Mariners Young Pitching

The Seattle Mariners primarily have veteran pitching on their staff however a look at some of their youth pitching heading into spring training. It will be interesting to see who makes the staff of the youth and who will start in the minor leagues.

The top of the youth of course is closer Edwin Diaz who will be starting his second full season after coming up in June 2016. He has a solid fastball that reaches one hundred miles an hour on a regular basis along with having a slider. His slider has been effective pitch after the hitter sees the fastball coming. When he has struggled a lot of it has been because of his slider especially against left handed hitters. Whether he will add another pitch we will have to see. Most closers go with only one or two pitches at the most. It is primarily the reason they went into the bullpen and then became a closer because as a starter they had trouble with a third and fourth pitcher. Diaz was a starter in the Mariner farm system when they decided that the best and fastest way for him to get to the major leagues was in the bullpen. In fact he never relieved until the 2016 season. So he pitched only two months in the minor leagues in relief before being called up. When he was brought up he did not start out as the closer the position belonged to Steve Cishek however when he struggled the Mariners decided to put Diaz in that role. He has been the closer most of the time ever since. This off-season the Mariners signed veteran free agent Juan Nicasio to a two-year contract. His primary role will be as a setup man in the eighth inning along with Nick Vincent however he will close when Diaz needs a day off and won’t be overused. Diaz is still only 24 years old so it is important not over use him.

Another pitcher in the Mariner bullpen is still young is lefty James Pazos who will turn 27 in May. He likely will be the second lefty once again this season.  He will probably be the first one out of the bullpen in the sixth or seventh inning. He is capable of going a full inning or longer if necessary.

In December the Mariners picked up another lefty on waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates Sam Moll who is twenty-six however his major league experience has been with the Oakland A’s. Unless he is a surprise most likely he won’t start the season in Seattle. He adds depth to the bullpen and could be added if there is an injury to the two lefties ahead of him.

Among the righties in the bullpen that is young once again we will see Dan Altavilla who is twenty-four years old and can throw the ball hard like Diaz. The Mariners don’t have much room in the bullpen however I am sure that Dipoto and Servais would like to make the roster. He could be someone that pitches an inning or two in a game as well. Depending in the situation he could come in anywhere from the sixth inning and on. His future could be the primary setup man and closer when needed but that might be another season down the road.

Another young pitcher in age any way however has pitched several years in the bullpen is Mike Morin. He is twenty-six years old and the Mariners picked him up on waivers as well from the Kansas City Royals. Dipoto is familiar with him because his career mostly has been with the Los Angeles Angels. He is another one that is here for depth purposes. Since the Mariners don’t have much room in the bullpen it is hard to say whether he will stick around or not. He is on the forty man roster however the Mariners could put him back on the waiver wire if they pick up another pitcher.

Now to the starting pitching the Mariners have primarily two young pitchers going for the fifth spot in the rotation. Whomever doesn’t get that spot may start the season as the long reliever in the bullpen.

The first one to look at is Marco Gonzales the Mariners picked up near the end of last season. He is a lefty who could match up well as the fifth starter since James Paxton is the only other lefty in the rotation. Gonzales is out of options as well so he could win the spot as the fifth starter because of that or be the long reliever in the bullpen. He turns twenty-six this month so he would be considered part of the Mariners youth movement. Right now the Mariners don’t have a lot in that area when it comes to youth and experience. Gonzales when coming to the Mariners had been a top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system however he had injuries so didn’t pitch a lot the last couple years before hand. Probably a good reason that the Cardinals were willing to move him; Dipoto seeing his potential felt it was good for the Mariners to pick him up since they don’t have a lot in their farm system when it comes to good young pitchers.

The other primary young pitcher to get the chance to be the fifth starter is Andrew Moore who is a righty and only twenty-three years old. If he doesn’t make the spot as the fifth starter they may decide to have him begin the season in Tacoma instead of being the long reliever in the bullpen. Being in Tacoma will probably be the best for him if he doesn’t open as a starter for the Mariners so he can still develop. He would be ready to go if called upon when a starter would be needed. I would not be surprised if Ariel Maranda starts the season as the long reliever. He could start the season in Tacoma like it was planned last year.

The Mariners have three young pitchers that showed some action last year and they will be showing in spring training this year but likely will start the season in Tacoma. Begins with Max Povse who the Mariners picked up in a trade last off-season from the Atlanta Braves in the Alex Jackson trade and he is considered the Mariners number six prospect. The Mariners tried to make him into a reliever however that was not successful last year so they are returning him to be a starter. The other two are Chase De Jong who the Mariners got from the Dodgers last year just before spring training started. He showed some signs last season started a few times because of all the injuries in the starting rotation. He could be used in long relief as well if Moore and Maranda start in Tacoma. The third guy is Rob Whalen who is twenty-four and the Mariners picked up from the Braves as well before the start of last season however he was out of action most of the year so the Mariners I am sure will like to see him pitch a full year in Tacoma or double A. Hard to know at this time where the Mariners see him for the future besides depth. He is considered the Mariners number seventeenth top pick. Besides Povse the only other top ten prospect in the pitching is Sam Carlson who is at number three and was drafted in the second round last June. He was in high school so it will be a few years before we see him in a Mariner uniform.  Anyway that is the look at the Mariners young pitching.