PEORIA, Ariz. — There’s a dry-erase board hanging from the wall of Scott Servais’ office at the Mariners’ spring training complex that outlines which pitchers will appear in games for the upcoming week.
And unlike in years past, Servais’ board is chock full of appetizing and tantalizing pitching options.
Advertisem*nt
On Friday, the Mariners open Cactus League play against the Padres as Robbie Ray gets the call. One day later, Matt Brash will unleash his slider from hell against the Angels in Peoria.
Then next week, Luis Castillo and a pair of talented prospects, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hanco*ck, will get their turn to pitch. And there’s much more pitching coming behind them.
Coming off a blissful 2022 season where they ended their two-decade-old postseason drought, the Mariners again plan to lean heavily on pitching to get them back to baseball’s promised land.
From proven starters to highly regarded prospects, the Mariners have an abundance of talented pitching depth to showcase.
“Without throwing stones at guys that we’ve had in years past, this is the best (pitching) group that we’ve had … and I am happy where we are,” said Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
Injuries and underperformance can ruin the best-laid plans. Say you break camp with a staff you’re tickled about then, boom, James Paxton’s season ends in April after 24 pitches (as it did in 2021) or Brash goes back to the minor leagues after five fitful starts in the first month (as he did last season).
This kind of stuff happens all the time. The name of the game with pitching might always be quality, though do not discount the importance of depth — and quality depth at that.
“Having pitching depth is critical to being a good team,” Dipoto said. “And I think you saw it show up for us last year. It’s the most depth that we’ve had on a pitching staff.”
Dipoto might have to amend that statement in 2023, as the Mariners have a full rotation (and then some), talented prospects waiting for their chance and a crowded bullpen that will likely rank among the best in baseball.
“We have six capable quality major-league starters and I think you can argue seven if we wanted to go that route with Matt Brash,” Dipoto said. “We have guys teed-up on the doorstep that are talented and are going to be a part of that next wave.”
Advertisem*nt
The rotation appears to be in good hands with Castillo, who was certainly a big hit after he was acquired from the Reds. Robbie Ray will be in Year 2 of his five-year deal with the Mariners. Logan Gilbert and George Kirby were not just durable in 2022 but pitched, really, beyond their years. Veteran Marco Gonzales returns with a chip on his shoulder, and Chris Flexen is still around if or when he’s needed.
That’s six starters for five spots, though it seems Flexen likely will end up in the bullpen as he did a year ago, giving the Mariners someone capable of throwing multiple innings. It’s not a bad problem to have.
That will be important since the Mariners project that Gilbert and Kirby, due to big workloads in 2022, might only be stretched out to five innings at the outset of the season, as they’ll be slow-played some this spring.
In the event the Mariners can’t replicate their run of good health in 2023 — a season where none of their starters appeared on the injured list — there’s a handful of seemingly capable options waiting in the wings in minor-league starters Taylor Dollard, Miller and Hanco*ck.
“I feel like they’re major-league ready but we won’t know until they get their opportunity,” Dipoto said. “Between Dollard, Hanco*ck, Miller, and what we think later in the second half (will be) Bryan Woo, that quartet of pitchers is right there.”
My favorite of the day @Mariners Bryce Milller strikes out major leaguer Tom Murphy. You can here Murphy immediately say “nice one”
I talked to Miller after, he said he’s throwing two sliders now, a sweeper (which this was) and a Gyro 👀 📈#ProspectOne @InThisLeaguePod pic.twitter.com/3l7QdXySce
— The Welsh (@IsItTheWelsh) February 16, 2023
In the bullpen, the Mariners know they’ll have a tough time settling on eight relievers when camp breaks. Yes, that’s a good problem to have and a far cry from where the club was only a few years ago. There are a lot of viable candidates here in camp who can not only miss bats, but are regarded as strike-throwers.
Advertisem*nt
Six of those eight spots will likely go to 2022 holdovers Paul Sewald, Brash, Matt Festa, Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee and Andrés Muñoz. There are plenty of other candidates in camp. Some will make it, some who might deserve it, won’t.
There’s another upshot to having this kind of quality depth on the pitching side, said Servais.
“It gives you a chance to win every day. It’s huge at the big-league level and it drives the winning and gives you a chance every night … but it does much more than that,” he said.
Consider what happens when a pitcher is injured at the big-league level. It starts a ripple effect throughout the organization. Pitcher gets replaced, someone from the minors replaces him. And then someone in the lower minors often replaces that guy.
“I’ve always talked about, having held different jobs in an organization, that good starting pitching and depth creates organizational stability,” Servais said. “There’s a calmness to it. Everyone sleeps better at night.”
To be sure, pitching is still the name of the game. If you don’t have it, you don’t have a chance. Consider that last season, 15 big-league teams hit .240 or lower. That’s half the teams in baseball. Get this: As recently as 2017, only one team did that.
Yes, home runs and exploding scoreboards are a lot of fun, but it’s pitching that wins games. And at this point, the Mariners have it in spades.
“Jerry and those guys did a great job of having a large number of really good relievers and really good starters. If we have an injury bug, it’s not going to affect us that much,” Sewald said.
“You need to have a Plan B, because no one is going to be healthy like we were all of last year. You need that quality depth.”
(Photo of Ray (left) and Kirby (right): Joe Nicholson / USA Today)
