Here are the players to watch in 51s — Tacoma Rainiers series this week

The 51s return home this weekend for a four-game set against the Tacoma Rainiers. Here are five players to watch:

Stefen Romero, RF, Tacoma

Tacoma’s 27-year-old outfielder has done nothing but rake all season long. He is third in the PCL with a .358 average, second in the league with a 1.018 OPS and has more walks (15) than strikeouts (13).

He has seven home runs on the year, but has left the yard just once in his last 11 games. He has 11 hits in his last nine games.

Adrian Sampson, RHP, Tacoma

While the Rainiers have not announced the rotation for this series, if they stay on schedule, Sampson will pitch Tuesday’s matinee.

He is third in the PCL in ERA (2.83) and WHIP (1.07) and leads the league with 70 innings pitched and is tied for the lead with six wins. He has given up just one run in his last two starts, spanning 13 innings. He also has 12 strikeouts in that time.

Gabriel Ynoa, RHP, Las Vegas

While he wasn’t particularly sharp Thursday against Reno, Ynoa remains the top dog on the Las Vegas staff.

His 2.84 ERA is fifth in the PCL and his 69 2/3 innings pitched rank second behind only Sampson. And if Sampson does indeed pitch Tuesday, he will meet Ynoa in what could be one of the best pitching matchups of the season.

Boog Powell, CF, Tacoma

The one Rainier on the Mariners’ Baseball America top prospects list, Powell has not yet lived up to the hype.

Still just 23 with time to develop, he has struggled lately with three hits in his last seven games, dropping his average from .279 to .258.

Whoever takes the mound in a save situation

Paul Sewald leads the team with seven saves, but his hold on the closer’s job may not be ironclad. After not allowing a run in 11 outings between April 25 and May 21, he has allowed nine runs (seven earned) in his last five appearances.

“That’s probably what it’s come to is that I’m going to have to start match guys up the way I think they’ll best match up,” 51s manager Wally Backman said.

Chasen Bradford (four), Jeff Walters (one) and Josh Edgin (one) are the only other 51s who have registered a save this season. Backman also said left-hander Josh Smoker could get some looks as well.