Wilson won't return in 2027, with The Sporting News already floating a 17-year MLB veteran as a predicted replacement who could better help the catcher rebuild his game.

Yahoo Sports framed the broader damage bluntly: the Mariners are "nearly out of time to avoid being MLB's biggest disappointment," with the absence of production from their stars — Raleigh chief among them — cited as the central culprit.

To be fair, Raleigh isn't completely lost at the plate. He had flashes this week: a homer and three RBI in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Cubs, and he went deep against the Astros on Sunday, August 16, his 13th homer of the season. The power hasn't entirely evaporated — but at a .157 batting average, the overall profile is a shell of what Seattle built its offense around entering 2026. The gap between who Raleigh was and who he is right now is what makes this story nationally significant.

He's now a named "main character" for the MLB stretch run — not as a star to watch, but as a storyline analysts are openly debating.

Around the Rest of the Seminole Roster

Beyond Raleigh's saga, a pair of FSU arms had notable moments this week.

Parker Messick gave Guardians fans a reason to exhale. The Cleveland right-hander turned in a dominant outing Wednesday, going 6.2 innings against the Giants with 10 strikeouts and just one earned run, dropping his ERA to 2.54. A Cleveland-area newsletter headline said it plainly: "At least Parker Messick showed up." In a week of mixed results around the league, Messick's start was the kind of performance that earns a pitcher more rope in a playoff race.

Luke Weaver, now with the Pirates after a trade deadline acquisition, had a tougher stretch. His outing Saturday against the Dodgers lasted just one inning, and The Sporting News reported that a rough Red Sox appearance earlier in the week helped expose why Pittsburgh's decision to buy at the deadline is already drawing scrutiny. Weaver's ERA sits at 2.20 — suggesting the underlying talent is there — but the results have been uneven at the worst possible time.

James Tibbs III, the FSU outfield prospect in the Dodgers' system, continued to rake at Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two walks during the period. He's not in the big leagues yet, but he's making the argument.

The week belonged to Raleigh's narrative — for better and worse. The rest of Seminole Nation is watching, and waiting, to see if "Big Dumper" can find his way back before Seattle's window closes entirely.